Arabic Cake with Tonka Bean

Incredibly aromatic Arabic cake made with only four ingredients, like ground almonds, tonka bean, eggs, and sugar. Yet the resulting cake is fantastic!

Arabic Cake with Ground Almonds

A simple Arabic cake with tonka bean and ground almonds, flourless and full of flavor, this is the perfect sweet treat with a cup of coffee.

Dense, moist and sweet crumb, the taste of almonds and the intense aroma of the tonka bean… this easy tonka cake will make you perfectly happy.

I made a Middle Eastern almond cake a few years ago and loved it. Unfortunately with so many other cakes waiting to be baked I kind of forgot about it. Every now and then, while searching in my notebook for something else, I stumbled upon the recipe, and I’ve always thought that I should bake it again soon.

Recently, it finally happened. I intended to bake a cake, but while searching for the ingredients I noticed that I was completely out of flour. Nothing there! I think that didn’t happen to me in years. Stores are closed on Sundays and I didn’t want to bother the neighbors.

Suddenly I remembered this Arabic cake and the fact that it contains no flour, just ground almonds. I had everything else, so in less than 15 minutes the tonka cake was in the oven.

Ingredients

Ground almonds

• I used ground almonds that were ground with their skin on, no need for the more expensive blanched ground almonds.
• You can buy already ground almonds or grind the almonds in the food processor yourself. Just be careful not to overmix and turn them to almond butter.

Tonka bean:

• It was the first time that I used tonka beans. I had a few of them for quite a while in my spice cupboard but didn’t really know how to use them.
• The recipe actually called for cardamom and vanilla but I thought it was about time to use the tonka beans. And I am so glad I did.
• You will not believe the intense aroma of the tonka bean. I only grated half of a very small bean for the cake but the taste was so wonderfully intense, something like vanilla but stronger, like sweet flowers or some kind of heavy perfume, I cannot really describe it. You have to try it to really understand it.
• The fingers of my right hand which was holding the bean while grating it retained the scent for hours and hours after grating the bean, although I had washed my hands several times in between. The whole kitchen kept the scent for two whole days. Amazing!
• However, while researching for this post I found out that tonka beans are actually illegal in the US. Crazy! If you wish to read more about that read this article.

How to replace the tonka bean?

• You can replace it with a vanilla bean and a pinch of cardamom.
• It will still taste great but do try the tonka bean if you can, you will be amazed by its flavor.

More Middle Eastern recipes?

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus – A flavorsome roasted red pepper hummus recipe with tahini, chickpeas and white beans, this has become one of our favorite spreads or dips.

Tabbouleh – Or tabouleh or tabouli, probably the best-known Middle Eastern or Arabic salad recipe, made with lots and lots of parsley, mint, bulgur, tomatoes, and cucumbers

Persian Eggplant Dip – A very easy to make and delightful Iranian recipe for eggplant or aubergine and tomato dip with yogurt.

Chicken Shawarma Plate – How to make a chicken shawarma plate at home.

Mujammara Dip – An amazing Syrian or Middle Eastern recipe with roasted peppers, walnuts, and pomegranate molasses.

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