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Tahini Chocolate Cakes
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- Total Time
- 40 minutes, plus 20 minutes’ cooling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 10tablespoons/150 grams unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pans
- ⅓cup/25 grams unsweetened cocoa, plus more for pans
- 3tablespoons/27 grams sesame seeds
- ½cup/60 grams all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 5½ounces/165 grams 70 percent dark chocolate, in pieces
- 3large eggs
- 1cup/200 grams superfine sugar
- 5tablespoons/100 grams tahini
- Zest of 1 lime
- Crème fraîche or ice cream, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use butter to grease 6 half-cup muffin molds or similar, or use smaller molds. Dust molds with cocoa and sprinkle the sesame seeds in the bottom of each. Sift together remaining ⅓ cup cocoa with the flour and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
- Step 2
Melt chocolate and remaining 10 tablespoons butter in a heatproof bowl over simmering water, or in a small, heavy saucepan on very low heat. (Watch carefully if using a saucepan.) When almost completely melted, remove from heat and stir until smooth. Set aside.
- Step 3
Using a whisk or electric beater, whisk eggs and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stir a little of this mixture into the tahini to lighten it, then stir the tahini into the egg mixture. Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture. Fold in the cocoa mixture.
- Step 4
Pour the batter into the molds and set molds on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake 12 to 14 minutes, less for smaller molds. A skewer or toothpick inserted in the middle should not come out clean.
- Step 5
Cool 20 minutes or more before unmolding. Dust tops with lime zest and serve with crème fraîche or ice cream.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Ellen: The cakes can be served just warm so if you prepare them in advance it would be best not to unmold them (after the 20 minutes rest) when they are done. Leave them in the tin on the kitchen counter, then pop the tin with the cakes back in a 300 degree oven for about 10 minutes, unmold and serve. Florence Fabricant
Delicious cake. Made twice already with some changes as i had quite a lot of batter. So 100g of butter, 100g of sugar and 3 tablespoons of tahini instead of 5. Came out just perfect. I also used a spring form the 2nd time around and after 30 mins, i had a nice moist beauty.
Delicious! I had enough batter for seven 1/2 cup muffin cups. These were also still good two days later after being left out under foil and microwaved for a few seconds before serving.
Just made them, they are delicious! I was a bit afraid, the tahini taste would be too dominant, but it's not. And the tahini gives it a very nice texture.
I had excellent results with these - delicious. I used a 12 count cupcake tin b/c I don't have a six muffin tin. It made enough batter to fill nine of the 12. When I realized I had all this extra batter, I greased and dusted three extra spaces in my 12 count tin & it worked out perfectly.
I baked them for 13 minutes, and the end result was gooey like the photo. These are definitely worth making and I'm sure I'll come back to this recipe again and again.
Made 1/2 recipe last night yielding 3 servings, each in a le Creuset stoneware ramekin. Baked 14 minutes in countertop convection oven and cooled about an hour before unmolding. Used a butter knife to lightly loosen edges, and they came out cleanly. Excellent combination of flavors - the dark chocolate, tahini sesame seeds and lime zest each contributing their flavor notes to the whole. Served with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream - will definitely repeat!
Absolutely fabulous. I filled 8 standard-sized muffin cups, and ended up undercooking them at 14 minutes - if you do that size, maybe try something more like 18 minutes. Still delicious, even undercooked.
Very tasty and indulgent. I didn't like the whole sesame seeds and lime zest. Next time I will try replacing both with chopped pistachios. Also, I used cupcake papers and it made them easy to remove from the cupcake tin. The recipe made 12 lovely little desserts.
10 cakes with 1/4 cup measuring cup.
It would be helpful to include some guidance on what they should look like when they’re done cooking instead of just baking time (which will always vary some). Mine looked completely raw in the middle so I ended up cooking them far longer than suggested— and then after resting for 20 minutes ended up being fully cooked through rather than gooey. (Although overcooking these isn’t a total disaster. They basically turn into VERY rich brownies.)
