Cake Jawari (Afghan Yellow Cake with Rose Water, Cardamom, and Two Toppings)

Instructor: Nawida Saidhosin

SERVES 6 TO 8

“This is not considered a special-occasion cake, but everyone loves it. It’s an everyday cake to serve with tea.”—Nawida

Flavored with freshly ground cardamom and a little rose water, this cake is made with both all-purpose flour and corn flour (which is milled more finely than cornmeal). It has an ideal ratio of cake, topping, and just a little crunch, which you get from the coarse yellow semolina flour, or sooji in Hindi, that’s dusted on the bottom of the pan before you add the batter. The result is both familiar and exciting—it’s like the best and most interesting corn muffin ever. It’s also the perfect complement to any kind of tea. Nawida usually tops one side of the cake with mild white poppy seeds and nigella seeds, which have just a touch of bitterness, and the other side with black raisins and large pieces of walnut. You can choose just one topping, but both together on one plate make this very easy dessert so much more appealing—and this approach allows everyone to try both. Ideally this should be baked in a rectangular metal pan about 9 by 13 inches (23 by 33 cm) so that you can easily cut the cake into diamond shapes. I use a square metal brownie pan, so the pieces come out a little thicker, but in a pinch you could also use two round cake pans or even muffin tins. Nawida sometimes uses muffin tins shaped like hearts and stars so that it’s easy and fun for her kids to take a piece of cake to school. Just pay attention as it bakes, as the bake time will vary slightly with a different shape of pan. As with the firni on page 299, though you can buy cardamom pre-ground, for this dish I strongly recommend you grind it yourself. It doesn’t take very long!

Serve with: the green cardamom tea, or any tea you prefer.

• 4 large eggs

  The League of Kitchens Cookbook: Brilliant Tips, Secret Methods & Favorite Family Recipes from Around the World Lisa Kyung Gross

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

• 2 tablespoons whole green cardamom pods or

• 11/2 teaspoons ground cardamom

• 1/2 tablespoon rose water

• 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour

• 1 cup (125 g) corn flour (not cornmeal)

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 cup (200 g) white sugar

• 1 cup (240 ml) neutral oil or olive oil

• 1/4 cup (60 g) fine semolina (also called sooji, or durum wheat flour)

• 1/3 cup (50 g) small black raisins

• 1/3 cup (40 g) walnut halves

• 1 teaspoon white poppy seeds

• 1 teaspoon nigella seeds

1. Bring the eggs and milk to room temperature: About an hour before you plan to make the cake, take the 4 large eggs, 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk, and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter out of the refrigerator so they can come to room temperature. If you’re nervous about leaving the milk out on your counter, you can wait and then gently warm it in a microwave or on the stove—it doesn’t need to be warm, just no longer very cold.

2. Prepare the ground cardamom: Put the 2 tablespoons whole green cardamom pods in a spice grinder or small food processor and grind them until they’re a fine powder, shaking the bowl once or twice to make sure you process all the pieces. Set aside 11/2 teaspoons of ground cardamom for the cake. (If you have any left over, it will keep in a tightly sealed jar for several weeks.)

3. Preheat the oven and prepare the pan: When You’re ready to make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Use a pastry brush or your hands to spread the softened butter on the bottom and sides of a 9- by 13-inch (23 by 33 cm) or 9-by 9-inch (23 by 23 cm) metal pan. Set this aside while you make the cake.

4. Make the batter: Add the 1/2 tablespoon rose water to the 1/2 cup (120 ml) room-temperature milk and set it aside.

5. Sift together the 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (125 g) corn flour (not cornmeal), and 1 tablespoon baking powder into a medium mixing bowl, whisk them together, then set the bowl aside. (If you don’t have a sifter, pour the flours and the baking powder one at a time through a sieve over the bowl, and then shake them into the bowl.)

6. Break the 4 room temperature eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the 1 cup (200 g) white sugar to the bowl and beat them together with a whisk, stand mixer, or hand mixer on the medium-low setting. Do not go back and forth when you beat—keep the whisk or beaters moving in one direction, either clockwise or counterclockwise, whichever is easier for you. Beat the eggs and sugar, tilting the bowl slightly, until the mixture begins to thicken and lighten in color and then begins to look almost creamy. This will take 3 to 6 minutes of consistent beating with a hand mixer or stand mixer, and more with a whisk.

7. As soon as the eggs and sugar are ready, add the milk and rose water, the 1 cup (240 ml) neutral oil or olive oil, and the 11/2 teaspoons ground cardamom. Then use the whisk, stand mixer, or hand mixer to mix them in well on the lowest setting for about 1 minute.

8. With the whisk moving or the mixer running, add the flour and baking powder mixture to the mixing bowl with the eggs and beat on low just until it’s no longer fully dry, usually a few seconds. Then use your spatula to gently scrape the sides of the bowl and fold everything in for 1 full minute—if there are still a few small lumps, that’s fine, but you don’t want any large ones.

9. Finish the cake: Sprinkle the 1/4 cup (60 g) fine semolina (also called sooji, or durum wheat flour) over the butter in the greased pan and shake and tap the pan so that it fully covers the buttered bottom. Shake off any extra semolina into the trash. Gently pour the batter into the pan and then shake the pan very, very gently so it’s even.

10. Sprinkle 1/3 cup (50 g) raisins evenly across one side of the cake. Use your hands to break 1/3 cup (40 g) walnut halves into raisin-size pieces and sprinkle them evenly over the top of the raisins. (You don’t need to press them in.) Sprinkle the other side of the cake with the 1 teaspoon white poppy seeds and then the 1 teaspoon nigella seeds.

    If you only want to make one topping, you can double it and sprinkle it across the entire cake. When Nawida was still living with her mother-in-law’s family in Pakistan, she had to cook daily for a household of thirty-five family members. She often ingeniously adapted recipes so she could please multiple tastes with less labor—like making a cake with two toppings at the same time.

11. Bake the cake: Bake the cake in the center of the middle rack for 25 to 35 minutes, until It’s golden brown on the top and a skewer or toothpick comes out clean. Then remove it to a metal trivet or wire rack on the counter to cool completely.

12. Serve and eat the cake: Cut the cake once it’s cooled to room temperature. Cut the cake into squares or diamonds about the size of brownies or dessert bars. (For smaller pans, you might want to cut them on the smaller side, as the slices will be thicker.) Pile the slices on a serving plate, alternating the toppings if you like.

    Nawida sometimes bakes this cake in a clean broiler pan (without the grilling insert) that is 16 inches (40 cm) by 123/4 inches (32 cm). A broiler pan dips slightly in the middle, so the edges come out a little thinner. (It nearly always takes Nawida exactly 27 minutes in the broiler pan!) Nawida trims off these slightly crisper ends and eats them as a snack once the cake has cooled or turns them into maleeda—a snack made from crumbled corn cake mixed with oil, ground cardamom, and sugar.

Reprinted with permission from The League of Kitchens Cookbook Brilliant Tips, Secret Methods & Favorite Family Recipes from Around the World By Lisa Kyung Gross, © 2024. Published by Harper Collins.

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