Baked Gulab Jambu

Mithoo Modhoo – Gujarati people’s way of celebrating anything – sweeten your mouth! Gulab jambu (jamun) is an Indian sweet treat, very similar to the South African traditional Malay koeksister. Both versions are balls of deep fried dough, drenched in a sweet syrup and then rolled in dried coconut. The only differences lie in their shape, flavour and texture. Isn’t it amazing how cultures across the world have similar ways of preparing food? An untold story, a wealth of history, passed through generations, hidden in the hands of those who effortlessly create works of art that weave dreams and rekindle fond memories with every bite.

This recipe draws inspiration from the traditional gulab jambu, however this version is baked, not fried. I’ve also included the substitutes if you would like to make this gluten-free.

Dry ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups cake flour (GF: ¼ cup potato flour, ¼ cup corn flour, ¼ cup rice flour, ¼ cup coconut flour, ¼ cup tapioca flour + 1 tsp xantham gum)

• ¾ cup brown sugar

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 tsp cardamom powder

• 1/8 tsp saffron strands

Wet ingredients

• ½ cup melted coconut oil

• 1 cup coconut cream (or full-cream milk)

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp rose water

Syrup

• ½ cup brown sugar

• ½ cup water

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp rose water

• 3 cardamom pods

• 1 cinnamon stick

• ¼ tsp saffron strands

Coating

½ cup desiccated coconut 

Method

1. Sift all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

2. Combine all wet ingredients in a separate bowl and then gradually whisk this mixture into the dry ingredients.

3. Once you have an even mixture, drop spoonful’s of the batter into a greased or non-stick cupcake tray. This recipe yields 24 mini cupcakes or 12 medium-sized cupcakes.

4. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Please note that gluten-free flours tend to bake much faster so add an extra 5 minutes if using normal wheat-based flour.

5. Allow the cupcakes to cool down completely before coating in the syrup.

6. To make the syrup, combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat up the mixture tills it comes to a slow simmer. Simmer for at least 5 minutes, remove from the heat and allow to cool down for at least 5 minutes.

7. Dip the tops of each cake in the syrup and then dip into a bowl of desiccated coconut. The syrup allows the coconut to stick to the cake. You may want to dip the whole cake into the syrup, however this may result in a very sweet gulab jambu. I personally prefer just the tops dipped in syrup.

8. Serve right away or store in an airtight container for later. Enjoy with a hot cup of masala tea!