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Tahini & Poovan Banana Tea Cake

This tea cake is a version of Adam Roberts’ Tahini Banana Bread, made local in name (nobody thinks of these cakes as breads around here), the use of cold-pressed sesame oil, and a local banana variety called poovan pazham. It’s simple, quick, richly sesame-flavored and absolutely delicious.
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Ingredients
  

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups all purpose flour (or substitute with whole wheat for a denser but equally delicious cake)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 level teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients 1

  • 4-5 poovan bananas or equivalent local variety
  • 2 tablespoons thick yogurt
  • ½ cup tahini
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Wet Ingredients 2

  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup cold pressed sesame oil (use a good quality oil with rich flavor, or use half of a good sesame oil and half of some other neutral oil like canola or vegetable for a milder flavor )
  • ¾ cup sugar (or part powdered jaggery and part white sugar)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 180C/350F
  • Line an 8” cake pan with parchment or a banana leaf; lightly grease and flour the parchment/leaf.
  • Sift together the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • In another small bowl, use a fork to mash the bananas roughly. Some lumps are perfectly fine. Add the yogurt, tahini, and vanilla, and mix to combine loosely.
  • In a larger bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil and sugar until they are well incorporated and the eggs appear a pale yellow—about a minute or two.
  • Now add the banana mixture about a third at a time, followed by the flour mixture about a third at a time. Like that, alternate wet and dry additions, ending with the flour. Mix gently until everything is moistened, but do not beat and do not overmix.
  • Tip the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is browning nicely and a cake tester comes out clean.
  • When the cake is done, run a knife around the edges and allow to cool before turning it out onto a plate and peeling off the parchment/leaf.
  • Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature with steaming glasses of spiced tea.

Notes

This is a purist’s recipe—no chocolate chips, no additional flavors, and no nuts. This tea cake has plenty of what it needs from the tahini and sesame oil, not to mention the poovan banana. Just let those tastes shine.