Ragi cake recipe – Ragi or finger millet is a well-known grain widely popular in South India. Ragi flour is often used to make porridge, roti, mudde etc. This ragi cake is one of the very old posts on the blog. I used to make this often when my younger kid was a toddler. This recipe yields ragi cake that tastes delicious, very light, fluffy and soft without leaving an after taste of baking soda or baking powder.
This ragi cake is made of no refined ingredients and is quite healthy if eaten in moderation. It can be served to toddlers for an evening snack. I recently happened to make this cake again after a very long time so thought of updating the post with a video.
If making for toddlers, it is good to use melted butter than oil. But the recipe works with both. You can also make this with powdered jaggery, brown sugar, coconut sugar or palm jaggery. The cake tastes very delicious even with out frosting and is very light and delicate due to the addition of curd or yogurt.
For more Cake Recipes, you can check
Eggless chocolate cake
Vanilla cake
Eggless fruit cake
Eggless chocolate banana cake
Egglesss banana bread
Preparation
1. Grease a 7 or 8 inch cake pan and then line with a parchment paper.
2. Preheat the oven at 170 c for at least 15 mins. If you bake in a fan forced oven, preheat and bake at 160 C.
3. Fluff up the ragi flour in the jar with a fork. Then spoon it to the measuring cup and level it with a spatula. Add it to the sieve. You can also use sprouted ragi flour like I did.
4. Fluff up the wheat flour in the jar and spoon to the measuring cup. Level it with a spatula. Add that as well to the sieve. Add baking powder.
5. Add baking soda.
6. Next add salt, if your jaggery has a slight salt taste then skip adding salt here.
7. Add cocoa powder. You can also reduce the cocoa to 1 tbsp and reduce 20 ml milk in the recipe. Sieve all these well thrice.
8. Then add powdered jaggery / sugar/ palm jaggery or coconut sugar. If you prefer to filter the jaggery, then add it to the milk. Dissolve completely and filter it to the flour. That’s how I do most of the times.
How to make ragi cake without eggs
9. Pour milk. You can use any milk.
10. Add vinegar & vanilla extract.
11. Pour melted butter. You can also use oil, I had used virgin coconut oil before it works well without the flavor of oil in the cake.
12. Whisk the curd and pour it.
13. Begin to mix gently.
14. There should be no lumps. Do not over mix.
15. Transfer this to the greased cake pan. Knock a few times to the counter.
Baking chocolate ragi cake
16. Bake at 170 C for 25 to 30 mins. Mine was done at 30 mins. Do check at 25 mins once. This cake comes out with some cracks on top and doesn’t affect the taste or texture. A skewer inserted comes out clean when the cake is done.
17. Cool it for 15 mins and then invert the cake pan over a wire cake.
18. Ragi cake turns out very soft, spongy and light. Cool this completely. It tastes very good and doesn’t need any frosting.
Frosting ragi cake
19. Here is the method to make chocolate sauce which can be made while the cake bakes. Pour milk, cocoa and sugar to a pan. Do adjust the amount of sugar as needed.
20. Whisk all of these well and begin to boil. You can dd vanilla towards the end but i added it half way.
21. Stir often and boil until the sauce thickens.
22. Cool the sauce completely.
23. Pour the cooled sauce over the cooled cake. Gently spread it with a spatula.
You can add some grated white chocolate or chopped cashews or sprinkles.
Slice and serve ragi cake. You can store this in the fridge for 6 to 7 days. Just heat up in microwave for 30 to 40 seconds before serving.
Related Recipes
Ragi cake
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- ¾ cup ragi flour fine, or sprouted ragi flour
- ¾ cup wheat flour atta or plain flour
- 2 tbsps cocoa powder check notes
- 1 cup sugar or jaggery or palm sugar (tightly packed)
- ⅓ cup curd yogurt, dahi (80 ml) whisked
- ⅔ cup butter unsalted, melted or oil
- ¾ cup milk or 180 ml, or 100 ml water + 80 ml milk
- ½ tbsp vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt optional
Frosting(optional)
- 1 cup full fat milk or 3 tbsps milk powder dissolved in 3/4 to 1 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- ¼ cup sugar + 2 tbsps more if needed
Instructions
Preparation for ragi cake
- Grease a 7 or 8 inch pan and line with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 170 C for at least 15 mins. If using a fan forced oven, preheat at 160 C.
