Moist, fluffy, grain-free Tahini Cake! A sweet cinnamon snack cake with the subtle savory contrast of tahini and fluffy berry frosting. Vegan and paleo!
As good as tahini cake sounds (if you like tahini, that is) tahini cake tastes ten times better than that. It took a few days and few slices per day to put my finger on why that is, but I think I’ve figured it out…
My theory: Because it tastes very reminiscent of gingerbread. They are both sweet, they are both cinnamon spiced, they are both rich and moist if you make them right. But most importantly they both have a subtle undertone of bitterness, and that is what makes ALL the difference. Molasses – slightly bitter. Tahini – slightly bitter. So besides a lack of ginger, the end flavor is quite similar!
And I don’t know about you but I adore gingerbread, so this was a very happy discovery in my book.
And although gingerbread is weird to eat in the middle of summer, Grain-Free Tahini Cake slathered with fluffy berry blue frosting is 100% summer approved. HURRAH.
Other, non-gingerbread reasons to love this cake:
- It’s grain-free. Made with a combination of coconut and tapioca flours.
- Vegan and paleo.
- If you hate tahini, you can swap in any nut or seed butter you do like and still have a delicious fluffy grain-free cake.
- One bowl.
- Just 8 ingredients.
- Delicious plain or with frosting. Delicious warm from the oven or chilled as leftovers.
- Moist, not too heavy, fabulous crumb!
This is not an overly sweet cake, so the tahini flavor is definitely noticeable. If you aren’t a fan of tahini, go with almond or cashew butter instead.
The frosting is a simple coconut whipped cream colored with black goji berry powder. I also included an option for using blueberries to color. Or you could use matcha powder for a green frosting, turmeric for yellow, pitaya for pink, blue spirulina for blue etc.
Happy gingerbread in the summer tahini cake baking to you!
Grain-Free Tahini Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 pieces 1x
- Category: cake
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Description
Moist, fluffy, grain-free Tahini Cake! A sweet cinnamon snack cake with the subtle savory contrast of tahini and fluffy berry frosting. Vegan and paleo!
Ingredients
Cake
- 3/4 cup (180g) unsweetened applesauce
- 3/4 cup (180g) tahini*
- 1/2 cup (70g) coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (30g) coconut flour
- 1/4 cup (30g) tapioca starch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
Purple Frosting
- 1 15-oz can full-fat coconut milk, chilled
- 1 tsp black goji berry powder**
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a bowl, whisk together the applesauce, tahini, coconut sugar, and vinegar/lemon juice.
- Add the baking soda, flours, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Transfer to a greased baking dish (I used this 9×6″ ceramic dish, but a loaf pan would work too).
- Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350ºF.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely before frosting. (It’s really yummy without frosting too!)
- For the frosting, scoop out the solid cream from the top of the can of chilled coconut milk. Whip with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy. Add the black goji powder or blueberry juice. Mix, adjusting to achieve desired color.
- Spread frosting on the cooled cake. Top with berries. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
*If you don’t like the taste of tahini, substitute with any nut/seed butter you prefer.
**Or defrost about 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, squeeze out the juice, and use that for the purple color. You an also add 1-2 tbsp sweetener to the frosting, but I like it as is.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 307
- Sugar: 14g
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 27g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 6g
Keywords: vegan, gluten-free, blueberry, paleo, dessert, snack, healthy
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That second to last shot showing that THICK slathered frosting made all my summer cake dreams come true! Now I must get me some black goji powder!!! Who knew that was a thing 😉
Oh, and I love the idea of a snack cake because I will definitely cut multiple slices for myself through the day, starting with breakfast!
★★★★★
I may have made extra frosting JUST so I could slather it on super thick😍 And have leftovers to eat with a spoon of course! Never too early to start cake snacking hehe🤗🍰
This cake looks awesome! Can I exchange tapioca starch for something else. My stomach doesn’t tolerate it. Thanks for the help!
Arrowroot or cornstarch would work!
Can the coconut flour be substituted for regular gluten-free flour or almond meal and GF flour?
You could try subbing GF flour for both the tapioca and coconut flour, but I haven’t tested it so can’t say for sure how the texture will turn out😊
The texture on this cake looks incredible!
I was just wondering how much cinnamon to add as it doesn’t appear to be listed in the ingredients?
Thanks, looking forward to trying it!
Ah my bad, I will fix that right now! I used 1 tsp, but 1/2 if you aren’t AS into cinnamon as I am😊 Hope you enjoy!
There’s no cinnamon in the ingredient list. Can you tell me how much to use? Thanks.
Ah my bad, I will fix that right now! I used 1 tsp, but 1/2 if you aren’t AS into cinnamon as I am😊 Hope you enjoy!
