A sumptuous and even healthy Cucumber Cake with the aroma of cardamom and made with whole wheat and coconut sugar. A low-fat, vegan, soy-free recipe.
It's sweltering here in the northeast, and in most of the country. But nothing reminds you better than a cucumber (or a water melon) that summer is the best time of year to be a veggie lover.
I've been slicing them into pitchers of water, chopping them up into salads and raitas, and just cutting them into spears and eating them with a dash of salt and cayenne rubbed into their centers, the way they are sold by street vendors in Bombay.
I grow my own cucumbers most summers, but this year is not one of those -- seeds I planted simply didn't take off, for some reason. But the markets are overflowing with these delicious green veggies, and I was dying to make a cucumber cake.
In the India I grew up in, ovens were a rarity and cakes were a treat strictly bought from the bakery. The only people I knew who had an actual oven were my cousins, whose father, my uncle, insisted they get degrees in home science because he didn't think they were good for anything more than learning to cook and keep house so they could find decent husbands (they were -- one of them is a professor now).
Another kind of "oven" some adventurous cooks had was an aluminum contraption that looked like a tube pan with a lid. In the bottom was a compartment that held sand. The "oven" was placed on a stove and the flame heated the sand which in turn baked the cake.
My mom had one of those contraptions, and she would sometimes bake this cucumber cake, called Tausali, in it.
Tausali is a rather spare yet sumptuous cake from India's Konkan region-- my dad's native land. It contains the classic triumvirate of homemade Indian sweets: jaggery (an unrefined Indian sugar not unlike piloncillo), coconut, and cardamom. It is usually made with rice flour and semolina or sooji farina, sometimes ghee, and -- of course-- cucumber. There are no leaveners here, like baking soda or baking powder.
The ingredients are all mixed up and baked in that little stovetop oven. The resulting cake is dense but tender and incredibly flavorful.
My Lowfat Cucumber Cake is not Tausali-- I adapted it to make it more cake-like than Tausali by using flour instead of semolina, and I did add some baking soda and baking powder to help the cake rise. I used coconut sugar as a natural sweetener, and I used coconut milk instead of fresh coconut, just for a smoother texture. I also used coconut oil instead of ghee.
To stay true to the fresh-from-the-tube-pan look of a Tausali, but to make it prettier, I baked my Cucumber Cake in a bundt pan.
The cake is delicious. The coconut sugar gives it a deep richness, and the cardamom is just perfect with the cucumber.
This is also a very healthy cake. There is very little fat in the recipe, and it incorporates brown rice flour and whole-wheat flour -- and, of course, a veggie.
And yes, it all sounds too good but it's also true. Not too many things you can say that about.
A naturally sweetened and low-fat cucumber cake
Traditionally this cucumber cake is made with jaggery, which is an unrefined and rather good-for-you sugar. But since not everyone has access to jaggery here in the United States, I made my cake with coconut sugar, which is also unrefined and has a flavor that's close to jaggery.
You can always use regular brown sugar, if you can't find coconut sugar either, or white sugar with a tablespoonful of molasses.
And there's just ¼ cup of coconut oil in this cucumber cake, which makes it very, very low in fat compared to other cakes, and since coconut fat has some healthful properties of its own, the oil enhances the healthfulness.
A slice of the cake has only 165 calories, which is amazing. You may not want to stop at a slice, though.
 More vegan cake recipes
Recipe card
Cucumber Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¾ cup cashews (lightly toasted)
Wet ingredients:
- 2 cups coconut sugar (or very finely grated jaggery)
- 3 tablespoon flaxmeal (whisked together with 9 tablespoon water)
- ½ cup applesauce
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 4 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 cucumbers (approx. 2 ½ cups, grated. English cucumbers, with very tiny seeds, are the easiest to use here, but if you use another kind with large seeds, be sure to deseed first)
Instructions
- Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
- In a large bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until everything comes together. Pour the batter into a bundt pan and smooth the top.
- Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Unmold 10 minutes after removing from the oven. Cool thoroughly on a rack, then slice and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
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Kate U says
This recipe is quite worthy of your blog's name. One bite and I exclaimed "Holy cow, this is good!" having not even remembered the blog name. I had no idea what to expect since the batter didn't smell particularly amazing, but once it started cooking, the smell got me excited!
