Sri Lankan Love Cake Recipe (Eggless)
This Sri Lankan Love Cake recipe is a deliciously aromatic, richly spiced semolina cake made with cashews, rose water, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, citrus zest, and fruit preserves. This easy adaptation of traditional Sri Lankan Love Cake is eggless and plant-based when made with vegan butter. Enjoy a slice for a weeknight dessert or a celebration treat.
This is a dense, moist, beautifully fragrant cake with a soft exterior and plenty of flavor from toasted cashews, warm spices, rosewater, and citrus zest.
When I was a kid growing up in Sri Lanka, this cake would often make an appearance at birthdays and special occasions like Valentine’s Day.
A Quick Glance at this Sri Lankan Love Cake
- Total Time: Takes about an hour and twenty five minutes to prep and bake this cake.
- Eggless: This recipe doesn’t require eggs.
- Plant-based: Use vegan butter and maple syrup to make it completely plant-based.
- Aromatic and packed with a variety of flavours: Rose water, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and citrus zest give this cake an incredible aroma.
- Delightful texture: Ground cashews add richness and the characteristic texture associated with Love Cake.
- Small batch: This recipe makes 8 small servings or 4 regular servings.
- No frosting needed: The spices, rose water, citrus and cashews make this cake flavorful enough to enjoy on its own.
- Perfect with tea or coffee: Its dense texture and rich flavor make it especially good with a hot drink.
What Is Sri Lankan Love Cake?
Sri Lankan Love Cake is a traditional Sri Lankan cake made with semolina, cashews, spices, sweetener, rose water, and candied winter melon or other preserves. Sri Lankan Love Cake is intensely aromatic and warmly spiced.
The texture is dense and moist rather than fluffy, making it quite different from a typical American-style cake. It’s especially delicious alongside a cup of hot tea or coffee.
Traditional recipes often contain eggs, butter, sugar, honey, cashews, semolina, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, rose water, and candied winter melon, also known as puhul dosi. Some recipes use pumpkin preserve instead of puhul dosi. Sometimes, small pieces of this cake (much like the Sri Lankan Christmas cake) were wrapped in ornate foil and paper wrappings and served at weddings.
A Brief History of Sri Lankan Love Cake
There are several theories about the origins of Sri Lankan Love Cake, and there are almost as many stories about its history as there are versions of the cake itself.
One popular theory connects Love Cake to the Portuguese occupation of Sri Lanka in the 1500s. Portuguese influences became part of Sri Lankan cuisine during this period, and one theory suggests that cakes such as Bolo di Amor, translated as “cake of love,” helped inspire the dessert we know today.
Another Portuguese cake, Bolo di Chila, was made using chila doce, a type of Portuguese squash, and was served with a light dusting of sugar.
According to this theory, elements of these cakes—including semolina and squash or preserves—eventually became part of Sri Lankan Love Cake.
The romantic name has also inspired stories that Love Cake was once associated with courtship and was baked as a way of expressing affection to a prospective suitor.
Whether every detail of that history can be confirmed or not, the romantic connection certainly makes this a particularly fitting cake to bake for someone you love.
And honestly, I don’t know about you, but I’d melt if someone baked me a cake!
I like to think that if food were a currency, Sri Lankan Love Cake would be the equivalent of a bar of gold. But I digress…
My Eggless Adaptation
I wanted to create a version of Sri Lankan Love Cake that could be enjoyed without eggs.
I also had a hard time finding puhul dosi—or even pumpkin preserve—at some of the grocery stores around me. So I experimented with different substitutions.
In a few earlier attempts, I used a combination of candied ginger and apricot preserves. The flavor was wonderfully aromatic, but the cake was far too crumbly.
After several attempts (and lots of delicious Love Cake to sample!), I landed on this version.
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The final cake uses applesauce and baking powder in place of eggs, while apricot jam stands in for the candied winter melon. I also use maple syrup instead of honey, and vegan butter instead of butter for an eggless, vegan version.
The resulting cake is a soft, dense, moist and wonderfully aromatic Cashew Semolina Cake inspired by traditional Sri Lankan Love Cake.
Ingredients for Sri Lankan Love Cake
Here’s what you’ll need to make this eggless Sri Lankan Love Cake:
Semolina
Semolina is one of the defining ingredients in traditional Love Cake. It gives this cake its characteristic slightly coarse texture and helps make it wonderfully dense.
Cashew Nuts
Cashews add richness, flavor and texture. Ground cashews are incorporated directly into the batter, giving every bite a delicious nutty quality.
Rose Water & other Extracts
A little rose water goes a long way. It gives the cake its distinctive floral aroma and is one of my favorite ingredients in this recipe. Vanilla extract and almond essence or extract also add to the flavor profile of this treat.
Spices
This cake gets its warm, aromatic flavor from a combination of cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.
Baking powder
Gives this cake its rise.
Citrus Zest
Lime and lemon zest brighten the rich, nutty cake and complement the spices and rose water beautifully.
Applesauce
Applesauce replaces the eggs in this version of Sri Lankan Love Cake while helping create a moist interior.
Apricot Jam
Traditional Sri Lankan Love Cake often includes candied winter melon, or puhul dosi. Since that can be difficult to find, I use apricot jam instead.
Maple Syrup or Honey
Maple syrup keeps this version plant-based when paired with vegan butter. If you’re not following a plant-based diet, you can use honey instead.
Sweetener
Granulated sugar adds sweetness and can be replaced with monkfruit sweetener.
Butter
I used vegan butter to keep this cake completely plant based. If you use salted butter, add a 1/4 teaspoon of salt. If your butter is unsalted, then add in a 1/2 tsp of salt to unify all the flavors in this cake.
Instructions
1. Prepare the pan
Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C).
