Just WOW!
This is such a good cake and a relatively unique cake flavor to place on your table to entertain your guests. I have to confess, though, that I’m not having a party and this cake is quickly disappearing off my counter!
This is a subtly-sweet cake redolent in tahini (sesame paste) flavor.
Tahini (tehania and a lot of other spellings) is a common ingredient in many Middle Eastern cuisines. It is often enjoyed as a dipping sauce (with lemon and garlic), as an ingredient in hummus, and even as a coating for soft-serve ice cream. (The ice cream application sounds great to me–and familiar. I grew up near a Frosty Serve ice cream shop here in Southern California and spent many an afternoon after school enjoying soft serve vanilla ice cream dipped in melted chocolate and nuts. Sounds similar.)
Today, with the proliferation of international markets in our communities, it is easy to find tahini. Even Trader Joe’s carries it. According to the experts, the very best tahini paste is made from Ethiopian sesame seeds where the Ethopian gout de terroir is particularly prized. In addition to the many very commercial brands available, some small producers are now in the American market. I particularly like the Soom brand. (Soom Tahini)
In some Middle Eastern cultures offering a guest some food item made with tahini is a show to welcome and respect. So, in that spirit here on Blue Cayenne, here is a really wonderful Tahini Cake recipe. This recipe is from a new cookbook, Leon Big Flavors by Rebecca Seal. The cookbook is available through your local bookstore. (Leon, by the way, is a restaurant chain that started in The UK.) The original recipe was featured on the Splendid Table site here.
The original recipe called for serving the cake unfrosted, but it seemed to me that this Tahini Cake frosting would be wonderful on this cake. I used the Tahini Cake frosting recipe from Food52; you will find it. here.
Here is the Tahini Cake recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Tahini Swirl Cake
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 T. sunflower oil
- 3 1/2 oz. (100 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 t. baking powder
- 4 1/2 oz. (125 gr.) soft dark brown sugar
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 3 1/2 oz. (100 grams) Greek plain yogurt
- 4 T. light-roasted tahini (sesame paste)
- 2 T. maple syrup
- Fine sea salt
- Tahini buttercream frosting (optional)
Directions
- Step 1 Grease an 8-inch cake tin and line the bottom with parchment or a Silpat round.
- Step 2 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Step 3 Sift flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt and a generous pinch of the brown sugar into the mixing bowl of your stand mixer. Whisk ingredients together.
- Step 4 In another bowl, whisk egg with oil, yogurt and the remaining brown sugar until smooth.
- Step 5 Mix the egg mixture a bit at a time with the flour mixture, mixing until no lumps remain.
- Step 6 Pour the batter into your prepared cake tin. (Note: There is not a lot of batter here. The batter will rise but the cake is relatively short in stature. It compensates by being very rich in flavor.)
- Step 7 Mix the tahini, a pinch of salt and the maple syrup together, adding a bit of water if you need to to get the mixture to a thick pouring consistency. Once you have scooped the batter into the baking tin, swirl the maple syrup/tahini mixture into the batter.
- Step 8 Bake the cake for about 25 minutes. The cake is done when it is firm on top and a skewer can be inserted into the center of the cake and can come out clean.
- Step 9 Frost or serve plain.
