Tutti Frutti Cake

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Tutti frutti cake is a popular variety of Indian cake made with flour, tutti frutti (candied papaya), sugar and flavorings. This cake can be made both with eggs and without eggs. I share an eggless tutti frutti cake recipe that has a soft, light and moist crumb. This Eggless Cake Recipe is also easy and even newbies in baking can make this cake easily.

eggless tutti frutti cake served on a white plate.

About Tutti Frutti Cake

This is a delightful cake with tutti frutti being one of the star ingredient. Of course there is the cake but without tutti frutti it will be a simple vanilla cake. The tutti frutti brings in some chewy bites and sweet pops of flavor in the cake.

To make this tutti frutti cake, I have adapted my recipe of Vanilla Cake . I have been making this tutti frutti cake for many years now. In this recipe, I have used fresh homemade curd (yogurt) as an egg replacement.

I also add some acidity to the batter with apple cider vinegar (can swap with lemon juice or white vinegar) – which when combined with baking soda, helps the batter to aerate and makes for a soft fluffier cake.

Earlier when making the cake, I used to add ½ cup oil or melted butter in the recipe, but later I started reducing the amount of oil. I felt that with even with ¼ cup oil or melted butter the cake gets a lovely light crumb and is moist.

You can use both melted butter or oil in the recipe. I have made the cake with both oil and butter on various occasions. Both give good results in the cake. If using oil, then use a neutral flavored and neutral tasting oil like sunflower oil.

What is Tutti Frutti

Tutti frutti are basically candied fruits made with pineapple, cherries, currants, watermelon rind, apricots, various berries etc. In India what we call tutti frutti are candied colorful bits of papaya. They are made from green unripe papaya. Making homemade tutti frutti is an extensive and time consuming process.

While you can make them at home, but if you live in India you can also buy them easily from grocery stores and online. If you live in US, then you can find them in Indian grocery stores and online as well.

Tutti frutti is one ingredient that I use, which has artificial colors. I don’t have the time and energy to make these candied raw papaya pieces at home. So I buy from outside when I have to add them in recipes. A few recipes where you can add them are these:

Step-by-Step Guide

How to make Tutti Frutti Cake

Sift Dry Ingredients

1: Take a sieve. Keep a mixing bowl below the sieve. In the sieve add 1.5 cups all purpose flour – about 187 to 190 grams all purpose flour.

all purpose flour in a sieve

2. Then add 1 pinch salt, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder and 1 teaspoon baking powder.

If you do not have cinnamon powder, then you can skip it. Alternatively you can add ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder.

flavorings added to flour

3. Sift all the dry ingredients.

Sift all the dry ingredients

4. Now add ½ cup tutti frutti.

tutti frutti added to flour

5. With a spoon or spatula, just mix the tutti frutti with the sifted flour so that they get coated with the flour. Keep aside.

mixing  tutti frutti with flour

6. Grease a loaf pan measuring 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches with butter and oil and set aside. You can even line the pan with butter paper or parchment paper. Also preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius or 356 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

A round cake pan having 7 to 8 inches diameter also works well.

greasing loaf pan

Mix Sugar with Liquids

7. In a bowl take ¾ cup sugar (160 grams sugar).

sugar in a pan

8. Add ½ cup water.

adding water to sugar

9. Begin to mix the sugar with water with a whisk or spoon.

mixing sugar in water

10. The entire sugar should dissolve before starting with the next step.

sugar dissolved water

11. After all of the sugar has dissolved, add ¼ cup melted butter or oil. You can melt butter in a small pan or bowl and keep it ready.

Use unsalted butter. But if you have salted butter then skip adding the salt when sifting the flour.

add butter to sugar dissolved water

12. With a whisk stir briskly for 2 to 3 minutes so that the melted butter mixes with water evenly.

mixing butter with water

13. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or scrape half of a vanilla bean and add the tiny seeds in the solution. Here I have used vanilla bean. Mix again well. Keep this sugar solution aside.

vanilla extract added

Make Curd (Yogurt) Mixture

14. In another bowl take 3 tablespoons fresh curd or yogurt. Ensure that the curd is not sour.

curd in a bowl


15. Add 1 tablespoon water.

water added to curd

16. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar. You can use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. I have used apple cider vinegar. You can also use 1 tablespoon lemon juice instead of vinegar.

vinegar added

17. Stir and mix very well with a spoon or small wired whisk.

whisking curd

18. Now add ½ teaspoon baking soda.

baking soda added to whisked curd

19. Stir and mix again very well.

mixing baking soda in curd

20. You will see the solution frothing and bubbling.

curd solution frothing and bubbling

Make Tutti Frutti Cake Batter

21. Quickly add the prepared sugar solution to the dry sifted flour mixture.

sugar solution added to flour

22. Immediately, add the bubbling curd solution also to the flour mixture in the bowl.

curd mixture added to flour

23. Be quick and begin to mix gently to a smooth batter with a wired whisk. Mix with light pressure from your hands on the whisk.

mixing the flour with curd and sugar solution

24. Do not overdo the mixing. You can even fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Tiny lumps are fine in the batter.

cake batter

25. Pour the batter in the greased or lined cake pan.

batter added to cake pan

26. Gently tap the cake pan on the kitchen table top once or twice.

batter in cake pan

Bake Tutti Frutti Cake

27. Place the cake pan in the oven.

cake pan with batter placed in oven

28. Bake the cake at 180 degrees Celsius or 356 degrees Fahrenheit in a preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or more or less if required.

