Tahini Cake with Plums and Halva

A perfect cake to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee while rewatching Gilmore Girls for the 1000th time. It is also great to share with friends, family, or neighbors and make their day.

Welcome back to the newsletter!

This week I am sharing a recipe for Tahini Cake with Plums and Halva. It is a comforting cake with a fall vibe (due to plums), great to enjoy on a cold fall afternoon with some tea or coffee. You can also use other fruits like figs, pears, or peaches, but I think tahini (sesame in general) and plums go together very well. I sprinkled the cake with halva to add an interesting textural experience. I also added sesame to the edge of the baking tin before pouring the batter, for visual and flavor reasons.

For this recipe, I use stewed plums instead of raw fruit. It might seem like extra work to cook the plums beforehand, but I ask you to do it for a reason. When I was testing this recipe, I started with raw plums and quickly learned that they stay firm after being baked, and what I want is a soft, jammy plum that adds a bit of moisture to the cake. You can, of course, skip this step and use raw fruit.

Ingredients (for 25 cm cake tin)

Stewed Plums

500g plums
60g brown sugar
1 tbsp water

Cake

135g plant yogurt (I use soy)
200g tahini
65g sunflower oil
12g apple cider vinegar
10g vanilla paste/extract
100g brown sugar
175g white sugar

330g white flour (I use what we call type 500 in Slovenia, but all-purpose or cake flour should work as well)
20g cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda

1 tbsp white sesame seeds
Plant based butter for oiling the cake tin
100g halva
Powdered sugar

Method

Wash 500g of plums and halve them to remove the pit. Transfer the plums into a pot, add 60g of brown sugar and 1 tbsp of water. Cook on medium-low (6/10 on my induction stove) for 10 to 15 minutes until they soften and turn red (time will vary depending on how ripe your plums are). Remove from heat and let them cool down before moving them to a sieve to drain the syrup. You can use the syrup in oatmeal, cocktails or to sweeten your tea.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius on fan or conventional setting. Line the bottom of your cake tin with parchment paper. Oil the side of your cake tin with plant based butter and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of white sesame seeds.

In a blender/bowl mix 135g yogurt, 200g tahini, 65g sunflower oil, 12g apple cider vinegar, and 10g vanilla paste/extract. If using a blender, blend until the ingredients emulsify. You can also use a stick blender or whisk all the ingredients very well. Add 100g brown sugar and 175g white sugar, blend well, and let it sit.

In a bowl mix 330g white flour, 20g cornstarch, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well to incorporate, but do not overmix. Transfer half of the batter into a cake tin and evenly place half of the stewed plums on top. Cover with the rest of the batter, add the rest of the stewed plums, and sprinkle with broken-down halva.

Bake the cake for 25 minutes before covering it with tin foil to prevent halva from burning. Bake for another 30 minutes (55 minutes all together). Check for doneness with a toothpick. Let it come to room temperature before slicing it. Dust with powdered sugar, if you desire so.

*If you would prefer to bake a smaller 20 cm cake, decrease the amount of ingredients by 1/4. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (fan or conventional) for 45-50 minutes (check doneness with a toothpick)

I hope you will find the time to try this recipe. And if you do, let me know what you think! See you next week.