I divided batter between 6 muffin cups and it took ~ 30 min to cook
Was delicious but perhaps slightly too big. I used the 6 muffin tin but next time will use the cup cake tins. I baked them during the day and did not remove them from the tin until I was ready to warm them and serve. They came out easily from the tin and I zapped them one by one in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Lovely gooey center. Will make again...except I did not get enough tahini taste so perhaps might use more next time.
Keep coming back to this great recipe. We made it the first time after seeing the movie Chef. So inspired we just had to cook! It was delicious and makes a nice Valentine (or any other day) treat!
Made this for Passover 2021. Used Bob’s 1:1. Did a half batch and six cupcake cavities, 1/2 cup in volume. Cook for 13’. Cooled for 20 minutes and I’m molded to serve. Were a little dry, overcooked? Over cooled? Next time cook for 12 minutes and cool for10. If they unmold, serve them warm.
Works perfectly fine in a standard 12 count cupcake tray. Recipe makes enough batter for all 12. Bake for 13 mins. I tried 15 mins as the tops of some had spots that looked raw. 15 mins was slightly too long. It was soft / gooey in the middle but not runny like the photo.
It was the tasteless chocolate dessert I ever made( I followed the recipe to the t). :(
I’ve made these many times with great success (but recommend dividing among 8 muffin cups), but today I somehow forgot all of the butter. They were still quite good! But I’d still recommend including the butter.
I made half the recipe (with one large egg) and put the batter into 2 Le Creuset mini round cocottes, which was the closest bakeware I had. Since they were still bubbly at 14 minutes, I baked them about 20 minutes, which turned out to be too much time...still good, just a bit chewy.
This was decadent and delicious. I baked for 15 minutes with regular ramekins but I think it needed 3-4 minutes more, because it lost its shape when unmolding and it was still quite loose. Would make again, tahini flavor is very subtle!
Omg. Batter filled all 12 cups of 1/3 C cupcake tin. 13 min perfect. Highly recommend lime zest (2 limes for 6 cakes) and crème fraiche which makes it a VERY sophisticated offering. Very unique foolproof dessert.
Excellent, delicious, made it exactly as described. I thought it would be too heavy but I came out crumbly and fudgy. Our house is picky with chocolate and it got scarfed down so quickly!
Made this for Passover 2021. Used Bob’s 1:1. Did a half batch and six cupcake cavities, 1/2 cup in volume. Cook for 13’. Cooled for 20 minutes and I’m molded to serve. Were a little dry, overcooked? Over cooled? Next time cook for 12 minutes and cool for10. If they unmold, serve them warm.
Can you use almond flour?
This is, hands-down, one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. Followed the recipe exactly. Making it again for a friend’s birthday and will add sesame sticks as a garnish.
It would be helpful to include some guidance on what they should look like when they’re done cooking instead of just baking time (which will always vary some). Mine looked completely raw in the middle so I ended up cooking them far longer than suggested— and then after resting for 20 minutes ended up being fully cooked through rather than gooey. (Although overcooking these isn’t a total disaster. They basically turn into VERY rich brownies.)
I tried at first with 6 1/2 muffin cups and I still had a lot of batter, so I filled 9. Next time I will try 12 and only 2/3 of the way up since they overflew and it was hard to get them out. However... the texture and flavor were amazing! I'm probably going to try with one more tablespoon of tahini but otherwise I'm saving it as my favorite chocolate cake recipe so far!
Was delicious but perhaps slightly too big. I used the 6 muffin tin but next time will use the cup cake tins. I baked them during the day and did not remove them from the tin until I was ready to warm them and serve. They came out easily from the tin and I zapped them one by one in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Lovely gooey center. Will make again...except I did not get enough tahini taste so perhaps might use more next time.
Why is there flour listed in the ingredients?
The flour is what makes the cake part of the lava cake.
Hi there, can you please tell me what is Tahini? Thanks
Tahini is a smooth paste made from ground sesame seeds, which is widely used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. It is creamy, like nut butter, but it possesses a unique and sometimes bitter flavor.
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