Ice-Apple Cake (Palmyra Fruit Cake)

Ice-Apples are the fruits of the Palmyra tree.

These fruits are natural thirst quenchers, just like the tender coconuts that we all love to drink from.

The edible part of this fruit is hidden inside the outer shell. When the fruits are tender, they appear glossy and transparent hence the name – Ice Apple. When you cut it open, usually you will find three Ice-Apples cocooned inside the shell.

Closeup view of Ice apple in a plate

But interestingly, when this same fruit has completely matured, the pulp that is extracted from this fruit carries a very distinct taste.

This over-ripened Ice-Apple puree is usually added to various recipes like sweet fritters, or sweet puris or even a cake like the one I have shown here.

Pulp from the Palmyra fruit which has matured.

This recipe was given to me by my neighbour aunty, who is an East-Indian. A lovely and a very warm person at heart. She shared this recipe with me last year and again this year she gave me a pack of this puree asking me to prepare the cake.

So, a few days back, I made this cake once again. This time I used whole-wheat flour, jaggery and some flaxseed flour to make a healthier version of it.

Ice- Apple Cake (Palmyra Fruit Cake)

Ingredients :

¼ cup Matured Ice-Apple Pulp (freshly extracted)
½ cup grated Jaggery (yellow)
1 ½ cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 egg or 5 tbsp curd (if eggless)
3 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp flaxseed powder (optional)
2 tbsp coconut flakes
3 tbsp coconut milk
A pinch of salt
½ tsp baking powder

Method :

Beat the egg or curd, jaggery, cardamom powder, oil and coconut milk with a pinch of salt. Beat well to ensure there are no jaggery lumps and everything is incorporated very well.
Sieve the wheat flour and baking powder.
Add the sieved wheat flour and baking powder to the liquid mixture and then stir in the coconut flakes, flaxseed powder and last but not the least the ice-apple pulp.
Do not over-mix.
Pour the prepared cake mixture into a greased baking dish lined with parchment paper.
Bake the cake in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 30-35 minutes or till done.The cake will have a distinct flavour of the ice-apple puree which is quite rustic and a bit different than your regular cakes.
If you too are lucky to lay your hands on this unique ice-apple puree, then do try making this cake as an out-of-the-box recipe for your loved ones.

Do make them guess what fruit was added and have fun with all the answers they come up with. I did it too and the answers showed the vivid imagination of my family and friends. 😀😀