How to Make Sponge Cake Without Oven

Make this easy sponge cake using wheat flour without eggs and without an oven. A healthy and fluffy cake with easily available ingredients. So, if you are looking for an Atta Cake recipe then here it is.

This recipe is a complete tutorial with step-by-step instructions as to how a cake can be baked on the gas stove. Following this method, you can bake this vanilla cake or chocolate cake, or any other cake too.

   Recipe For Beginners

This detailed Pressure cooker cake recipe is for all those who are willing to enter the world of baking but have a hitch in baking a cake. With very few ingredients, that too easily available in every kitchen, you can easily and fearlessly try out this recipe and win over your fears. This post will remove all your doubts and apprehensions.

Today, when I baked this cake then my son, who doesn’t like anything except chocolate cake, was all gaga for it. A compliment coming from someone who doesn’t like anything except chocolate means a lot.

You can have this Atta cake either plain or make Ice cream Sundaes or puddings or Lamingtons or swiss rolls or use it as a base cake for doing icing and turn it into fresh fruit cake and many other things.

You try out this recipe and I assure you will you neither miss eggs nor All-Purpose Flour.

Some other simple eggless cake recipes that you would love to try are::

• Chocolate Walnut Brownie
• Teatime/Fruit Cake  
• Banana Walnut Chocolate Muffins

• If new to baking cakes, then please go through basic tips for baking a good cake. It will really help you.

Tips For Perfect Outcome

• Always ensure that your cake pan fits in your cooker/wok. For this, keep the stand, empty cake pan, and close the lid. If it fits well then very good otherwise go for a bigger cooker or smaller cake pan. This is very important otherwise after putting the batter in the cake pan when you try to place it in the pressure cooker and it doesn’t fit, then? Transfer to a smaller pan and then proceed. But this will affect the texture and sponginess of the cake. So to avoid all the mess, take it as homework and always do it beforehand.
• Remove the gasket (the rubber ring in the lid) of the cooker.  
• Lay salt or sand in the cooker. 
• Keep a stand or a steel bowl (katori) on the salt before placing the baking pan in the cooker. 
• Just like preheating an oven, you need to preheat your cooker as well. For this, lay a bed of salt then keep the stand and close the lid of the cooker. Preheat it like this for 10 to 15 minutes on medium flame.
• After placing the cake pan in the cooker, close the lid and bake on a low flame. It will take around 40 to 50 minutes. Do not remove the lid and try to check your cake in the first 30 minutes of baking.
• If possible, use an old cooker for baking purposes. If you don’t have then bake in your day-to-day cooker only but restrict its usage to once or twice a month. This is because excessive heat weakens the metal. It is better to use an aluminum cooker as aluminum is a good conductor of heat. However, I used my steel cooker only as I rarely bake on a stovetop.
• Last but not the least, when you bake on the stovetop then there is only one temperature and that too without any degree Celsius or Fahrenheit. So, do not confuse yourself. The recipe may mention any temperature but you bake it on sim gas only. However, if using an Otg or microwave convection then, of course, follow the temperature mentioned.

 

  Step By Step Photos

• Prepare a 6” cake pan. Grease it with oil and dust with flour.

 

• Remove the gasket (rubber ring)  from your pressure cooker.
• To create an oven-like environment, we use the whistle so that even a little bit of steam does not escape but this whistle doesn’t blow.  So basically, it remains just like a pan with a lid.  Instead of a pressure cooker, you can use a wok with a lid or a plate that covers the wok fully or Dhokla maker too.

 

 

•  Lay sand/salt, keep the stand and preheat the pressure cooker on a medium flame for 15 minutes.

 

• Sift together wheat flour, cornflour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt at least 3 times.
• Take oil, curd, vanilla essence, and sugar in a big bowl. Beat for a minute or so till sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes creamy.

• Add dry mix to the wet mix in 2 or 3 installments.

 

• Adjust consistency using milk. It should be of dropping consistency.

 

 

• Lastly, add vinegar, mix lightly.

 

• Pour the batter into the baking pan and tap 2-3 times.

 

• Keep it in the preheated pressure cooker and bake for 30-35 minutes.

 

• Insert a toothpick in the centre of the cake to check for the doneness of the cake.

 

 

• After 2 or 3 minutes, invert the cake onto a wire rack.

 

 

• Let it cool down.

 

• Have it plain or use it as a base cake for icing purposes.
• Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to a month.

 

 

FAQs 

Q) What utensils can be used in the cooker for Baking?

When making a cake in a pressure cooker then you can use any utensil of your choice be it steel or aluminum or glass or silicone or paper. In my Chocolate muffins without an oven, I have used different types of molds to make muffins.

Q) Can we make cake in a steel bowl in the cooker?

Yes! As mentioned above too, you can make cake in a steel bowl also. Just ensure that it fits in the cooker. 

Q) Can I bake in a pressure cooker?

 Agreed that cake is baked in an oven. But that doesn’t mean that it cannot be baked without it. Remember those traditional Gas Tandoors? Those were perfect for baking cake and other goodies like cookies, bread, etc. Those Tandoors seem to have vanished today. And what if we still create that oven-like environment on the gas stove using day-to-day kitchen appliances? 

Q) Why do we lay salt in the cooker while baking?

• Salt maintains the temperature inside the pan and allows for an even distribution of heat.
• Secondly, without salt/sand, there are chances of spoiling the utensil so it is better to lay salt. You can use the same salt multiple times. 

Q) Why do we place a steel bowl (Katori) on the salt before placing the baking pan in the cooker

This is done to provide insulation between the direct flame and the baking pan. If put directly in the cooker without a stand then the bottom of the cake will get baked quickly leaving the upper portion undone. So, always keep a stand first. In case you don’t have a stand then keep your cooker on a griddle.

Q) Can I use the same salt again for baking?

A) Yes, keep on using the same salt again and again for baking only. You can use it an unlimited number of times. But please do not use this salt in cooking.

Q) In the cooker, the cake is baked in how much time?

As compared to the Microwave cake which gets ready in just 5 minutes, the cooker cake takes almost an hour. However, the baking time also depends on the following factors:

• Size of the cake
• Quantity of cake batter
• The thickness of the wok used

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This post was originally published in April 2018 and republished in July 2020 with new pictures and updated text.