Date tahini toffee cake with salted tahini Swiss meringue buttercream

I suspect the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds, for something extraordinary to happen to us.

It was a shinny day in Houston.My friend chef Jada took a day off from work & I have a full day with no plans at all.I wanted to inject my energy into baking and do something massive.I called Carla the head chef and asked herif could go to the kitchen and use it all day.Lucky me she said there’s no classes and she’ll be there to do some paperwork..and yes I can use the kitchen all day.I had this idea of making date cake adopted from bake from scratch cookbook.The editor in chief of bake from scratch magazine mailed me a box with magazine goods.And I got some packed dates from dubai.Caramel tahini cuz it reminds of my mom.She enjoys eating date with tahini a lot.Swiss meringue buttercream..I wanted something creamy yet not too sweet.It was one of the days when I really want to invest it in kitchen and come out with something personal.Cake:1½ cups (243 grams) pitted dates, coarsely chopped ( I used soft dates)1½ cups (360ml) buttermilk(230 grams) unsalted butter, softened1 cup (240 grams)dark brown sugar½ cup (105 grams) granulated sugar1/2 cup (75 grams) sesame seeds ( toasted)1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or seeds from 1 vanilla bean.3 large eggs3 cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour1½ teaspoons baking soda1 tablespoon (12 grams) baking powder½ teaspoon (3 grams) kosher saltPour the buttermilk in a bowl with dates and leave it for 30 minutes to tenderize the dates.mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, saltin a bowl and set a side.Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour.n a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Beat in vanilla . Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Add date mixture, and beat for 1 minute (mixture will looked curdled).Gradually Add the flour mix to the butter mixture..add sesame seeds.Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes.Drizzle some of tahini caramel sauce on first layer then cover with buttercream frosting.Repeat the with the second layer and top with the third one and cover with the frosting.Salted  tahini caramel2cups sugar (400g)1/2 water (120ml)1/2 cup tahini (128ml)4tablespoons unsalted butter (40g)1 1/3cup heavy cream ( 230ml)1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted (75g)1 teaspoon kosher saltMix sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until sugar begins to caramelize in spots. Swirl until the color of honey, 5–7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, swirloccasionally, until caramel is a deep amber color, about 5 minutes longer.Remove caramel from heat and carefully whisk in tahini and butter, then cream, sesame seeds, and salt. Let cool slightly before serving.Salted tahini Swiss meringue5 egg whites1 1/2 cup (300g) granulated sugar2 cup (450g) unsalted butter, softened1/2 tsp kosher salt1 Tbsp vanilla paste1/2 cup (170g)  salted tahini caramel sauce.Place mixing bowl over simmering pot. Don’t let the bottom of the mixing bowl contact the water. Add egg whites and sugar to bowl, whisk occasionally then Use a candy thermometer and continue whisking and heating until temperature reaches 140-150f / 60-65 degrees.Move the mixing bowl to the attached mixer and whisk the egg whites until it becomes thick & glossy ( hard peak)Add the butter in small batches while the mixer is running until the meringue become thick and creamy.Add the caramel sauce.Notes :If you are using ratab, just cut the ratab  in halves because it so tender and will breakdown while you mix it easily.Use the best quality of tahinimake sure the meringue is not too hot when add the butter.The meringue will look curdled but that’s alright it will become smootherAdd pinch of cream of tartar to the sugar & water for the caramel before boiling it, it will hold it from crystallizing.