The thought of using tahini in a cake had never crossed my mind. Not until now that is. Even you will be surprised how this tahini cake tastes and turns out.
Although I don't technically fast during Lent, I do manage to enjoy many dishes created especially for this period.
But I can tell you it wasn't always like that.
✝️ Enjoy this cake during Lent
I used to hate fasting as a kid. I often thought of it as torture. The only thing that would keep me going was the inevitable rewards that I would get to enjoy on Easter Sunday.
Back in my day, I can assure you that alternative foods that were dairy free and meat free were a little scarce in our household!
But this is not a post to whine about fasting during Lent. This blog post is about being creative and making this tahini cake. A delicious, very dense tahini cake, mind you.
A naturally vegan cake
I will admit to being slightly sceptical when I heard about this recipe.
No eggs? No milk?
My primary concern was whether the tahini cake would rise. Not only did it rise, but it went beyond my expectations.
The orange juice gave it that beautiful, zesty aroma that citrus cakes are famous for. The ground cinnamon and cloves pushed it to that next delicious level. But you know me. I love cinnamon in anything! The tahini released its subtle nuttiness and allowed the cake to come together beautifully!
I will repeat myself!
If you make this, do not expect a light, fluffy, sponge cake. This cake is a toothsome cake with a robust and dense texture. If you get the opportunity to make this I would love to know your thoughts.
📋 Recipe
Tahini Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup tahini
- 1 cup sugar, superfine
- 1 orange, juice and zest
- ¼ cup cognac, or brandy
- 2½ cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 deg c and grease and line a 20cm baking tin.
- In a stand mixer combine the tahini and caster sugar and beat until light and fluffy (approx. 2-3 minutes).
- Add the orange juice, zest and cognac and beat agin for 1 minute until well combined.
- Add the flour, spices and baking powder and gently fold through ensuring it is all mixed well.
- Pour into baking tin and cook for 45 mins. until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in the baking pan for 10 mins before removing and then allow the cake to cool completely before dusting with extra ground cinnamon and icing sugar.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Souvlaki For the Soul
Rosa
Mmmhhh, this cake must taste heavenly! I am addicted to tahini...
Cheers,
Rosa
myfoodbook
Love it when a recipe challenges the senses when you read it. This one does exactly that. Hoping to find some time to give this a try over the Easter weekend. It truly looks amazing. Thank you for sharing.
shafayat
What a great idea! And it looks incredibly yummy also.
Thanks for sharing this creative recipe, cheers!
Kate Doran
Gosh, this looks absolutely wonderful. I love rich, dense cakes and always have a jar of tahini to hand - I bet it would be delicious with a few chocolate chunks instead of the citrus too.
Alison Borgas
Yum! Definitely my type of cake. Bookmarking to make later... and, loving those props.
evi
I really love tahini and many times I have tried to make tahini desserts. One problem though: tahini cakes don't "hold themselves together". I mean they really fall apart when I cut them. Any tips on that? Greetings from Greece!
Kiki
And it's a delicate cake too, in its own way, which seems as unlikely as the height it rises to. Add a bit of ground cardamom to amp up the flavors even more and a pinch of anise to complement the citrus! http://thegreekvegan.com/tahinopita-sesame-cream-cake/
fanny
I have the weakest spot for "plain" cakes that are nothing but plain. This one looks beautiful and I cannot wait to make it. x
Kiran
Hello
What would be a good non-alcoholic substitute for Cognac?
Thank you
Peter G
Use one tablespoon of vanilla and 3 tablespoon of water.
charli
This cake is fast and easy to make, but I don't think I'll be making it again. It turns out of the pan beautifully however, the moment you cut into it the cake just falls apart. While the texture of the top is quite lovely the center of the cake it a little strange. Now, I may have messed up the flavour palette a bit as I accidentally used triple sec instead of cognac. It ended up very perfumey, kinda like biting into potpourri (probably the triple secs fault). I do think that even with the wrong alcohol, the flavour and texture were too dark and heavy. It really needed something to lighten it up.
Peter G
As I explained this cake is quite dense - nothing light about it!