A Flavorful Twist on Classic Baking
Get ready to tantalize your taste buds with our Walnut Tahini Cake recipe! Brace yourself for a flavorful journey where nutty walnuts, creamy tahini, and a hint of cayenne collide in a symphony of taste sensations. Despite its fiery name, rest assured, this cake brings the perfect balance of sweetness and spice. So, roll up your sleeves and let's dive into baking bliss!
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 lb walnuts
1 tablespoon tahini
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
Tools
mixing bowls
spoon
measuring cups and spoons
mixer (hand or stand)
knife
cutting board
nonstick 8-inch pan
plastic butter knife
parchment paper
pencil
scissors
Yes, it says "cayenne" in the title. No, the cake is not spicy. No need to panic.
For best results, start with all ingredients at room temperature, and do not preheat the oven!
Set your round pan on a sheet of parchment paper and trace around the base with a pencil. Trim off the excess with the scissors. Set your parchment circle into the bottom of the baking pan as a liner to prevent sticking. The cake you're about to make gets awfully comfortable where it is and doesn't like to leave the pan again without an assist, so skip this step at your own risk.
Dump out a comfortable amount of walnuts onto your cutting board, grab your knife and chop them as fine as you like. Due to picky eaters in the household, we went extra fine with ours. Scrape the cutting board off into a mixing bowl and repeat the "comfortable amount of walnuts" thing as many times as necessary to get through a quarter pound. We used a small cutting board and did it in three waves. If you have a larger board - maybe one of those comically huge industrial ones - surely the whole quarter pound at once is no obstacle for you.
Measure your flour, baking powder, cayenne, and cinnamon into the mixing bowl full of walnut pieces and stir them all together until everything is fully incorporated.
In another mixing bowl, cream together your softened butter and shortening. Add the sugar slowly, mixing all the while. You'll get a granular, fluffy, pale concoction in a minute or two.
Add one egg and your tahini. Run the mixer until you have one uniform color, then proceed to add the other two eggs. Try not to overmix, but don't leave any yolky spots.
Add your dry ingredients slowly and stir them into the wet ingredients by hand until everything has been dampened. Now you're safe to add your milk - again slowly, and again mixing by hand.
Feel free to bring back the mixer now to finish it off and get rid of any lumps. (We just didn't want the high speed with the thin liquid sitting on top of lumpy mush.)
Pour your batter into your lined baking pan, pop it in the oven, shut the door, start the oven heating to 350 and set a timer for one hour and ten minutes. Do not open the oven door - at all! Not even to check on it! Turn the oven off when the timer finishes, but leave the door closed another ten minutes before removing the cake so it can cool.
After it's had a chance to cool for 20 minutes or so, work around the edge with a plastic knife. Again, this cake likes where it is and will need to be convinced to move. The parchment should ensure the bottom just pops free after you've loosened the sides.
Serve warm.
As you savor the last crumb of our Walnut Tahini Cake, consider the magic that lies within your kitchen. Yet, even the most beloved recipes encounter hiccups along the way. Should you find yourself facing challenges with your major appliances, like your stove or oven, remember that Appliance Rescue Service is here to lend a helping hand. Don't let appliance woes disrupt your culinary endeavors. Schedule a maintenance appointment via our website or give us a call, and let our expert technicians ensure your kitchen runs smoothly. Until next time, happy baking!