Chocolate Tahini Rum Cake

Perfectionist cook's Note:

This an amazing chocolate cake which is very easy to make and is sheer heaven if you happen to love tahini. The recipe comes from Stelios Parliaros, a famous Greek pastry chef who has done much to introduce international desserts into Greek homes. It also happens to be completely vegan (or nistissimo) and oil-free. The only thing to watch out for is that the measurements have to be exact or it won't work. Use an electronic scale, measure the ingredients precisely and you can't go wrong.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 10

Yield: 1.0 cake

• 300 g tahini
• 300 g icing sugar
• 300 g plain flour
• 200 g dark chocolate couverture (with 55% cocoa)
• 200 g dark rum (or cognac)
• 100 g orange juice (freshly squeezed only)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (heaped)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade.
2. Prepare the 24cm baking pan. Brush corn oil over the surface of the pan and then coat with sugar by adding in a cup, swirling it around until it covers the inside surface of the pan and then tipping out the excess onto a sheet of grease-proof paper. It can then be folded and poured back into the sugar canister.
3. In a large bowl mix the tahini with a whisk so that any oil which had separated in the jar is incorporated.
4. Add rum, orange juice and combine, then add icing sugar.
5. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler and add to the mixture.
6. Finally add the flour and a heaped teaspoon of baking powder and combine with the whisk. It will become quite thick with the addition of the flour.
7. Pour into the pan and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the cake starts to smell good and comes away from the sides slightly.
8. Turn out onto a wire rack and cool. Serve slightly warm with whipped cream.
9. Note: that it will not rise so the pan should be full to the top. Also, the sugar coating makes the outside of the cake crunchy and sweet.