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Eggless paan cake with a slice cut out, showing the soft green crumb

Eggless Paan Cake

A fun Indian fusion cake with all the flavours of a meetha paan: betel leaf, gulkand, fennel and sweet supari, topped with pistachios and rose petals.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8 slices
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Indian Fusion
Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

For the paan milk
  • 4-5 betel leaves (paan patta) torn
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2-3 tablespoons water
  • green food colour optional
For the cake
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds (saunf)
  • 1-2 tablespoons sweet flavoured supari
  • 100 grams butter softened
  • 3/4 cup caster sugar
  • 1/2 cup curd (yogurt)
  • 1 tablespoon gulkand (rose petal jam)
To decorate
  • 2-3 tablespoons pistachios toasted and chopped
  • edible dried rose petals

Method
 

  1. Make the paan milk: put the torn betel leaves in a blender with the water and a little of the milk, and blend to a smooth paste. Strain it, pressing with a spatula, then slowly pour the rest of the milk over the pulp, pressing to get out all the flavour. Add a little green food colour if you like (optional).
  2. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 7-inch or 8-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda, then stir in the fennel seeds and sweet supari.
  4. In a large bowl, beat the butter and caster sugar with a hand mixer until creamy. Scrape down the sides.
  5. Add the curd and beat until smooth, then add the gulkand and beat again.
  6. Add the flour mixture and the paan milk alternately, starting and ending with flour, mixing on low after each addition.
  7. Scrape down the sides and give a final mix with a spatula.
  8. Pour the batter into the tin and tap it on the counter to remove air bubbles. Sprinkle the toasted pistachios and rose petals on top.
  9. Bake for 40–45 minutes, until the edges pull away from the tin and a toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Cool in the tin for 10–20 minutes, then loosen the edges, turn out, peel off the paper and serve.

Video

Notes

The green food colour is optional. If you don't have it, just leave it out; the betel leaves give the cake its paan flavour anyway.
This makes 8 generous slices. If you cut thinner slices, you can get up to 16.