I had to make several substitutions due to needing a gluten free recipe, as well as things I keep on hand in the kitchen, AND I made them as 22 muffins (unfrosted cupcakes, I guess) since I don't have a bundt pan. Here are the substitutions I made:
Tigernut flour in place of the whole wheat pastry flour, Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Mix for the rice flour (it is rice flour based), Miss Jone's SMARTSUGAR coconut sugar blend, Bob's Red Mill Vegan Egg Replacer in place of the "flax eggs" (it gives much better structure than flax eggs, especially in gluten-free baking), light coconut milk (still canned, not the beverage). For the cardamom, I had pods, so I opened them into the coconut milk and heated it to extract the flavor like a tea, then strained the seeds out before using the milk, and I added a teaspoon of cinnamon bc I was quite sure the cardamom flavor I'd created wouldn't be strong enough.
They turned out truly fabulous and I will definitely make them again! Since we aren't big on sugar, though, I plan to test it with replacing 1/2 cup of the SMARTSUGAR coconut sugar blend with 1/4 of coconut flour so that it won't be quite as sweet. Since coconut flour is so absorbent, I'm confident just 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 cups sugar will work.
Vaishali says
🙂 Hi Kate, So happy you enjoyed the cucumber cake. One of my favorites too! And thanks for taking the time to share the substitutions you made--great ideas and info.
Judy Winder says
What a find! We were on cucumber overload in the garden this year, so I was desperate to find a cake recipe to accommodate all the extras. I love cardamom and finding this recipe was such a gift. The cucumber made it moist for days and the taste was heavenly. I drizzled it with a light frosting flavored with cardamom and ginger, which added just enough extra sweet without being too over the top. Thank you so much!
Judy Winder says
I had an explosion of cucumbers in the garden this year; but had no idea what to do with all of them since they are so perishable. I happened upon this recipe, which is simply dynamite. I didn’t have any coconut oil; so used regular vegetable oil. The result was a wonderfully moist cake with the delightfully subtle taste of cardamom throughout. I cheated the vegans a bit (apologies) by drizzling a light cream cheese frosting over the bunt cake, flavored with cardamom and ginger.. Yummy.
Stacey says
I hust found your site when I googled "green tomato" and a dal recipe and green tomato stew recipe showed up. Great, useful, and tasty recipes! Is there any way that you can add a keyword search feature to your website because there are so many recipes! I want to find specific ingredients, which would be so helpful with a search feature. Thanks!
Radhovan says
Hello Vaishali,
I joined your blog a few days ago and I already like your recipes. This cucumber cake looks and sounds fantastic and I look forward to making it. I love using "ghor" (jaggery) in cooking, and even eating a little piece by itself once in a while!
By the way, the additional family history and explanation about ovens, or lack thereof, was very special and really makes your blog special.
Regards,
Radhovan 🙂
Manisha Kanojia says
WOW first time saw a Cucumber Cake recipe instead of Whole wheat flour can I use Rajgira/Amaranth flour +Rava ,I have not baked much n never Cakes?so little nervous but want to try this one,its so right n light for Mumbai Weather...Thank you fir this Recipe??
Vaishali says
Hi Manisha, you can try it with amaranth flour, but I can't vouch that your cake will hold together in the absence of gluten. If you do, try baking it in a regular cake pan instead of a bundt, which might make unmolding easier.
Manisha Kanojia says
Thank you so whole wheat is needed n Rava in place of Rice flour I read other comments n your answers too...TY?
Anonymous says
hi Vaishali,
We dont get brown rice powder here. can i use white rice flour or any substitute to this
Vaishali says
White rice flour is fine!
Kate says
Hello Vaishali
I love your site, found while seeking inspiration for our next Vegan Baking Club, with the theme Asian Flavours. For the cucumber cake, please could you clarify what you mean by grated coconut. In the UK we bake with something called dessicated coconut which is finely grated, much less than half a grain of rice in size, quite a dry ingredient but probably soaks up moisture in the recipe. Should I be grating fresh coconut in which case, how fine. Would it matter if I omitted coconut altogether and if so what should I substitute for it. I have concerns about captive monkeys being used to pick the nuts and now try not to use it if possible. I am also going to make Gulab Jamin, can't wait.
Vaishali says
Hi Kate, Here in the U.S. I buy unsweetened coconut in the supermarket or at the Indian grocery store, but you can certainly grate your own. You can also just try using dessicated coconut-- there's a lot of moisture in the recipe because of the cucumbers so it probably wouldn't greatly affect the texture. I wouldn't omit it because it would change the flavor.
