White chocolate tahini bundt cakes

Did I mention the fact that the white chocolate is caramelised? And there's tahini too which gives a subtle nutty taste. And that the cakes are topped with a generous dollop of the most creamy, soft, billowy caramelised white chocolate and cream cheese frosting? And that I don't even like white chocolate that much, but these cakes disappeared lightning fast. Oh, and I used my passionfruit curd to top it all off - and the tartness of the passionfruit cuts through the sweet chocolate so perfectly, that you just NEED to try these cakes... ok, I'm done. Let's get to the good bit... the recipe!

Cakes are tricky. There are so many different kinds, but when you really drill down to it - the ingredients are more or less the same. There's usually flour, a raising agent, sugar, a fat of some kind, and eggs to emulsify. But if you take one of those components and change it just slightly, the end result can be very different!

I usually favour oil cakes over butter cakes, as the crumb is lighter and there is less of a fatty coating in your mouth after eating it. Oil cakes also keep fresh for longer, and keep well in the fridge as opposed to butter cakes which can go stale quickly, and harden unpleasantly when they're kept in the fridge. It's just a personal preference... some people LOVE the flavour of butter cakes. Good for them!

These cakes are so light and delicate. The crumb is beautifully soft and airy, with big chunks of chocolate dotted through. The frosting provides a slightly sour taste from the cream cheese, but the texture is thick, creamy and luscious.

Try this

Makes 12 mini cakes

Ingredients:

16ogm caster sugar

160gm plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 egg

120gm tahini

1/2 tsp vanilla paste (Heilala brand is good)

120ml greek yoghurt

1/2 cup milk

60ml canola oil (or vegetable oil)

80gm Whittaker's Blondie Chocolate, roughly chopped (or other white chocolate)

Heat oven to 165c. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (keeping the chocolate aside). Whisk the wet ingredients together in a bowl until thick and fully combined. Grease the mini bundt tin (use a muffin tin if you don't have a bundt tin), ensuring all the dips and ridges are well coated in butter or spray.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and use a spatula to gently fold the two together until there are only a few streaks of dry flour left. Add in the chopped chocolate, and fold it through until just mixed.

Fill the bundt tin (or muffin tin) trying to fill each cavity as evenly as possible (this will ensure they cook evenly). Using a piping bag to pipe the mix in makes it really easy, and a lot cleaner! Cook for 14 minutes, then check them for 'doneness' with a toothpick - if the crumbs on the pick look cooked, and are not wet, the cakes are done (remember they'll continue to cook for a few minutes more once you remove them from the oven). Leave them to cool for 5-10 minutes in the tin, then turn them out carefully onto a rack to continue cooling completely before you frost them.

White chocolate cream cheese frosting:

100gm butter at room temperature

100gm icing sugar

125gm Whittaker's Blondie Chocolate (or other white chocolate), melted then cooled

150gm cream cheese at room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla paste (Heilala brand is good)

Pinch of salt

In a standing mixer cream the butter until it's lighter in colour, soft and 'creamy'. Add the sugar and mix for a few more minutes, scraping down the sides a few times. Add the salt, vanilla paste and cream cheese, and beat until just incorporated. It should be light and fluffy now. Finally, add the melted chocolate, making sure it's just at room temperature (any warmer than that and it will start to melt the frosting and ruin the consistency). Beat for 5-10 seconds to just incorporate the chocolate. Add a dollop of frosting to the top of each cake, and gently spread out using the back of a spoon, making a dip for a spoonful of curd.