Am I dreaming???? TAHINI CAKE?!? 😱😍😍😍😍 That’s when you know Natalie has crossed over to the other side…it’s hard for me to believe that you were once on the fence with my addiction 😂 Okay, but then you also successfully created a cake that uses coconut flour?? Go, you! If it wasn’t so late at night I’d be in the kitchen making this because I legit have all of the ingredients…well, minus black goji powder?! I adore gingerbread (and obviously tahini) so I’m really anxious to try this. A chocolate frosting might need to happen though to get you-know-who on board 😉 This looks AMAZING….and I’m so impressed with how this ingredient list produced such a beautifully textured cake 😍 Quick question – I was wondering what tahini you use because I noticed in your video that it was on the runnier side?? The brand I use is really thick, but I know Trader Joe’s has a thinner one 🙂 Goodness, I’m so tempted to make this for breakfast tomorrow morning 😂😘😘
Hahahaha!! I have truly and officially made it to the tahini loving side, this cake sealed the deal🙌😂 Mmmm this cake was just beyond amazing, I hate coconut flour mostly but here it WORKS. Better texture than any oat flour cake I’ve ever made. And I 110% the chocolate frosting decision! That combo is so good, and of course I want to get that Willow stamp of approval too🤗 I used the whole foods brand which was QUITE runny, but I’ve done it with almond butter too that was just sort of runny and it worked. Not sure I’d recommend a really thick one (like you know the grind your own AB texture…probs too thick), but the Trader Joe’s tahini would be fine! Hehe hope you try it soon (and are eating all the hazelnut larabars in the meantime😋 my Target didn’t have them🙄😢) Happy sunday😘
This is dangerously GOOOOOOD!!!! The batter alone was addictive (Willow licked the bowl clean), but the final outcome…..amazing! I was so surprised at how gingerbread-y it was! I specifically grabbed a bottle of WF tahini and let’s just say that it might become my new go-to! I could eat it by the spoonful 😬😋 As you know, Willow isn’t the biggest fan of coconut, so I opted for Simple Mills chocolate frosting (no shame) and OMG!! That flavor combo is fantastic! The three of us were in heaven! The cake without the frosting is perfection, but I will never turn down a way to incorporate chocolate ❤️ Hope you’re having a beautiful week my friend! 😘😘
★★★★★
Canned frosting FTW🙌 I have had that stuff (on cupcakes and on a spoon, let’s be honest here lol) and love it and can only imagine how delicious it would be with this cake😋😋 So gingerbready, right?! I wasn’t even going for that or expecting it, but I love it! I am so happy you guys enjoyed it too❤️
This looks so incredibly delicious! I love that you’re using tahini – I always forget about it when considering a fat source for my recipes. I bet it creates an amazing flavor. Can’t wait to try this one 🙂
YES! I used to hate tahini, but now I adore it especially in sweet stuff🤗 Although this cake is super yummy with almond/cashew butter too. Thanks Elizabeth!
This dish looking is so delicious. Surely would like to give a try to this dish. I hope it will be a fun baking this.
I love this one, hope you will too 🙂
I never thought I could find a GRAIN FREE and VEGAN cake that is actually fluffy, but this cake has me shook. It’s not dense and it’s literally exactly like real cake I love it and u have to make it 🙂
★★★★★
YES!! I am so so happy you loved it, Lulu🤗 One of my faves, still blows my mind too!
What can I use as a substitute for the applesauce? Would banana, butternut squash or pumpkin work here? Obviously it would alter the taste but would the end result ie; texture, etc be the same? curious your thoughts. Thanks!
Yep, any of those would work!! Or you could try yogurt, the flavor might be more mild that way 🙂
This girl makes a recipe that can stand the test of a careless and unprepared baker! I didn’t have apple sauce so used mashed banana instead. Then I put in almond flour instead of tapioca starch. Was worried about that so threw in 2 tbsp of the tapioca starch too and hoped for the best. It was still awesome!!!
★★★★★
Wahooooo!! I am so so happy it worked out, love the sound of your modifications Sue🤗😋 Thanks for the feedback and stay safe wherever you are!
WOW! So so good. I love anything that uses excessive amounts of tahini and this is no exception! The texture on this cake was so unreal – almost between cake and brownie than just cake. 🙂 I didn’t have quite enough applesauce so subbed a bit of mashed japanese sweet potato to make up for it, and instead of making the purple frosting I used a vegan nutella spread on the top- DELICIOUS. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe, I’ll definitely be making this over and over!
★★★★★
Hahaha well then you picked the right cake! This is one of my all time fave cakes for texture reasons, and i LOVE the thought of japanese sweet potato in there i bet that was soooooo delish especially with chocolate on top. Okay so basically I officially like your version better haha😂 So happy you loved it and appreciate the feedback!
This looks delicious. Can I use same amount of mashed sweet potato instead of applesauce?
Thanks.
I haven’t tried that and I worry it will make the cake a bit heavier and less fluffy, but you can give it a shot!
I can’t wait to try this recipe…looks like it’s well-reviewed!! Because I have a food sensitivity to apples right now, do you think I could substitute pumpkin? I saw that other people tried other substitutions, but not pumpkin…
Yes pumpkin will work in place of the applesauce! Your batter might be slightly drier, so add 1-2 tbsp milk if it seems too dry (it should be thick still, the video will be a good reference!) Hope you enjoy, Katerina 🙂
I made this and it was very good. Because of the tahini, it did have a “healthy” taste but I didn’t mind. I used 45g of erythritol instead of the 70g coconut sugar and it was perfectly sweet for me. I used about 1/2 t of cinnamon because I’m not a huge fan and usually prefer less, but for this recipe, 1t would have been welcome. For the frosting, I used coconut butter and mashed with thawed blueberries and a little erythritol. Very pretty too.
★★★★★
I am so happy you enjoyed it! Appreciate you sharing your swaps, I am not experienced baking with erythritol so good to know that it worked here too. Enjoy the rest😋