Spray a loaf pan or 6×6 square baking pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar (image 1 in photo above)
Add the room-temperature vegan butter and sugar to a large bowl and beat with a handheld electric mixer for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the wet ingredients (image 2 & 3 in photo above)
Add the rose water and applesauce into the sugar and butter mixture and mix well.
Then add the apricot jam, maple syrup or honey, vanilla extract and almond extract. Mix until well combined.
4. Add the cashews (image 4)
Add the ground cashews to the spiced butter sugar mix and combine well.
5. Add the spices and citrus zest (image 5)
Add the cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, lime zest, and lemon zest.
Mix (using the electric mixer) until everything is evenly distributed throughout the batter.
6. Add the semolina and baking powder (image 6 & 7 in photo above)
Fold the semolina and baking powder gently into the mixture in the mixing bowl, using a spatula, until you have a thick, evenly combined batter.
7. Bake (image 8 in photo above)
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake at 300°F (150°C) for about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
I baked this cake in a gas oven. Because ovens vary, start checking the cake around the 1-hour mark. Insert a toothpick or skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
If the toothpick comes out with wet batter, return the cake to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes before checking again.
8. Cool and serve
Allow the cake to cool completely to room temperature before slicing.
You can enjoy ia slice of it without any frosting, or dust the top lightly with powdered sugar. This is a small-batch recipe, so you can enjoy a delicious and unique cake when you’re craving something special.
Tips for Making the Best Eggless Love Cake
Use room-temperature vegan butter. This makes it easier to cream the butter and sugar together.
Don’t skip the rose water. It’s one of the ingredients that gives Love Cake its distinctive aroma.
Use freshly ground or finely ground cashews. Cashews contribute both flavor and texture to the cake.
Let the cake cool completely. The texture becomes easier to slice once the cake has cooled.
Check the cake with a toothpick. Baking times can vary between ovens, so use the toothpick test rather than relying solely on the stated baking time.
Don’t expect a fluffy cake. Love Cake is traditionally dense and slightly coarse. That’s part of its charm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use honey instead of maple syrup?
Yes. If you don’t need the cake to be plant-based, you can use honey instead of maple syrup.
Can I make this cake vegan?
Yes. Use vegan butter and maple syrup rather than dairy butter and honey. The recipe already uses applesauce instead of eggs.
Does Love Cake need frosting?
No! This cake is flavorful enough to enjoy without frosting or icing. If you like, simply dust the cooled cake with a little powdered sugar before serving.
How do you store leftovers?
Leftovers of this cake can be stored in an airtight container and placed in the fridge. This cake will be at its best for about a week to ten days after making it.
If you are looking for a delicious and unique vegan or eggless cake, this aromatic Sri Lankan Love Cake is a must make. This recipe is a small batch one and yields one small cake that is delicious with a cup of coffee or tea for an everyday dessert or a special occasion.
If you make this eggless Sri Lankan Love Cake, I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I have! Please tag @SavorySpin on Instagram or Pinterest so I can see your creation.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup semolina
- 1/2 cup vegan butter (add 1/4 tsp salt if this butter is unsalted) at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp rose water
- 2/3 cup applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey honey can be used if you are not looking for a plant-based recipe
- 2 tbsp apricot jam at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/2 tsp lime zest zest of 1 whole lime
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest zest of 1 whole lemon
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F ( 150 C)
- Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray, then line it with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Cream the vegan butter and sugar for about 2 minutes using a handheld electric mixer.
- Add in the rose water and applesauce and mix well.
- Then add in the apricot jam, maple syrup/honey, vanilla, and almond extracts and mix well.
- Add in the ground cashews and mix well with the mixer.
- Add in the cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, lime and lemon zest,
- Also, add in the semolina and baking powder and, mix well using a spatula,
- Spoon into a loaf pan and bake at 300 degrees for an hour and 10 minutes.
- Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake to test if it is done. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready to set aside to cool. If it comes out with wet batter, then place it back in the oven for another 10 minutes as all ovens are different.
- When the cake is done, cool it to room temperature and serve it as is or serve it dusted with a bit of powdered sugar.
Notes
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Nutrition
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
If you are looking for cakes that are delicious without frosting check out this Easy Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe and Pistachio Cake Recipe.
This looks delightful! Neat recipe — thanks!
how much semolina?
3/4 cup semolina – just updated recipe card.
How much semolina?
3/4 cup semolina – just updated recipe card.
How much cashew??
Hi Kimi – I used 1/ cup of cashews.
This cake took a bit of effort prepping all the ingredients! But once all the ingredients were gathered this was easy. The resulting cake was scrumptious! We opted to forgo the powdered sugar and have been eating this for breakfast these past few days!
Just made this and wow! It is so tasty! One of the tastiest cakes I’ve had! Thank you for this recipe.
This looks interesting. I have tried this love cake but it looks absolutely gorgeous.
Interesting! This is the first I’ve heard of the Sri Lankan Love Cake, but I already know I’m all in! The semolina is a fun twist, and I can see how it would work well. The powdered sugar decoration on top is really fun! I’m glad you stuck with it to get this version of the cake, Shashi. I just hope Lil S helped you with all of the previous versions. And Laura often says that cake is just a vessel for frosting – that must be why you guys are friends! 🙂
Such a pretty cake and absolutely delicious. Lovely to read all about the history of it too. Many thanks!
I love all the wonderful spices in the cake. It looks simple yet very beautiful.
Angie
I have never heard of a love cake, but it looks so light and fluffy. I can’t wait to try it.
I love a good dessert with a back story, such a great history read. this cake sounds and looks absolutely amazing and I love that most of the ingredients are already on hand! Can’t wait to try it!
This is such a tasty sounding cake that must smell so good!