Tahini Raspberry Morning Cake
Dairy-free, gluten-free
I am not what you would call a cake person. Do I like cake? Sure. I am not a sociopath. Do I crave a slice of cake? Not really. This is really a great way to introduce a cake recipe, but bear with me.
The reason I do not crave cake is because not all cakes are good. When I was growing up, my mom would buy our birthday cakes from a local place (Party Favors for you Boston-area folks). The yellow cake was always moist, but too crumbly and held together with a cloyingly sweet buttercream. It is still delicious, but I don’t crave it; I just have fond memories of it.
While some cakes can be too sweet, other cakes can be so dry. My sister always says that salad is a vehicle for dressing. I think that cake can be a vehicle for frosting. That is all because if you have a dry cake, you need a lot of frosting to get it down.
Being the obsessive person that I am, I have tried to make a lot of cakes. I have made umpteen versions of single recipes for cakes, all with the goal of making a cake that is not only super moist, but also the right amount of sweet. On top of that endeavor, I wanted to make this cake without dairy or gluten. Yes, it is a little crazy. But, I might be a little crazy.
This cake recipe is DELICIOUS. It is not what you expect. The flavor is balanced, not too sweet, a delicate crumb that is moist. You also get a nice crust, which to me, is the best part of anything, cake or bread or bar.
What makes this cake so lovely? Let’s talk about it.
Tahini
While I use a lot of tahini in cookies and bars, I have not used it nearly as much in cake. Why do I use it in this cake? Two reasons. One, the flavor. Tahini, sesame seed paste (or butter), has a subtle savory flavor with a robust nutty (yes a seed that tastes nutty), earthy overtone. By using tahini, you get that little bit of flavor that balances out some of the other ingredients.
Second, tahini is a great source of fat and protein. Why does protein matter? Well, it is good for you first. But in gluten-free baking, adding protein can be very important. Gluten is a protein that occurs naturally in wheat flours. By taking gluten away, you are losing protein. By adding protein along with gluten-free flours, it seems to almost mimic wheat flour.
I will say it again. Not all tahinis are the same. Some can be very bitter and assertive. Get yourself a good, high quality tahini. For me, I like to use Soom Foods or Seed + Mill tahini. Both are available online and are woman-owned.
Orange Blossom Water
One of my favorite things to do is walk the aisles of the super market. I could just look at all the different food items all day long. I always find something new and usually go home with a few new things each time. One time I went home with orange blossom water and have loved it since I used it.
As the name might suggest, it has a distinct floral flavor. It is a bit like when you smell a flower while eating an orange. Your senses get a little bit of both at the same time. Orange blossom water is very popular in middle eastern cuisine. It is distillation of the essential oils of orange blossoms, which means that the flavor is potent. A little goes a long way.
While I buy orange blossom water at my local specialty food store or the middle eastern grocer, you can also buy it online.
Millet + Sweet Rice Flours
I have a lot of flours in my pantry. Like over 15 types. Millet is one that I have, but use only in certain cases. This is one of those cases. Millet flour has a pale yellow hue to it and a very distinct flavor. I don’t know if I could describe it, but it is a mix between slightly bitter and nutty. You do not want to use a lot of it because it can make a very crumbly, dry cake. No one wants that.
While you do not want to use a lot of millet flour, used in conjunction with other flours you get the pale yellow color, a hint of the flavor and the slight crumbliness to the end result.
Sweet rice flour, which is made from glutenous rice (but there is not actual gluten in it, I promise), is the perfect flour for making a gluten-free cake. It is not actually sweet, but you do get the binding quality of the that is inherent in the type of rice. It binds together all the flours in this cake, while also giving you a delicate flavor that is similar to cake flour. Sweet rice flour really gives you the perfect texture for cake.
It is also called Mochi flour (yes, it is what is used to make Mochi), but not all sweet rice flours are gluten-free. Make sure that you get one that is certified gluten-fee. This is my favorite brand that is certified gluten-free (it is hard to find in stores, but easy to get online).
Jam
Jam man. Not just for jam bands. Ok I am done. I love the addition of fruit to this cake, This cake is full of floral, nutty, sweet, slightly bitter notes and needs a little bit of sweet-tartness to even things out. I like to use raspberries to fill this role. Raspberries are sweet, but have just a little bit of tartness to them. Not to mention, the seeds add a little bit of textural variation.
I like to make my own raspberry chia jam, sweetened with agave nectar and a squeeze of lemon juice to act as the pectin (along with the chia seeds). You can really use any jam that you like in this cake, Just do not use jelly.
RECIPE
120g (about 1 cup) tahini (or cashew butter)
85g (about 1/3 cup) refined coconut oil, melted
70g (2.5oz) agave nectar
113g (1/2 cup) cane sugar
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1 tsp orange blossom water (or vanilla extract)
71g (1/2 cup) gluten-free oat flour
90g (1/2 cup) sweet rice flour
42g (1/4 cup) millet flour
38g (1/4 cup) tapioca flour
1/2 tsp ginger
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
105g (1/2 cup) oat milk
About 1/2 cup raspberry jam (could also use fresh raspberries. Don’t use frozen fruit unless thawed)
Preheat oven to 325F and liberally grease a loaf pan (or 8in round cake pan) with coconut oil.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat, sweet rice, millet and tapioca flours, baking powder, ginger and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cashew butter (or tahini, depending on what you like), coconut oil, agave nectar and cane sugar. Once the mixture is combined, add the room temperature eggs. Whisk vigorously (It’s a nice little arm exercise) for 3 minutes.
Add half the flour mixture, whisk to combine. Add the oat milk and whisk to combine. Add the rest of the flour mix and whisk it one more time. Whisk it good.
Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Dollop the jam atop the batter. Use a butter knife or offset spatula to swirl the jam into the batter. Add the rest of the batter and do that thing with the jam again.
(if you are using fresh fruit instead of jam, do not mix them into the batter. This will break the fruit up too much. Add half the batter, sprinkle fruit, add the rest of the batter, sprinkle more fruit)
Give the pan a few thwaps on the counter to get out any big air bubbles.
Bake for 50-60 minutes. If it is still not done after 60 minutes, turn the oven off and let the cake keep baking in the residual heat of the oven for about 10-15 minutes. When you stick a toothpick into the center, the toothpick does not need to come out clean, but you want a sticky crumb. You want to avoid over baking the edges and drying them out.
Let it cool completely before tipping out of the pan. I like this cake just as it is, but it is delicious when topped with a lemony icing. Or you could drizzle it with gently cooked berries. It is also lovely when sliced, lightly toasted and given a lather of dairy-free butter.