BANANA & SESAME LOAF with Tahini Buttercream

August 11th, 2022

~~~~

I have recently been on a bit of a tahini bender. Although possibly not a kitchen staple in every home, tahini is an ingredient I always have on hand. It can be used in baking, in dips such as hummus and babaganoush, as a sauce to drizzle over baked meatballs, used as a sandwich/toast spread in place of butter, and the list goes on.

It is important to note, that not all tahini is the same and it will go rancid (becoming extra bitter) over time when kept at room temperature. With that in mind, I always purchase tahini from a bulk bin refillery and store it in the fridge where it will last for many months. If buying pre-packaged tahini, look for tubs in the chilled section of the supermarket, usually positioned near fresh falafel mixes.

Peanut butter can sometimes be used to replace tahini, but that isn’t always the case. For example, the following recipe would change the flavour and texture too much. You could skip the buttercream icing for the banana loaf if you haven’t got tahini on hand. Although you will now have a good selection of recipes (plus loads more online), that may just warrant adding tahini to the shopping list.

There are two types of tahini, hulled and unhulled. Personally, I prefer the lighter and less bitter hulled tahini for use in cooking. Which is also the more easily available of the two options, but in case you have a choice ‘hulled’ tahini is my preference for the recipes I have shared.

More Tahini recipes on Homegrown Kitchen:

• Baked Meatballs with Tahini Sauce
• Savoury Crepes with Pea Hummus
• Tahini & Ginger Slaw (oh, yes!)
• Tahini & Cardamom Cookies

Banana & Sesame Loaf with Tahini Buttercream

This banana loaf combination is inspired by a favourite childhood snack: banana slices dipped into tahini. The icing is quite literally the “icing on the cake” here, adding something a little different with the decadence that is buttercream. To account for the sweet icing I have kept the sugar in the loaf quite minimal. If you are not using icing, and like your banana loaf on the sweeter side, then increase the sugar quantity to ½ (100g) cup.

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 3 nicely ripe bananas, about 500g
• 3 free-range eggs
• ⅓ cup 70g sugar
• ½ cup (125ml) light olive oil, or 125g melted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cups 220g flour (can use a mix of plain white, wholemeal, spelt or gluten-free flours)*
• 4 tbsp toasted sesame seeds plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• Pinch of salt

Tahini Buttercream

• 75 g butter, at room temperature
• 3 tbsp tahini - I prefer lighter hulled tahini
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• ¾ cup (120g) icing sugar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180C (fan 160C). Grease and line a loaf tin (or use a 20cm round cake tin).
• In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas until smooth. Add the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla and beat together until combined.
• Measure the remaining dry ingredients into another bowl and use a whisk to combine and remove any lumps. Add this to the banana batter and use a spatula to fold together until just combined. Don’t over mix, give this batter a similar treatment as you would muffin batter.
• Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 50 - 55 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Check after 40 minutes and if the top of the loaf is nicely coloured cover with foil for the remaining cooking time.
• Once baked, cool in the tin for 10 minutes then transfer to a rack. If planning to ice the cake, set it aside to cool completely.
• To make the tahini buttercream, place the butter and tahini into a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or use an electric handheld beater). Beat together on a medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt, and continue mixing for another minute.
• Sift the icing sugar into a bowl to remove any lumps (important step). Then with the mixer on medium speed add one heaped tablespoon of the icing sugar at a time until smooth and fluffy. Scrape down the sides as needed.
• Use a sharp knife to trim the top of the cake to make it slightly less domed (the offcuts are the cook's treat). Spoon the buttercream onto the cooled loaf, using a butter knife or offset spatula to spread evenly out to the sides. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and serve.
• Leftover cake will last for 2-3 days in a sealed container, best kept at room temperature.

Notes

*A note on flours - as I outline in the ingredient list different flours can be used here, noting that it is always best to use the weight rather than volumes when subbing flours, particularly gluten-free flours as they can vary in volume weight compared with standard wheat flour. To make this loaf gluten-free I used 80g sorghum, 80g buckwheat flour and 60g tapioca flour (starch).

*If you enjoy my Homegrown recipes you can now support my work via Buy me a Coffee*

Find out more