Sesame, Honey and Cardamom Cake

Hi lovely friends! Well if you’re as busy as me, you probably won’t be reading this because you won’t have time. And I’m only making myself make the time because I a) don’t want to miss a week posting, and b) because there is so much going on in my life at the moment that I just want a slice of normality, and sitting at the table writing a blog post is definitely that; a haven of calm amidst the current hurricane of life.

This cake is a recipe I’d been mulling over for a while. It seemed to appear, as if inspired, in my head, and I couldn’t let it rest until I’d worked out the recipe and tested it and I was extremely pleased with the result. It isn’t a cake that rises particularly, due to the ingredients, but the texture and flavour are beautiful! If honey and tahini count among your favourite ingredients, and you are partial to a bit of cardamom, then this is definitely for you. One thing to mention though, so you are not misled by my photos, is that the recipe contains two eggs, not one. Due to the restricted time I have to develop recipes at the moment, if a recipe works out the first time I make it, then I share it. It’s as simple as that. However, that may involve a bit of tweaking here and there, and I decided to add another egg after combining the rest of the mixture, to loosen up the consistency. So just make sure you know what the method says, as well as looking at the photos for guidance. This will change one day..!

Ingredients

• 100g ground almonds
• 100g coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50g sesame seeds plus 2 tsp for sprinkling on top
• 6 cardamom pods
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp tahini
• 2 eggs
• 4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tsp flaked almonds

Equipment

• Handheld manual or electric whisk (or stand mixer)
• Pestle and mortar (if you don’t have one, cardamom pods can be quite easily torn with a sharp nail or crushed with the flat side of a knife)
• Wooden spoon
• Large mixing bowl
• 2lb loaf tin
• Baking paper

Note on coconut oil: This is from the jar, not melted. So take the four tbsps from the jar, slightly heaped, then melt. Use the full amount, do not then measure four flat melted tbsps.

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 170⁰fan.

Place ground almonds, sesame seeds, coconut flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Place cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and crush to remove the seeds from the husks. Remove the husks then crush the seeds a little before adding to the bowl. Stir well to combine.

Melt the coconut oil then place in a bowl with the eggs, tahini and honey. Mix well with a handheld whisk, or alternatively use a handheld electric whisk or stand mixer.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry then combine fully. It will be quite a thick mixture.

Grease the loaf tin with coconut oil, then line with baking paper. Put cake mix in tin and smooth surface with a palette knife. Sprinkle the surface with the flaked almonds and sesame seeds. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 25 minutes then cool for five minutes in the tin before removing and cooling completely on a cooling rack.

This is a lovely cake for this time of year, because it is warming and comforting with the cardamom, which is a very seasonal-tasting ingredient. In fact, all the ingredients complement each other perfectly!

I hope you enjoy it. Let me know how you get on; I’d love to hear your feedback.

xxx Sam