Mawa Cupcakes (eggless)

Summary: You can skip the saga and scroll down directly to the recipe below.  I made 2 versions, one without condensed milk and one with condensed milk - and there are slight variations in each recipe.  Have shared both.  I personally prefer Recipe 1.  Ok go on, read the saga or jump right on to the recipes - either ways, enjoy!

In the culinary adventures, there are some recipes, which, when you make them, you instantly know you nailed it.  Every so often there are recipes that you feel are so not worth the time and effort, after making them. It's a sad realization, but nevertheless, being a self-critique is of utmost importance to create good art.

Making these cupcakes was one such story. I was scheduled to meet a special friend for lunch the next day, and also, another special friend was celebrating her daughter's first birthday.  I had been meaning to try making the mawa cupcakes for long time.  I felt these were good occasions and hence, set out to try this recipe for both of them.  I did a lot of research, found 2 different versions of recipes among so many, that appealed me.  Shopped for the necessary ingredients and decided to try both the recipes simultaneously.  That meant a batch of 30 cupcakes - for a household that is barely a dessert fan.  If neither of the recipes worked, we would have had a truckload, (well almost), of cupcakes left over!  I wouldn't share something with someone if I didn't like it myself in first place. So it had to appeal to me in order to pass that test.

As I mentioned earlier, I decided to try 2 different recipes, in case one was better than other - you know, just in case :) Baked set 1, baked set 2, tried various frosting attempts.   It was a messy affair.  Was sooo tired after all this..  It still wasn't appealing me as much - and I guess that is the reason, I felt more disheartened/tired.  After spending several hours, I wasn't sure if I was gonna share it the next day.   Family members (well some of them :p) were waiting and so of course, I had them try these.  They said they liked it a lot - nice people, they are :) I gave it a try myself and I liked 'em, though being tired, I wasn't thinking right and felt it wasn't worth the effort and didn't appeal to me like I had expected, and that I am never gonna make it again.   I was still thinking, maybe I am biased because of the hours spent and so am trying to convince myself to like it.

I decided to sleep over the thought of sharing - in my mind - the not so perfect culinary creation, yet.  Next morning, I gave the cakes a 2nd look, fixed the things I needed to, and tried the cake myself one more time.  Interesting, I thought to myself - I liked it.  I prettied these up, packed these, and finally decided that I was gonna share these.  I shared it with my friends - in nutshell about 15 people tried these and they all loved it (or so they said :)).  They gave generous compliments.  Gradually the cupcakes grew on me, and surprisingly I like it more and more each day - by now I love these :) So I guess, it's definitely worth a try.  Sometimes, it's better not to try a recipe right after making it.  Sometimes a culinary creating needs a fresher perspective, just like any other art.

So here goes both the recipes.  As I mentioned, I liked the first recipe slightly better than the 2nd one.

Recipe 1:

Makes about a dozen medium sized cupcakes.

Butter - 150 grams

Icing sugar - 3/4 cup

Milk powder - 5 tablespoons

Mawa / Khoya - 4 tablespoons, grated

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups

Baking powder - 3/4 teaspoon

Corn flour - 2 tablespoons

Baking soda - 3/4 teaspoon

Lemon juice - 2 teaspoons

Milk - about 1/2 cup (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons, to be precise)

For Frosting - I used whipped cream this time.  Sometimes I make ganache or butter cream frosting - you may be able to find that in the archives.  

Whipped cream - 1 small tub

Color - 2 drops (optional)

Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the frosting, put an empty steel container in freezer to freeze it.

Take the butter at room temperature, add icing sugar.  Mix and whisk it well, making it nice and fluffy.

Add milk powder, milk, mawa / khoya, lemon juice, mix well.

Sieve the all purpose flour, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda.

Mix all of the ingredients well together.  Whisk it well for about 3-4 minutes - can use a manual whisker or an electric one.

Get the muffin pan ready with the cupcake liners.  Pour the batter in the cupcake liner, and place them in muffin pan.  Transfer it to the oven.

Bake for about 25 minutes, checking it after about every 10 minutes.  Do the toothpick test to see if the cakes are baked.  The cakes won't brown much so don't wait for it to brown.  As soon as the toothpick comes out clean, remove it from the oven.

At this point, if you want to pretty these up, can remove the original liners and use fresh cups to put the cupcakes in.  The original liners always get browned and so I generally do this every time I bake cupcakes.

For the frosting, remove the empty steel container that we had placed in the freezer, add the whipped cream. Add a couple of drops of color (I added red color to make pink frosting), whisk well.  Pipe it and decorate the cupcakes or just apply the frosting on the cupcakes with a spoon, if you don't want to spend extra effort in decorating the cakes.   

Enjoy!!

Recipe 2: 

Makes about 16 medium sized cupcakes

Khoya / Mawa - 150 grams

All purpose flour - 160 grams

Butter 120 grams

Sweetened condensed milk - 200 grams

Milk - 3/4 cup

Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon

Vanilla extract (optional) - 1/2 teaspoon

Lemon juice - 2 teaspoons

For Frosting - I used whipped cream this time.  Sometimes I make ganache or butter cream frosting - you may be able to find that in the archives.  

Whipped cream - 1 small tub

Color - 2 drops (optional)

• Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• For the frosting, put an empty steel container in freezer to freeze it.
• Take the butter at room temperature, Add khoya.  Add condensed milk, vanilla extract (optional) and lemon juice. Mix and whisk it well, making it nice and fluffy.
• Sieve the all purpose flour, corn flour, baking powder, baking soda.
• Mix all of the ingredients well together.  Whisk it well for about 3-4 minutes - can use a manual whisker or an electric one.
• Get the muffin pan ready with the cupcake liners.  Pour the batter in the cupcake liner, and place them in muffin pan.  Transfer it to the oven.
• Bake for about 25 minutes, checking it after about every 10 minutes.  Do the toothpick test to see if the cakes are baked.  The cakes won't brown much so don't wait for it to brown.  As soon as the toothpick comes out clean, remove it from the oven.
• At this point, if you want to pretty these up, can remove the original liners and use fresh cups to put the cupcakes in.  The original liners always get browned and so I generally do this every time I bake cupcakes.

For the frosting, remove the empty steel container that we had placed in the freezer, add the whipped cream. Add a couple of drops of color (I added red color to make pink frosting), whisk well.  Pipe it and decorate the cupcakes or just apply the frosting on the cupcakes with a spoon, if you don't want to spend extra effort in decorating the cakes.   

Enjoy!!