Golden Milk Cake

We love golden milk, with fresh turmeric and ginger grown locally by Paradox Farms and a few cardamom pods simmered slowly in milk.  But frankly, in the muggy heat of summer the thought of a warm beverage makes me shudder.  Recently, I came across a recipe for turmeric cake in The Washington Post, and it inspired me to adapt it to make:: golden milk cake!

The inside is a beautiful orange-red color from the turmeric, which combined with ginger delivers anti-oxidants in a slice of cake.  All three of the spices are warming, anti-inflammatory, improve circulation, and aid digestion, which makes it a win-win for me as far as a treat that’s sweet but not overly so goes.  The tahini is not overpowering, though decidedly leaves it’s mark on the taste buds in a mellow way that plays out well with coconut.  All in all, it’s good food medicine 😊.

I love it, the rest of my family finds it ‘interesting’ and a bit too crumbly for ‘cake’.  Try it for yourself and decide, next time I have cream available I’ll be adding a dollop of whipped cream too!

1 tablespoon stirred tahini
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
2 teaspoons orange peel powder, optional
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk or almond milk, room temperature
1/2 cup melted coconut oil, it shouldn’t be hot
1/2 cup sliced almonds, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch-square pan with a thin layer of the tahini.
Combine the flour, baking powder, shredded coconut, brown sugar, spices, and salt in a mixing bowl.
Whisk together your choice of milk/almond milk and the coconut oil in a bowl.  If the milk/almond milk is too cold, the addition of the oil will make a strange separated clumpy mess; so they should be fairly close in temperature.
Mix the wet into the dry to form a smooth batter.
Spread evenly in the prepared pan. Arrange the almonds on top, pressing them in just a little.
Bake on the middle rack for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through, until a toothpick or fork inserted into the center comes out clean.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
Either use a knife to loosen around the edges, carefully inverting to dislodge and turn it right side up on a cutting board or cut into squares and serve out of the pan.
Serve slightly warm; cool completely before storing.