I’m sitting on my bed, drinking my morning tea and writing this blog post. I was planning to write it last night, but I was a tad too tired, and the pain in my body was too much. I also have pain right now, but it’s slightly better. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a few weeks ago, and it’s been hard to adjust to it, but then cakes like this one help every once in a while to lift my spirit.

About six years ago, I published a very easy dessert recipe, made just by a certain proportion of tahini with molasses. That mixture is so simple to make and has been a part of my childhood so much. This recipe turns that mixture into a light and delicious cake, together with one of my favourite things in the world, black tea.

This recipe originates from one I saw on Youtube one day purely by chance. I can’t find that recipe anymore, but luckily I noted it down. I added a bit of my twist, particularly in the instructions, and voila, this cake was born.

One thing I noticed, as soon as I took a bite and tasted it for the first time, that walnut would be a great addition to this cake. I don’t always like walnuts in cakes because it feels too heavy sometimes. But this cake is almost asking for it. So I highly recommend this addition. Well, this is what I’m going to do, at least the next time I bake this cake.

Enjoy your cake with freshly brewed tea or fresh coffee!
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Ingredients:

Difficulty: Easy
(makes 1 cake in 24cm savarin mould, you can also use a bundt cake mould)

Printable PDF-recipe (no photos)

6 dl (or 2 1/3 cups + 4 tsp) flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar
3 large eggs
1 dl + 4 tsp (or 1/2 cup) granulated white sugar
1 dl + 4 tsp (or 1/2 cup) nicely brewed black tea
1 dl + 4 tsp (or 1/2 cup) molasses
1 dl + 4 tsp (or 1/2 cup) tahini
1 dl + 4 tsp (or 1/2 cup) rapeseed oil (or another vegetable oil)

for the final touch (optional):
1 tsp cacao
1 tbsp nicely brewed black tea

butter or vegetable oil to grease the pan generously

1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease your pan generously and put it aside (if you are using a savarin or a bundt cake mould, be sure not miss a single point inside to mould while greasing; otherwise, it will be hard to take the cake out).

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar.

3. In the bowl of a hand or a standing mixer, put eggs and sugar and whisk well for about 5 minutes in medium speed until it doubles in size and the colour is very, very light.

4. Add tea, molasses and tahini and continue whisking until they are incorporated.

5. Add vegetable and continue whisking until it is incorporated.

6. Add flour mixture and whisk until all dry ingredients are well mixed with wet ones. Start whisking at a very low speed so that the flour does not make a mess and gradually increase the speed to medium.

7. Take about 2 tbsp from the cake batter and put in a small bowl (this is optional, and it just adds a nice cacao flavour to the bottom of the cake). Pour the rest of the batter gently into the cake mould (if you are not doing the cacao thing, pour all your batter into the mould and put it into the oven as instructed in step 9).

8. Add 1 tsp cacao and 1 tbsp black tea to the cake batter you saved and mix well.

9. Pour the cacao mixture onto your batter, and using a spoon or a spatula, mix it with the rest as much as you can. Put the cake in the medium part of your oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Let the cake sit in the mould for about 20 minutes, and then turn it upside down onto your cake plate. If you greased your mould well, it should come out pretty quickly. Enjoy your cake fresh with some tea or coffee. The cake stays well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.