Black Sesame Oat & Tofu Soft Protein Cake
A pillowy vegan snack cake that uses blended silken tofu and toasted black sesame for protein, minerals and oat-forward texture.
Best for Plant-protein snack, sesame-sourced minerals
This is a Korean café–inspired soft protein cake with blended silken tofu and nutty toasted black sesame folded into oat flour for a tender, moist crumb. It’s lightly sweetened with maple and relies on oat hydration and a short rest for structure instead of eggs or dairy. Serve thin wedges warm or room temperature for coffee, as a portable snack, or sliced into picnic boxes.
Ingredients
- 300 g Silken tofu , drained and roughly broken into chunks
- 150 g rolled oats , 100 g ground to fine flour in a blender, 50 g left whole/coarse
- 60 g sesame seeds , 45 g toasted and ground to a powder/paste, 15 g reserved whole for topping
- 60 ml maple syrup
- 45 ml sunflower oil , use light-tasting oil for a tender crumb
- 10 g Baking powder
- 2 g baking soda
- 15 ml Apple cider vinegar , reacts with baking soda to give lift
- 5 ml Vanilla extract
- 3 g fine sea salt
- 20 g black sesame tahini , mix with 10–15 ml maple syrup for optional drizzle (optional – can be omitted)
Instructions
-
1
Preheat the oven to 175°C. Line the base and sides of a 20 cm (8-inch) round cake pan with parchment and lightly oil the sides.
-
2
Toast 45 g of the black sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking frequently, until fragrant (about 2–3 minutes); cool slightly and grind to a powder/paste in a spice grinder or blender. Reserve 15 g whole seeds for the top.
-
3
Make oat flour: place 100 g of the rolled oats in a high-speed blender and blitz to a fine flour (about 30–45 seconds). Combine the oat flour and the remaining 50 g whole oats in a medium bowl.
-
4
Puree the silken tofu, maple syrup, sunflower oil, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and baking soda in a blender until completely smooth (about 1–2 minutes).
-
5
In the bowl with oat flour and whole oats add the ground black sesame, baking powder and salt; whisk to combine. Pour the tofu mixture into the dry ingredients and fold gently until no dry streaks remain—avoid overmixing.
-
6
Let the batter rest 10 minutes at room temperature so the oats hydrate and thicken. The batter should be thick but spoonable; if very stiff, stir in 1–2 tablespoons (15–30 ml) water or plant milk.
-
7
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, sprinkle the reserved whole black sesame seeds over the surface and, if using, lightly swirl the maple-tahini drizzle. Bake at 175°C for 28–32 minutes until edges are set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs (not wet batter).
-
8
Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then lift out using the parchment and cool fully on the rack before slicing into 8 wedges. Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days.