Baking time will vary depending on the temperature conditions in the oven and the size of the oven. Remember not to open the oven door until the cake is 3/4 baked. Opening the door many times will cause your cake to sink in the center.

baked tutti frutti cake

29. Check with a bamboo skewer or fork and it should come out clean. If the cake is baked well then the bamboo skewer will have a few crumbs on it and no sticky cake batter.

If the cake is under baked then keep back in the oven and bake for some more minutes.

checking doneness of tutti frutti cake

30. Place the pan on a rack to cool down.

tutti frutti cake placed on a rack

31. When the cake has completely cooled at room temperature, then using a butter knife loosen the edges of the cake. Invert the pan on a chopping board. Gently tap the bottom of the cake pan and remove the tutti frutti cake.

tutti frutti cake on a wooden board


32. Slice the cake.

slicing tutti frutti cake

32. Serve tutti frutti cake slices as it is or with some milk or tea or coffee. Remaining cake slices or loaf can be refrigerated in an airtight container and lightly warmed before serving.

eggless tutti frutti cake placed on a white plate


If you are looking for more Eggless cakes then do check:

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tutti frutti cake slices on a white oval platter

Tutti Frutti Cake

Tutti frutti cake is a popular variety of Indian cake made with flour, tutti frutti (candied papaya), sugar and flavorings. This recipe is an eggless tutti frutti cake having a soft and light crumb.
4.72 from 52 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Cuisine Indian, World
Course Desserts
Diet Vegetarian
Difficulty Level Easy
Servings 14 tutti frutti cake slices from 1 loaf
Units

Ingredients

For dry mixture

  • 1.5 cups all purpose flour – about 187 to 190 grams
  • 1 pinch salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder (ground cinnamon) – optional
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ cup tutti frutti – approximate 80 grams

For sugar solution

  • ½ cup water
  • ¾ cup raw sugar or regular sugar – 160 grams, or add as required * check point 3 in notes
  • ¼ cup melted butter or neutral flavored oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder or half of a vanilla bean, scraped

For curd mixture

  • 3 tablespoons Curd (yogurt), dairy or vegan
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

Instructions
 

Sifting dry ingredients

  • Take a sieve. Keep a mixing bowl below the sieve. In the sieve add the all-purpose flour, salt, cinnamon powder and baking powder. 
  • Sift all the dry ingredients.
  • Now add the tutti frutti.
  • Simply mix the tutti frutti with the flour so that they get coated with the flour.
  • Grease a loaf pan with butter and oil and keep aside. You can even line the pan with butter paper or parchment paper. Also preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius/356 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

Making sugar solution

  • In a bowl take sugar and water.
  • Mix the sugar with water till all the sugar granules are dissolved. 
  • After all of the sugar has dissolved, add melted butter or oil. You can melt butter in a small pan and keep it ready. With a whisk mix briskly for 2 to 3 minutes till the oil has mixed evenly with the water.
  • Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or scrape half of a vanilla bean and add the tiny seeds in the solution. Mix again well. Keep this sugar solution aside.

Making curd mixture

  • In another bowl take fresh curd or yogurt, water and vinegar. 
  • You can use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. I have used apple cider vinegar. You can also use lemon juice instead of vinegar. Mix very well.
  • Now add baking soda. Stir to combine so that the baking soda is mixed evenly.
  • You will see the mixture frothing and bubbling.

Making tutti frutti cake batter

  • Quickly add the sugar solution to the sifted dry ingredients.
  • Then immediately add the bubbling curd solution. 
  • Mix gently to a smooth batter with light pressure from the hands on the whisk. Do not overdo the mixing. You can even fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Tiny lumps are fine in the batter. 
  • Pour the tutti frutti cake batter in the greased or lined cake pan.
  • Gently tap the cake pan on the kitchen table top once or twice.

Baking tutti frutti cake

  • Place the cake pan in the preheated oven.
  • Bake the cake at 180 degrees Celsius/356 degrees Fahrenheit in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or more or less as required. Baking time will vary depending on the temperature conditions in the oven and the size of the oven.
  • Check with a skewer or fork and it should come out clean.
  • Place the pan on a wired rack to cool.
  • When the tutti frutti cake has completely cooled at room temperature, then using a butter knife loosen the edges of the cake. Invert the pan on a chopping board. Gently tap the bottom of the cake pan and remove the cake.
  • Slice the cake.
  • Serve the eggless tutti frutti cake as is or with some milk or tea or coffee. Remaining cake can be refrigerated and lightly warmed before serving.

Notes

The approximate nutrition data is for one slice of the Tutti Frutti Cake.

Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)

Nutrition Facts
Tutti Frutti Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 148 Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Fat 3g5%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Cholesterol 9mg3%
Sodium 78mg3%
Potassium 49mg1%
Carbohydrates 27g9%
Sugar 15g17%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 110IU2%
Vitamin C 0.2mg0%
Calcium 32mg3%
Iron 0.8mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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This Tutti Frutti Cake post from the archives (December 2013) has been republished and updated on 23 September 2021.

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Welcome to Dassana's Veg Recipes. I share vegetarian recipes from India & around the World. Having been cooking for decades and with a professional background in cooking & baking, I help you to make your cooking journey easier with my tried and tested recipes showcased with step by step photos & plenty of tips & suggestions.

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274 Comments

  1. Hi Dassana amit. I just want to know why your app is not working. I like your recipes. And i got respect at my sasural because of your delicious recipes. But app is always easy and handy. I miss my veg recipes of india App. Please let me know how can i get back this app?5 stars

    1. Thanks Priya for your positive feedback. We could not manage the app well. So we have deleted it. You can check all the recipes on this website.

  2. Hi Amit, I am new Baker. Faced a couple of problems. First the sugar didn’t dissolve fully in the oil. Second one is cake didn’t cook in the middle part. Rest of the part was fully cooked and tasty but not spongy. Plz advise.4 stars

    1. garima the sugar dissolves when you add in the cake batter and fold. sponginess in this cake comes from the reaction of baking powder and vinegar. so if the baking powder is not fresh or active, the cake won’t become spongy. looks like here the baking powder is at fault and hence the cake looks undone. actually the cake is baked but since its not spongy or porous in that part, it looks like its not baked. for baking always use fresh ingredients. to check the freshness of baking powder or baking soda, dissolve 2 to 3 pinches of it in water+vinegar solution. it should fizz and bubble. if not then it is not active or fresh. hope this helps.

  3. Hi dassana,
    I tried this cake today but it turned out all dense and doughy. Here’s what I did:
    1. I used shakkar in place of sugar and melted homemade butter in place of oil.
    2. I got doubtful whether shakkar will mix well in the butter. So I mixed the shakkar in the sieved flour directly. And added melted butter later while adding frothing yogurt mix as mentioned.
    3. It felt a bit tough while folding, so I had to add around 2 cups of water to make it easier. While folding, it started smelling like atta dough.
    4. I used a stainless steel pan.
    5. While baking, it puffed up nicely within 30 min but there were cracks in its topmost surface. Even after 45 minutes the knife didn’t come out clean so I left it for more time. It took 1 hour 15 min for the knife to come out clean

    The base of the cake has uneven heating signs. Also, the shakkar was quite lumpy, can that make folding difficult? I will switch back to sugar and aluminum pan if that’ll help.
    Actually in couple of my previous baking experiences, whenever my pan size ran short for the batter I used steel vatis to share it. And those little cakes turned out perfect. That’s why I tried with a steel pan today.

    1. ruchi, shakkar can make the folding difficult. also i feel the batter got mixed too much. eggless whole wheat cake batters when mixed more, do become thick and if one continues to mix, they become doughy and the wheat flour strands can be seen similar to atta strands. even if one ingredient like jaggery or sugar or fruit pulp etc is not mixed well in the batter, then in an effort to mix well, the whole batter becomes doughy and stringy. a cake made with such a batter will have denseness. it will be like baked atta. there won’t be any softness and porousness in the cake texture. i have myself had such disasters with whole wheat baking previously. also the cake is baked, but there is moistness atta like quality in the cake, that one feels the cake is not baked. once even i had kept such a cake for more than an hours, thinking its not baked.

      using steel is not an issue. if its a good quality steel pan, then cakes can be baked in it. hope my explanation helps.

      1. Yes that’s exactly how the cake is like. With moistness and uncooked feel. I think I also mixed too much then.
        I had a doubt in one step of the procedure- The recipe mentions mixing 3/4 cup sugar in 1/2 cup oil. I am a bit confused how to do this. I thought this mixture would become a thick syrup or a blob? Can it be done with melted butter also?

        1. ruchi, thanks for letting me know. about the mixing of oil with sugar it is not thick syrup like. you can mix sugar with melted butter also. but use a wired whisk will mixing with butter.

    1. 180 degrees celsius temperature can be used. for the time it varies with the oven model, make, size and type. so i cannot give an exact time. just check the cake after 20 to 25 minutes and if not done, then continue to bake.

  4. I tried this recipe and did as mentioned above but the centre and base of the cake remained uncooked. Please tell me what to do to avoid this problem.4 stars

    1. if you are using an OTG, then use either the bake option (bottom heating rod is on) or the toast option (top and bottom heating rod is on) while baking. keep the pan in the center rack of the oven. use the right size of pan. base and center is not getting cooked as there is no heat coming from the bottom of the pan. so i guess you using a microwave oven in convection mode. if using the convection mode of microwave oven, then use a metal pan and not a silicon or glass pan. if you use these pans, then the base will not get browned or remain uncooked from the center.