Kozhukattai Cupcakes | Coconut & Jaggery Filled Cupcakes

September 9, 2021 (Last Updated: November 18, 2021)

Meet these Kozhukattai Cupcakes. They are eggless, have the most tender and delicate crumb flavoured with cardamom and filled with a coconut and jaggery filling ( thenga poornam)!

Kozhukattais are MY most favourite thing to eat ever. I am very partial to the Thenga Poornam Kozhukattais and not the newer versions with chocolate, avocados and chia seeds ( you know it may happen!).

That said, these Kozhukattai Cupcakes WORK so well. The cupcake itself is delicious with a mild cardamom flavour and the filling of coconut and jaggery will remind you of a kozhukattai. It’s delicate, flavorful and so easy to make. You can get it done in 45 minutes, including cooling time!

This is an excellent eggless cupcake recipe on its own – skip the filling and add vanilla or berries or chocolate chips to make simple cupcakes.

Making the Thenga Poornam ( Coconut Jaggery Filling)

This is the simplest thing to make. In a pan, add freshly grated coconut, jaggery and cardamom along with a little water and cook in low heat. Mix well until it combines to a smooth mass. This will take about 3-4 minutes. For this recipe, I made it in a microwave because we need very little for these cupcakes! I have shared the recipe below, so if you are making just for these cupcakes – use the microwave ( of course if you have one). I used grated fresh coconut (thawed from frozen) for this recipe. Dessicated coconut will work well too.

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5 from 3 votes

Kozhukattai Cupcakes | Eggless Coconut and Jaggery filled cupcakes

Make these soft and delicate Kozhukattai Cupcakes with a coconut and jaggery filling. They are eggless, butter free and will remind you of biting into a kozhukattai.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Keyword cupcakes, eggless baking, kozhukattai, modaks
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the eggless cupcakes

  • 1/2 cup yoghurt 143 grams
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 cup sugar 75 grams
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil 60 ml
  • 1 tsp powdered cardamom
  • ¾ cup plain flour 90 grams
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

For the coconut jaggery filling

  • 2 tbsp coconut
  • 1 tbsp jaggery
  • 1/2 tsp powdered cardamom

For the coconut jaggery topping

  • 2 tbsp dessicated or shredded coconut
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar
  • 2 tsp water

Instructions

  • Prep a 6 cavity cupcake mould with liners and preheat oven to 180°C

Making cupcakes

  • Add yoghurt to a bowl and stir in the baking soda. Set it aside for 5 minutes. The baking soda (alkaline) will react with yoghurt (acid) and will form tiny bubbles.
  • In the meantime, whisk the oil, cardamom powder and sugar. If the sugar you are using is granulated, pulse it to form fine sugar and whisk well. You can also add the cardamom pod along and pulse.
  • Add the yoghurt and baking soda mix into the oil and sugar and whisk well.
  • Sift in ( YES, sift in) the plain flour and baking powder and use a spatula and mix until just combined.
  • Depending on how watery yoghurt is, the batter may be slightly thick. It has to be in pouring consistency. If you take it in a spoon, it must smoothly flow and not be lumpy or thick to not flow. If it is like this, add 1-2 tsp milk or water to bring to consistency.

Making coconut jaggery filling

  • To a bowl, add the coconut, jaggery, cardamom powder and 1 tsp water. Microwave for 1 minute. Remove, stir well and microwave in 30 second intervals for 2 minutes. It is important to stir after every interval and not to overcook. The filling should be dry but the jaggery should be fully melted.
  • It is essential to add that 1 tsp water if using the microwave.
  • Alternatively, make the filling usual way in a pan.
  • Make 1 tsp coconut jaggery balls and set aside. It is ideal to make this before you start on the cupcakes so it cools.

Making Kozhukattai Cupcakes

  • Add 1.5 tbsp of batter and top with 1 tsp of coconut jaggery filling. Top with another 1 tbsp of batter.
  • Fill all cupcakes and bake at 180°C for 25 minutes.
  • Remove the cupcakes after 25 minutes, add the syrup mentioned below and bake again for an additional 5 to 7 minutes.
  • If you are not adding the syrup, test at 25 minutes and if a skewer comes out clean, it’s done.

Making coconut jaggery syrup for topping

  • To a pan, add the dessicated coconut, brown sugar, water and let it melt. The brown sugar will melt and be a little syrup will form.

Notes

  • The syrup step is completely optional. I added so it looks pretty for photographs, but the cupcake is plenty sweet on its own. In the pictures, I have used dried shredded coconut and brown sugar.
  • Coconut chips, dessicated coconut work well.  Coconut sugar will be an excellent match instead of brown sugar.
  • Maida can be substituted with whole wheat flour. It may be a slightly dense cupcake, but delicious nevertheless. 
  • Making this recipe dairy free – The acids in yoghurt react with the baking soda to create a fluffy cupcake. Vegan yoghurts may not have this acid to make this work. However, a work around may be to include vinegar or lemon juice, though I have not tried it. 

Making Kozhukattai Cupcakes with Jaggery

I tried a variation with jaggery and coconut milk for these cupcakes. They were also delicious, but the texture was too soft and those are the brown mini cupcakes you see here. I recommend using sugar instead of jaggery for the base, however I will try a eggless cupcake with jaggery and update here soon.

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Please leave a comment below if you made this recipe, have any questions or thoughts! Your comment will help me learn more about your preferences and will help other readers.

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8 Comments

  • Reply
    Divya
    September 10, 2021 at 12:05 am

    Want to try this! Would dairy free yoghurt like coconut yoghurt work? I’m vegan and I miss having my amma’s chathurthi kozhakattais!! Thanks!

    • Reply
      myflavourfactory
      September 10, 2021 at 1:08 am

      Hi, the recipe requires the acid in yoghurt to activate the alkaline in baking soda. I don’t think coconut yoghurt will work. You can try adding a tsp of lemon juice to it and then check if the bubbles form. If it does, the cupcake will rise well.

      I hope you’re able to make and enjoy

  • Reply
    Aarti Ranganathan
    September 13, 2021 at 9:45 am

    5 stars
    We absolutely loved this recipe!! Tweaked it a tad bit to make it baby friendly – used oat flour instead of all purpose flour and used only 2 tbsp of coconut sugar and 1/2 mashed banana for sweetness. Was delish and I’ll be making these again 🙂

    • Reply
      myflavourfactory
      September 14, 2021 at 2:07 pm

      thank you aarti, that’s a great way to make it baby friendly!

  • Reply
    Deepika Ganesh
    September 28, 2021 at 5:10 am

    5 stars
    Love love love this recipe ❤️ Went a little overboard with the jaggery topping as I love eating the poornam just like that 😂 It tasted yum! Thanks a ton!

    • Reply
      myflavourfactory
      September 28, 2021 at 2:20 pm

      thank you deepika, so glad you enjoyed! too much poornam is a good thing <3

  • Reply
    Akila
    January 26, 2023 at 5:59 am

    5 stars
    Totally loved this recipe. It came out so well. Thank you for this yummy recipe

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