Tahinopita —or tashinopita— the irresistible sweet bread was for us a revelation when we first tasted it some years ago. Our Cypriot friends Marilena and Seth brought us this delicious palm-size coiled pie, explaining its simple ingredients and the way it was shaped. “The thin bread dough enclosing the tahini-sugar-cinnamon filling usually cracks, and the filling that oozes out caramelizes beautifully,” explained Seth.
I perfectly understood and tried several times to recreate these tahinopites. I never managed to get close to the ones our friends had brought from their favorite Nicosia bakery. But I am sure that you will love my version!
To get the crackly caramelized tahini filling, I came up with the idea of shaping the pies like small cinnamon rolls so that both the casing and the filling would get beautifully browned and crunchy as they bake.
The small, cookie-like tahinopites were a huge success, and here I share them with you (scroll down for the recipe).
We were fortunate to receive this very special jar of incredibly delicious, oven-toasted tahini paste from Tel Aviv, brough to us by our dear friends Rinat and David. That made me want to bake new and old favorites, experimenting with variations of the Cypriot tahinopita in both the cookie-like treats and the original, coiled pies, as well as a fruit-studded cake.
More than a hummus ingredient
Tahini, the nutty sesame paste, for most northern Europeans and Americans is associated with the Middle Eastern hummus. But for us Greeks tahini is part of the traditional spring baking, an essential ingredient of Lenten treats. The time of year Greeks prepare for Easter, bakeries offer tahini cakes studded with raisins and scented with orange, cinnamon, and cloves. Very few people these days follow the strict rules of the forty-day Lent, but we all adore the unusual nutty-fragrant tahini treats!
Sesame seed paste, an ancient staple of the Eastern Mediterranean, is still served in bowls in Cyprus and other countries of the Middle East, accompanied by freshly baked pita and lemon halves, much like olive oil, or butter come with the bread in other parts of the world.
A fruit-studded cake
While tahini cakes are mostly baked during Lent in Greece, in Turkey and in other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean they are often served for breakfast. This cake has lots of dried fruit, besides the usual raisins.
I would like to share with you these favorite tahini treats: Cypriot tahini pies, or cookies, and the deep-flavored cake filled with walnuts and dried fruits. Needless to say, again, that both are traditionally vegan (scroll down for the recipe).
in his fabulous, very popular newsletter feature me (!) in a conversation about our 20+ years friendship and exchange of ideas and recipes for Zaytinya.
I am more than proud to be the fabulous restaurants’ ’Greek grandmother’…
In this traditional tahini cake, a cup of orange juice and some bitter orange marmalade balance the tahini, creating a complex flavor. Note that having no eggs, this cake is crumbly.
Make sure you let it cool completely before cutting to serve. It is better the next day.
300 grams tahini, preferably from whole, toasted sesame seeds
100 grams brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
TO FINISH:
2 teaspoons honey diluted with 1 tablespoon warm water
Make the dough: Oil a bowl and a piece of plastic wrap. In a bowl of a food processor fitted with dough hooks, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and olive oil. Toss to mix.
With the motor running slowly, add lukewarm water to make a soft dough and work it in the machine for 5 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes, then add the salt, and continue working in the machine for another 6 minutes to get a soft, elastic dough.
With oiled hands, shape the dough into a ball and transfer to the oiled bowl. Cover with the oiled plastic, and place in the refrigerator and let rise slowly overnight.
Bring the dough to room temperature before shaping.
Make the Filling: In a bowl stir well the tahini to incorporate its oil and paste, if separated, then add the sugar and cinnamon, stirring well to mix.
Line 2-3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Shape the cookies: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Divide into 4; cover the 3 pieces, and flatten the fourth piece and roll with a rolling pin to make a rectangle about 12X10 inches (30X25 cm). With an off-set spatula spread generously with 1/4 of the filling to cover all the surface of the dough. With the help of a large dough scraper roll like a jelly roll (see picture above), then stretch the roll carefully, lightly pressing and pulling with your hands, to make it about 18 inches (45 cm) long.
With a large knife, cut 1-inch (2,5 cm.) slices; shape each slice to form an even round as you transfer onto the lined baking sheet, flattening the rolls somewhat, and leaving at least 2/3 inch (2 cm) space between the rolls. Continue forming rolls with the second piece of dough.
Shape the coiled pies: Flatten and roll the third and fourth pieces of dough as described above, then spread each one with filling, roll and stretch, then coil to form two breads.
Cover the larger pies and the cookies with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until deep golden and caramelized. The larger pies will need to bake about 10 more minutes. Check to make sure they are well browned on top and bottom.
To finish, brush lightly with the honey-water mixture the baked cookie-like tahinopites and the larger pies as you take them out of the oven .
Let cool completely before serving. Keep leftover small pies in an air-tight container. Eat the larger ones first, or freeze –as you do any bread-- to reheat later in a medium/low oven.
TAHINI CAKE with raisins and orange
You can choose any kind of dried fruits you have at hand: chopped plums and/or dates would be an option but it is nice to include different colored ones if you can. Also you can substitute almonds, and/or hazelnuts or pistachios for the walnuts.
For a 9-inch (23 cm) cake
1 tablespoon olive oil to grease the pan
1 cup (250 grams) tahini
2/3 cup (200 grams) sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tablespoons brandy
1½ cups (200 grams) plain flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup (150 grams) walnuts, chopped
2 ½ cups (about 250 grams) chopped dried fruit, such as apricots, cherries, plus 2 tablespoons bitter orange marmalade
½ cup (75 grams) sultanas
1 cup (240 ml) orange juice
Sesame seeds, to sprinkle
Icing sugar (optional)
Line a 23cm (9in) round cake pan with parchment paper and grease it with a few drops of olive oil. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F.
Beat the tahini in a bowl and gradually add the sugar.
In a cup mix the soda with the brandy and add it to the tahini mix, stirring to incorporate it.
Sift the flour, cinnamon, and cloves in a separate bowl, adding the walnuts, the dried fruit, the marmalade, and the raisins.
Add half of the flour mixture to the tahini and stir well, then pour in half the orange juice, stirring to incorporate it. Repeat with the remaining ingredients and stir until everything is well combined. The cake should be thicker than an average cake batter; add 1-2 tablespoons flour if it appears watery. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in the middle of the preheated oven until it is deep brown and firm, about 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and remove the parchment. If you like, sprinkle with icing sugar.
Serve a slice with coffee, tea, or with a glass of freshly-pressed orange juice.