Kate says
Great, thank you I'll use dessicated coconut.
Do I need to peel the cucumber, I have made cakes with unpeeled courgettes before and they seemed fine. What do you recommend please.
Vaishali says
No need to peel! I never do. 🙂
Priscilla says
I made your cake tonight. Turned out great! I subbed some cinnamon and ginger for part of the cardamom, and I added a vegan cream cheese/coconut milk frosting. Love the subtle taste of the cucumber. Thanks for the unique recipe. I really needed to use up some cucumbers from the garden, so this helped a bit.
Vaishali says
So great to hear!
narf77 says
Another fantastic cake to add to my growing list of "Holy Cow!" gorgeousness. Cheers for this wonderful recipe. I am planning on growing a lot of cucumbers this year in our veggie garden and am growing them vertically this year as that is supposed to make them produce more fruit. I can't wait to give this unique and promising recipe a go. Cheers for sharing it 🙂
Vaishali Honawar says
Thanks, narf77. I usually let them climb up a trellis and they produce tons of fruit. I wish I had planted cucumbers this year.
Anonymous says
What about the liquid that come out while grating cucumber?am i supposed to leave that? Or should i add that too?
Vaishali says
Add the liquid.
Cassia says
I don't have brown rice flour. Can I add more all purpose?
Vaishali says
Cassia, yes, but the texture won't be the same.
Anonymous says
thanks for sharing...
Mints! says
I just tried this with cucumbers from backyard. Oh so tasty! All the flavors have just came together perfectly. I did not have rice flour so added 1 cup of fine rava. I did not have applesauce so added same amount of grated cucumber. I mixed grated cucumbers and jaggery together and set it aside so jaggery melted nicely in it 😉
Such a keeper recipe.
Vaishali says
Mints, so happy you tried it. Thanks for the feedback-- adding rava is perfect because there is rava in the original tausali.
chennaispice says
I've never come across a cake with cucumber in it. Perfect for the summer.
Spice up the Curry says
I would love to give it a try.. recipe sounds amazing
Poornima Nair says
What an awesome cake Vaishali! Love everything in it! Bookmarked to try.
cumincoriandercardamom says
We used to make cakes with putting sand in pressure cookers 🙂
glutenfreehappytummy.com says
how creative! gorgeous!!
Minnie(@thelady8home) says
That cake do look too delicious. Feel like taking a bite!
Priya says
Wat a gorgeous cake,never thought of making cakes with cucumber, beautifully done.
Jane says
Recipe looks great - I've been after trying more vegetable cakes recently. I think I'm going to try it with a lime flavoured icing!
Sowmya Karthy says
Would love to try this... what a nice way to eat healthier... Can i bake this in a 9 inch cake pan or a 8 inch square pan? i do not have a bundt pan?
sowmya
Vaishali says
Sowmya, sure, but you would need two pans. Divide the batter in half for each pan. You can also use a loaf pan and start checking to see if the cake is done after about 30-35 minutes.
Tina says
Gr8 idea dear..Cake looks soft and delicious..
Usha says
Ooh this cake looks so, so delicious, love the use of jaggery in this cake. This goes directly into my must try list 🙂
jan says
looks nice. I never had tausala. Will definatly make this. Can I use zucchini than cucumber, as I have big zucchini at home now.
Hope Lucy is doing great!
Vaishali says
Yes, you can definitely substitute with zucchini. You might want to follow my low-fat zucchini bread recipe-- bake as a bundt cake instead of using loaf pans, and adjust baking temperature and time per the cucumber cake recipe. https://holycowvegan.net/vegan-zucchini-bread/
Manasi says
Oh my! cucumber in a cake! Who would have thunk!
Looks gorgeous.
Jaggery and cardamom, wah, kya jodi hai!
Chitra Vivek says
Love love and love it.Question: Can I substitute Jaggery with Sugar and what will be the sub for Apple sauce. I have all other ingredients at home:)
Vaishali says
Chitra, leave out the apple sauce and substitute with more cucumber.
Richa says
wow.. the cake looks amazing! we have a tiny balcony and have been getting a good supply of spinach and herbs! i can imagine the abundant cucumbers in your larger garden:)
doesnt the cucumber make the cake too soggy because of the extra moisture it leaks during baking?
Vaishali says
No, the moisture actually helps keep the cake moist. You'd normally add some liquid to a cake anyway.