Last Friday night, my guy agreed to see the A’s vs. Angels game with me. Although ranked #1 on my list, baseball is one of his least favorite sports, so it’s always a miracle when he willingly comes along!
We arrived at the stadium with half an hour before the first pitch, which was really late by my standards… My dad and I always show up 2 hours early to watch batting practice! After dropping off my bag, I dashed up to the restroom at the top of our section in order to make it back to the seats before they announced the starting line-ups and sang the National Anthem.
As I wiped my wet hands on a thin paper towel, I glanced at the woman applying foundation in the mirror on the side wall. “Hmm, I wonder where she bought her beanie…” I thought. “It’s gonna be a cold night—I want one too! Or maybe she knitted it herself? It doesn’t have a tag or logo…”
Then I dropped my gaze to her hair, which hung all the way down to her waist… And gasped. She was my French teacher in high school!
I tapped her on the shoulder and politely inquired, “Are you Mademoiselle…”
She immediately filled in her last name and exclaimed, “YES!” We spent a few minutes catching up; over a decade had elapsed since I last studied textbooks and celebrated Mardi Gras in her classroom. It turned out that she, like my parents, owned season tickets too—in the section right next to ours!
As soon as I sank into my seat, I texted my brother the amusing story. As one of those “right face, wrong place” meetings, all I could do was laugh, smile, and savor the moment.
Just like the ballgame, this Spiced Hummus Cake with Vanilla Yogurt Frosting is practically a “right face, wrong place” meeting too. Although normally eaten as an appetizer with carrots and crackers, adding hummus to this cake batter introduced a subtle nutty, almost earthy flavor. Paired with the sweet vanilla yogurt frosting, this hummus cake is one healthy dessert that’s guaranteed to disappear in seconds!
In this easy recipe, hummus replaces the oil and egg yolks. It provides lots of moisture, as well as a little bit of structure from the protein in the chickpeas. For this cake, I turned to one of my favorite brands: Sabra’s Classic Hummus. It’s smooth and creamy, laced with nutty tahini and a hint of garlic, and positively addictive!
To accentuate the tahini’s nutty flavor, I swapped out about half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat. Whole wheat flour also exudes sweet nutty undertones, and it adds a little extra fiber and nutrients too! Although many people believe that whole wheat baked goodies are stereotypically dry, this one is anything but. With lots of hummus, a touch of Greek yogurt, and lots of brown sugar, this cake is perfectly moist and tender!
And yes, to answer your question… This cake does taste like hummus, but only for the first day or two! Like with black bean brownies—or any bean-baked treat—the flavor begins to fade, so when I cut a slice four days later, I only tasted vanilla. If you aren’t a huge fan of its initial flavor, don’t throw it out! Just cover the cake (and chill, if already frosted) for a few days. It’ll taste like a regular spice cake by then!
Before baking the cake, you must prepare your 9”-round cake pans. Have you hear the term “line and grease” before? Although it sounded mysterious to me the first time I read it in my mom’s old Betty Crocker cookbook, it’s actually incredibly easy!
To begin, trace the bottom of each cake pan onto a sheet of wax paper. Sometimes I sketch this with a pencil; other (lazy) times I set the pan and wax paper on top of a cutting board and trace with a paring knife instead. The knife pre-perforates the wax paper for you! Then cut out the wax paper circles and set aside for a moment.
Next, coat the pans with nonstick cooking spray. For cakes, I always reach for cooking spray with flour because the flour helps ensure the cake slides out easily after baking. (See my Note below for what to do if you don’t have a special can of this.) Now firmly press the wax paper circle into the bottom of each pan, gently spreading out any air bubbles with your fingers, and re-spray the tops of the wax paper.
I know it sounds like a lot of extra work, but I promise it’s totally worth it! After spending all of last week testing multiple cake recipes, half of them ripped when a piece of the bottom refused to budge from the pan. Oops!
Note: If you don’t have cooking spray with flour, then grease the pans with regular nonstick cooking spray instead. Once you’ve lined and re-sprayed the wax paper, add 2-3 teaspoons of flour to each pan; then shake and roll around the pans until their bottoms and sides are covered. Throw away any excess flour and proceed as normal.
Although the batter appears to barely cover the bottom of the pans, it rises quite a bit in the oven due to the baking soda. Still, the cake only needs a brief 17 minutes to bake, so don’t go far! Then the layers will need to cool completely before frosting.
This skinny vanilla yogurt frosting is my favorite! And that’s saying something… Unless it’s dark chocolate and fudgy, I refuse to eat most frostings. My recipe is so simple: just Greek yogurt, instant pudding mix, and a little extra sweetener. Cream those 3 together in a bowl for 2 minutes before chilling for 2 hours. Don’t skip the chilling; it really helps the frosting thicken to regular buttercream consistency! Then all that’s left is to spread it between the layers and over the sides of the cake.
With its nutty tahini taste, this healthy Spiced Hummus Cake with Vanilla Yogurt Frosting will surprise you with its fun exotic flavor. Paired with classic sweet cinnamon and topped with creamy frosting, it’s ideal for relaxed summer days, interesting dinner parties, or any “I just want cake—no more carrots and celery!” cravings.
So skip the appetizers and cut another slice of hummus cake instead!
This moist cake might surprise you with its tahini flavor, but its fun taste will keep you coming back for more. For an extra whimsical twist, try using a different flavor of hummus!
- To prepare the cake, preheat the oven to 350°. Line two 9”-round cake pans with wax paper, and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites, hummus, and vanilla extract. Stir in the brown sugar and yogurt, smearing out any clumps along the side of the bowl. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the egg mixture, stirring just until incorporated, and beginning and ending with the flour. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts and the milk in 2 equal parts.)
