tahini rye chiffon
as nutty of a flavor you can get, without adding nuts
This was from one of the very first cake menus I put out ♡ If I remember correctly it was this tahini rye chiffon with chocolate pastry cream and burnt honey buttercream!! Eventually i added slices of fresh fig to the mix too. I actually did my first IG stories take over for Belletrist(!!!!) and shared the recipe there. But, now I’m sharing it here so you don’t have to go do a deep dive to find it LOL.
Both the tahini and the little bit of rye flour in this recipe give the cake a nutty depth of flavor. Back then I wasn’t as big into olive oil chiffon as I am now- but subbing in olive oil would just add another amazing layer of flavor- if you’re in to that sort of thing. (;
I used the rye flour from Fat Uncle farm which I’m pretty sure is no longer available. In any case a more widely available rye flour would be from Bob’s Red Mill. My favorite tahini to use is from Seed + Mill, it has an amazing flavor! You could also use black sesame paste (which is black tahini) in place of the tahini.
This recipe will make 6-6” cake layers or 4-8” cake layers.
Ingredients:
135 grams granulated sugar (1)
95 grams vegetable oil- or any neutral flavor oil of your choosing
100 grams egg yolks (about 5 large egg yolks)
110 grams milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
30 grams tahini
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
145 grams cake flour
60 grams dark rye flour
185 grams egg whites
110 grams granulated sugar (2)
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 330F.
Line the bottoms of your desired cake tins with parchment rounds. DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT grease the pans. Unlike traditional chiffon you do not need to invert this one after baking but you still need it to cling and climb to the sides of the pan, otherwise it will collapse.
In a medium bowl combine sugar (1), oil, egg yolks, milk, salt, tahini and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment place your egg whites.
Start the mixer on the low end of medium (on 4 if you’re using a kitchen aid!). Once the egg whites begin to foam, slowly sprinkle in sugar (2) while the whites continue to whip.
Continue to whip until medium peaks form. Do not turn the mixer on high, you want to create nice uniform bubbles in the meringue. I know it’s tempting because it does take forever for the whites to get to where they need to be. But, your patience will be rewarded with beautiful chiffon cake layers later.
Once you get to medium peaks stop the mixer. The meringue should hold a shape but still fall over on itself in a ribbon. So like on the soft side of medium. You don’t want to go to stiff peaks, at that point you’ve incorporated the max amount of egg the whites can take on. It wont provide the same amount of rise and all that air can really dry out your cake.
At this point you’ll whisk in your flours and baking powder into the wet ingredients from earlier. You do this now rather than earlier because you want this batter and the egg whites to have a similar consistency. If you mix earlier the flour will begin to hydrate and stiffen up the batter making it hard to fold the meringue in.
Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the batter. Once incorporated add the next 1/3 and fold it in. Followed by the final 1/3. Be mindful and fold gently you don’t want to totally deflate the meringue. Stop folding when the last streak of white disappears into the batter.
Weigh the batter into your cake tins. 160 grams per 6” pan or 240 grams per 8” pan.
Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes. The cake should bounce bake when you gently tap it in the center. If you’re a real cake nerd- you’ll temp it… a perfectly baked cake should register 205F. Your baking times may vary depending on YOUR oven and its hot spots and its actual calibration (now would be a cool time to invest in an oven thermometer).
Allow your cake layers to cool completely before filling and frosting.
*wrap your cakes in plastic wrap and put them in the fridge to firm up before you fill and frost your final cake- it makes the cake much easier to work with!!*
Hi Kassie! Would this recipe make 2 quarter sheets?