- Fluff up the flour in the jar with a fork. Spoon it to a measuring cup. Level the flour. Do the same while you measure the cocoa. Sieve together ragi flour, wheat flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa. Sieve thrice.
- To the same bowl, add sugar or jaggery.
- Pour milk, vinegar, vanilla, curd, and butter to the bowl. Whisk the curd before adding it.
- Mix everything well just until combined. Do not over mix.
- Pour the mixture to the greased tray.
- Knock the pan to the kitchen counter a few times.
Baking ragi cake
- Bake for 25 to 30 mins. Mine was done at 30 mins. When the cake is done a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Cool the cake for about 15 mins before removing the cake to the wire rack. This cake is very delicate so handle it gently.
- Cool the ragi cake completely before slicing.
Chocolate frosting (optional)
- Pour milk to a pot or pan.
- Add cocoa and sugar. Mix well and boil stirring often.
- Within few minutes the mixture turns thick. Add vanilla extract and turn off the heat.
- Cool this completely. The chocolate sauce thickens after cooling.
- Place the cake on a deep serving plate. Pour the chocolate sauce over the cake.
- Gently spread with a spatula. Sprinkle some white chocolate or sprinkles.
- Slice ragi cake and serve.
Notes
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
Video of Ragi cake recipe
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Hi .. can I use ghee instead of butter??
Hi Swasthi,
I am about to make this cake and I can’t figure out the cup measures for the flours and butter. Can you tell me what is the quantity in grams for the Ragi, wheat flour and butter please?
Thanks
Can we use Vanilla essence instead of vanilla extract ? Same measurement ?
Yes you can use
Hi Swathi, thank you so much for recipe this was my first try on cake and it turn out really good
Hi Bhavika
Glad to know! Thank you!
Excellent. Light, fluffy, delicious. Doesnt need frosting. I have been precribed low gluten diet and so tried this..easy to digest?. I used 3 tbs of cocoa, a bit less (brown) sugar and oil, and the milk & water option. Took 35 mins. Thank you very much.
Hello Anjali
So glad to know it turned out good. Thanks for sharing how it went for you.
🙂
Gosh, this was delicious and easy.. I’ve been on a low gluten diet due to health issues, which is pretty depressing. Decided to try this out. Used the milk+water option, a bit less oil, 3 tbs cocoa pwd? . Brown sugar.Took abt 35 min. Light, fluffy, delicate and absolutely outstanding. Thank you so, so much.
Welcome Anjali
Easy and Simple… too good
Tysm ?
Welcome Snehal
Can we add some over ripped bananas to it and instead of powdered jaggery can we melt those Jaggery balls n add to the cake?
Hi Surabhi
I haven’t tried this with banana.
Hi Swasthi:
I tried out your ragi cake recipe and it turned out just fantastic. I used the recipe and baked it in a cooker and the cake was an instant hit with the kids. Thank you for this superb recipe.
Hi Deepa
You are welcome! Glad to know your kids liked it.
Thanks for leaving a comment
🙂
Looks really tempting. Wanted to know is there any substitute for vinegar?
Thank you!
Yes you can use half tbsp lime juice or 3/4 tbsp lemon juice
Thank you for the recipe. I made a 2 tier cake for a birthday and nobody could believe it was made of ragi and wheat. Since I refrigerated the cakes before adding the frosting, the cake was pretty solid and easy to handle.
The cake does settle pretty heavy in the stomach.. I guess it is expected since ragi is the main ingredient. Do you think frying the ragi flour prior to baking will ease this? I’ve not seen many cake recipes with yogurt and vinegar. What is the reason for adding these?
Hi Sindhu,
Glad to know!
Yes it is on the heavier side. Most times I use sprouted ragi flour for this recipe. That makes it lighter on the tummy.