- Spread the batter into the prepared pans. Bake at 350°F for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting, peeling off the wax paper, and cooling completely on wire racks.
- While the cake bakes, prepare the frosting. Add the yogurt, pudding mix, and Truvia to a medium bowl, and beat 1-2 minutes, or until thickened. Chill for at least 2 hours before frosting the cake. (If chilling longer than 2 hours, cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap to prevent the top from drying out and forming a skin.)
- To assemble the cake, spread frosting across the top of one cake round. Place the second cake round on top, and spread frosting across its top. Spread frosting around the sides.
Notes: For the strongest hummus flavor, the cake is best if served the same day it’s made. The chickpea flavor fades over time, so by about 4 days after baking, the cake will taste like a spice cake with no prominent hummus taste.
Because of the yogurt frosting, store any cake leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
*Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Sabra. All text, images, and recipe are my own.
This recipe is amazing. Never have I heard of adding hummus to a recipe before, but I’m all for experimenting and trying new things! I’m definitely saving that frosting recipe too, I’ve tried different “healthier” frosting recipes and none seem to ever work quite right. And I get tired of just using Cool Whip…haha. Thank you!
Thanks Kaylin! This is definitely my favorite go-to frosting now, and I love how it adds extra protein too. And if I make too much, I just spoon the extra into a bowl, top it with fruit and granola, and call it a parfait! 😉 I really hope you enjoy it too!
I’m so intrigued! I want to try a bite of this so badly…but scared I’d eat the whole cake 😉
I purposely made it easy to halve the recipe so I could turn it into cupcakes — I have so little self-control with cake too! 😉
I’m sure that was so strange to run into your French teacher in the bathroom! What a small world! But sounds like it made a good story for your brother! 🙂 And I love the twist on this cake, Amy! What a brilliant idea to add in hummus. I could literally eat a whole container of hummus in one sitting, so this cake is right up my alley. Pinned!
Thanks Gayle! Hummus is so dangerous for me too, especially if it has roasted bell peppers or basil mixed in. I always have to scoop out a portion and hide the container in the back of the fridge, or else I’d eat it all in a single afternoon!
This is really intriguing. I can’t get my head around hummus in a sweet cake but I am sure that I’d be convinced upon tasting! I think… being a from-scratch person, I could make the hummus with just chickpeas, oil and tahini without the garlic (that’s the ingredient that’s getting to me!! Garlic in cake!?). Yes, I am going to try this soon!
Oh, and re teachers… I ran into my geography teacher a few months ago, she was working in a bookstore near my house! Also ran into my art teacher from high school in a supermarket. We were both looking at the dairy section. Rather weird…! x
I hope you enjoy the hummus cake Laura! Yes, you could most definitely make your own hummus, and that way you could easily adjust the amount of tahini to fit your tastes. The garlic taste wasn’t prominent to me at all after the first few hours, but I could understand how someone with a more sensitive palate would detect it! That’s so strange about running into two of your old teachers recently. Because I don’t live near my childhood schools anymore, it’s almost guaranteed that I won’t see any of my teachers unless I make an effort to visit the schools, so it was so surprising — but fun that we both adore the same baseball team! 😉
Lovely cake.. looks too good.. bookmarked! 🙂
Thank you so much Hari! 🙂
Two hours early to watch batting practice?!?!? Girlfriend, that’s some serious commitment! Also serious (seriously crazy-cool, that is!) is this cake concept! I’m a huge, huge fan of black bean brownies, pizookies … any decadent baked good that’s magically loaded with extra nutrition from can’t-even-tell-they’re-in-there ingredients. The nutty flavor of pine nuts is delicious in desserts … so why not make the leap to hummus?!?!? Brilliant! Sabra makes sensational hummus, and this is another great use for it! Move over pita chips … it’s time for dessert! 😀
Thanks Shelley! After how well this cake turned out, I definitely want to try hummus in more baked goodies. You’re completely right; it’s awesome to hide extra nutrients in our sweet treats. That way I don’t have to feel as guilty sneaking seconds and thirds! 😉 And yes, we’re serious baseball fans. Half the time, we show up that early to beat the crowds, and it’s basically a requirement when we visit a new stadium so we can walk all the way around and explore. We’re kind of crazy that way!
Mademoiselle!!! How funny!! Is she still at our school?? Those were fun times in that class, when you and I really became friends!! 😉
I know!! I nearly texted you, but I figured it was probably past your baker bedtime. 😉 She’s in Danville now; she had to find a new job when Madame Smith returned. But it sounds like she’s really happy there! And YES, thank goodness for French and becoming friends with you! And our Mardi Gras and Cinco de Mayo parties… And random French films and barely paying attention. We should take a trip to France someday — wouldn’t that be fun??
This cake turned out soo well! I even ended up using all white whole wheat flour and a brown sugar sub and it is divine!! What a great idea to use hummus!! PS it freezes awesome ?
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake Erin! And thank you for sharing your recipe tweaks with me — I always love to hear what works! 🙂 PS I’ve missed your comments!!
Not sure if the ditch posing mix is the same as yours so could you give me a description what to look for and/our contents?
Also never heard of truvia, explanation on that would be appreciated to! Though I do recall seeing a link somewhere exclaiming what it is. Looking at small phone version now so that might be why I don’t see it now.
If there are substitutes available would love to hear them too!
Ugh, phone keyboard and auto correct, I meant to say dutch pudding mix
and explaining not exclaiming…
No worries Mieke! 🙂 This is the instant pudding mix that I used. The website includes pictures of the nutrition label and ingredients list, so you can compare that to your Dutch pudding mix. This is Truvia — it’s a stevia-based sweetener that measures cup-for-cup with granulated sugar. I’m excited to hear what you think of the cake if you try it!