Turmeric Cake (Sfoof)

Find more recipes at fussfreeflavours.com

A top down view of eight square slices of yellow sfoof turmeric cake on a white square porcelain board.

4.96 from 22 votes

This cake is easy to make, using only one bowl - vibrantly yellow cake with delicious rich flavours from turmeric. A perfect cake for a mid-morning cup of coffee, it's inspired by the sfoof turmeric cake of the Middle East.

Made with vegetable shortening that's easy to mix, so there's no need for an electric mixer, and it's egg free (so easily scalable) and suitable for vegans.

Servings: servings

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time40

Ingredients

To grease the cake tin

2 tbsp tahini

Cake ingredients

65 g vegetable shortening.
200 g sugar
200 g plain flour
150 g fine semolina
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp ground turmeric
280 ml almond milk
2 tbsp pine nuts

Garnish

2 tbsp pine nuts

Instructions

Heat oven to 180°C (Fan) / 375°F / Gas mark 5. Line a a 10" x 6" (25cm x 15cm) tray-bake cake tin with baking parchment, and brush the parchment with tahini. A silicone pastry brush works very well here.
In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add flour, semolina, baking powder, tahini, turmeric, almond milk, and pine nuts and mix together.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and garnish evenly with pine nuts.
Bake for about 30 minutes. Check to see if it's cooked through with a toothpick - stick into the centre of the cake. It's done when there's no wet cake mixture on the toothpick when you pull it out.

Notes

To stop the baking parchment flopping into the tray before you add the batter, clip it to the sides with small bulldog clips.

Options and variations:

You can substitute your preferred non-dairy milk.
Bake with almonds or pistachios rather than pine nuts and garnish with a few rose petals
Adjust the amount of turmeric used according to strength. If it's been sitting in the back of your spice cupboard for a while, add a little more. If it's fresh, add less.
Use self raising flour and leave out the baking powder.
Should you want, add 1/2 tsp of ground star anise for a more authentic sfoof flavour.
This recipe is 8 Weight Watchers Smart Points per portion

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.