You may try roasting it lightly. This cake needs both otherwise the cake will be slightly dense.
Hello Mam,
Thank you so much for the recipe .The cake was a treat to Us as it had a healthy option rather than any normal cake.
It was absolutely delicious and soft but It was a bit oily. I had added 2/3rd cup Oil was that the reason for the cake to become oily
Thanks again?✌️
Thanks a lot for this recipe. Made it 2 times without frosting and it was super yummy.
It stayed fresh for 1 and a half day. Is this expected? What should I do to make it last longer?
Hi Sindhoo
Glad to know. Cool the cake and refrigerate. It stays good for a week.
Hey Swasthi,
I have been meaning to try this recipe for a long time now. Thanks to quarantine, finally tried this yesterday and the cake turned out just fabulous. It was a bit sweet for my taste, will add little less sugar and more cocoa next time. Addition of ragi flour puts quite a unique twist on the chocolate cake and the texture is unbelievably moist and crumbly. This recipe is definitely a keeper, thank you !
Welcome Radhika!
That’s great to hear! Thank you so much for leaving a comment
🙂
Hi mam,
I tried this recipe twice. First time it was tasty but very crumbly. Second time it was leaving bitter taste in mouth after eating n was crumbly this time also. Can u help me with what mistake i am making. Y it get crumbly and y it taste bitter.
Hi Kunal,
1. It can be crumbly if more flour is used. Fluff up the flour in the jar with a fork before measuring. Then spoon the flour to the cup & level it. Also under mixing the batter can also cause that.
2. Bitter taste can be due to baking soda or baking powder. Try with a good brand. Some brands don’t work well. If you cannot find any other brand then, you can try adding half to 3/4 tbsp of good quality vinegar. If using a aluminum pan, line it with a parchment paper. Hope these help.
Thank you for all your healthy recipes, Swasthi. As a Westerner, I love Indian food in general. Your recipe appealed a great deal to me, but because of both dietary needs and ingredient availability, I had to take the liberty of replacing some ingredients. I think it ended up being the best cake I ever made! I used regular millet flour, replaced the whole wheat flour for pecan flour, cocoa powder for carob powder, and any non-vegan ingredient for a vegan one. I will definitely subscribe to your site as I see many reciped I’d like to try!
Welcome Martin
Glad to know the cake turned out good. Loving all the substitutions you made.. Thank you!
🙂
Tried this recipe today… Turned out beautiful! Soft and moist and yes very delicate… My round cake broke into half while taking it out of the pan…
Thanks for sharing this recipe… My first time baking an eggless cake and also first time using ragi… Results were great!
Hello Nima
Glad to know it turned out good. Yes the cake is very delicate & has to be handled carefully. Thank you
Can I skip cocoa powder
Hi Viji,
I haven’t tried. Replacing cocoa with 1 tbsp corn starch should work. If you don’t have corn starch may be wheat flour
Loved the cake. Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe. And healthy too!!
Welcome! Glad to know!
Loved it! Best part is None of the family members knew it’s made out of healthy stuff ?. Thank you for the delicious and healthy version.
Hi Tn,
Haha! So glad! Same here, my family too most of the times can’t make out.
Thank you!
Hi… I tried this recipe twice… First time, the top layer was cracked as you said… But with the frosting, everyone liked it…
Second time, the cake crumbled when I tried to flip it after cooling… Wondering what went wrong… But the taste was awesome…
Hi Cynthiya,
Glad to know you all liked it. You just need to be careful while you remove and cool as well. Ragi flour makes it very delicate. Thank you
Hi Swasthi tried this cake and got vanished in no time… Thanks for the super healthy and tasty cake. I do have a query regarding the oven temp. U have mentioned to reduce the temp to 160 if using a fan forced oven so I did exactly and the output was fantastic. Does this hold good for all cake recipes? Should the temp be reduced by 10 deg for fan forced ovens?
Hi Abinaya
You are welcome! so glad to know. I remember all eggless cakes work well at 160 C in fan forced ovens. Thank you