This decadent Chocolate Tahini Cake is unbelievably soft and fluffy with layers of creamy vanilla tahini frosting and silky chocolate ganache.
Today is my birthday, and if I were to make my own birthday cake, it would be this one! As I wrote about in my Chocolate Tahini Brownies blog post, I LOVE tahini! When I shared about creating this recipe on my Instagram stories, some people were surprised to see tahini used in a sweet application.
Tahini is very lovely in sweet and savory applications, like in hummus or dressings and sauces (I made this stunning tahini sauce to top my "egg roll in a bowl" dinner on Sunday, it was so good!).
⭐️ Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Flavor: As in my Chocolate Tahini Brownies, this flavor combination is unmatched! The creamy and nutty tahini flavor makes the best frosting.
- Texture: The layers of cake are delightfully moist and fluffy, with creamy layers of frosting and chocolate ganache creating the perfect ratio of cake to icing.
- Method: This recipe is made using the reversed-creaming method, which involves mixing the dry ingredients into the butter first so as to create an extra smooth and soft crumb texture. My recipe for Classic Carrot Cake also uses this method!
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make this tahini chocolate cake recipe.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter: Some for the batter and some for the tahini frosting, this recipe calls for salted butter for the perfect salty touch to help bring out all the wonderful flavors in this cake. See the notes below the recipe for instructions on how to substitute with unsalted butter.
- Sugar: We will use granulated white sugar in the batter and powdered sugar in the frosting.
- Cocoa: My favorite cocoa powder to use in this and all of my recipes is Dutch-processed cocoa. It has a deep chocolate flavor but does not have an unpleasant sour or bitter flavor. I buy the Rodelle brand at Costco!
- Instant Coffee: Just a teaspoon of instant coffee granules helps to boost the chocolate flavor in this cake. If you don't like coffee, don't worry, you won't taste it above the chocolate flavor in this recipe.
- Tahini: Be sure to buy pure tahini made from only roasted sesame seeds for this recipe. You don't want any added sugar or flavor in it.
- Chocolate: The chocolate ganache layer on top is made with semisweet chocolate (I just use semisweet chocolate chips) and heavy whipping cream.
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Cream together the softened butter and white sugar for 1 minute using an electric mixer.
Step 2: Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3: Add the combined dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture and mix at low speed until no clumps of butter remain and the mixture resembles sand.
Step 4: Whisk the instant coffee granules into the cold water until they are fully dissolved.
Step 5: Whisk together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and coffee mixture.
Step 6: Add the combined wet ingredients to the butter/flour mixture and mix at low speed until incorporated before increasing the mixer speed to high for 1 minute until smooth and creamy.
Step 7: Pour the batter into a well-greased cake pan. Bake in a preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out with only crumbs. Let cool fully before assembling the cake.
Step 8: While the cake is cooling down fully, make the ganache by heating the heavy whipping cream in the microwave until scalding. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and let stand for 2 minutes.
Step 9: Whisk the mixture until smooth. Set aside to cool down to room temperature.
Step 10: Make the tahini frosting by mixing together the softened butter and tahini until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and continue mixing. The mixture will be very dry-looking. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and increase the mixer speed to high to beat for 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
Step 11: Slice the fully-cooled cake into 2 even layers. Spread half of the frosting between the layers, followed by frosting on top of the second layer.
Step 12: Lastly, carefully spread the cooled-down ganache on top of the tahini frosting.
🍰 More Cake Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this Chocolate Cake with Tahini Frosting or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Tahini Cake
Equipment
- 9x9-inch baking pan
- mixing bowls
- measuring cups & spoons
- electric handheld mixer
- silicone spatula
- whisk
Ingredients
For the Batter:
- ½ cup salted butter * softened
- 1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (227 grams)
- 6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons neutral-flavored cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Ganache:
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
For the Frosting:
- ¼ cup salted butter * softened
- ½ cup tahini *
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease a 9X9-inch baking pan with non-stick spray or butter.
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the softened butter and white sugar for 1 minute. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix at low speed until the mixture resembles sand and no lumps of butter and sugar mixture remain.½ cup salted butter, 1 ¼ cups granulated white sugar, 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 6 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cold water and instant coffee granules until dissolved. Add the egg, oil, vinegar, and vanilla and whisk until combined.1 cup cold water, 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules, 2 eggs, 3 tablespoons neutral-flavored cooking oil, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the combined wet ingredients to the butter/flour mixture and mix for 1 minute until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only crumbs. Let the cake cool for at least 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- While the cake is cooling down fully, make the ganache by heating the whipping cream in the microwave in a heat-safe bowl in 30-second increments until scalding. Add the chocolate chips and let stand for 1 minute before whisking until smooth. Let cool down to room temperature.⅓ cup heavy whipping cream, ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Make the frosting by creaming together the softened butter and tahini until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of milk. Turn the mixer up to high speed once the powdered sugar is incorporated, and whip the mixture for 2 minutes until fluffy.¼ cup salted butter, ½ cup tahini, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons milk
- Slice the fully-cooled cake into 2 even layers. Spread half of the frosting on top of one layer, then gently place the second layer on top. Gently spread the remaining half of the frosting on top. Lastly, gently spread the cooled (but still spreadable) ganache on the very top.
Notes
- If you are using unsalted butter, add an additional ¼ teaspoon of salt to the batter and ⅛ teaspoon to the frosting.
- Be sure to buy pure tahini made from only roasted sesame seeds for this recipe. You don't want any added sugar or flavor in it.
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