Our turmeric cake (sfouf), has a stunning yellow color, a subtly sweet flavor, and is surprisingly addictive. This famous Middle Eastern dessert is perfect with tea or coffee, or as a grab and go snack.
Turmeric cake. Believe it or not, one of the simplest, most delicious cakes we've ever had in our life. Our grandmother used to make us Sfouf (turmeric cake) all the time when we were kids and she came to visit us in Barcelona. And I guess the reason we love it so much, is because it reminds us of her. We haven't seen her in many years ( she lives in Israel) and we think about her every day.
For years we’ve tried to figure out how to make this cake. It's so simple, yet we never quite got it right. It’s been driving us crazy. And the recipe our grandmother gave us was all “a little bit of this and a little bit of that"... So we tried using it as a guide, but the result was never the same.
We did, however, discover during our many, many trials, that mixing turmeric and baking soda turns your cake red once you bake it. Kind of like an all natural red velvet cake, only bitter. Pretty neat, uh?
So finally, after all the science experiments and a few disasters, we came up with the recipe we’re sharing today. Still not exactly our grandmother’s cake... but I think it's time to accept that, no matter how much we try, it will never be like hers. Because it's missing the most important ingredient: her loving touch.
Hope you guys enjoy it!
*Read about the benefits of Turmeric in this article by Dr. Andrew Weil:
Turmeric Health Benefits: Have a Happy New Year With Turmeric
Ingredients For Turmeric Cake (Sfouf)
- Self-rising flour: you can make self-rising flour at home by mixing 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Oil: any neutral-flavored oil will work here ( avocado, grapeseed, etc)
- Sugar: It's not a very sweet dessert
- Plant-based milk: any sweetened or unsweetened will work here, almond, coconut, oat, cashew, soy, hemp, flax, etc
- Unsweetened shredded coconut
- Turmeric: use ground turmeric
- Tahini: we use it (like our grandmother does) to grease the baking pan. It gives the turmeric cake a nutty flavor.
How To Make Turmeric Cake (Sfouf)
Other Middle Eastern Desserts You Must Try
- Knafeh
- Halvah Bars
- Maamoul - Pistachio stuffed Middle Eastern Cookies
- Montecaos ( cinnamon cookies)
- Rose Water Almond Milk Pudding
- Halvah Stuffed Dates Dipped in Chocolate
- Semolina Borekas with Orange Blossom Syrup
DID YOU LIKE OUR TURMERIC CAKE RECIPE?
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
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Sfouf - Middle-Eastern Turmeric Cake
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 16 pieces 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Our turmeric cake (sfouf), has a stunning yellow color, a subtly sweet flavor, and tastes surprisingly addictive. This famous Middle Eastern dessert is perfect when eaten with tea or coffee or as a grab and go snack.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 ½ cups self rising flour (See Note 1)
- ¾ cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup coconut oil,melted
- ¾ cup unsweetened plant-based milk, warm
- 16 shelled pistachios
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 8x8 baking pan with the tahini
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, coconut, sugar, turmeric and and salt. Mix well
- Add the oil and milk and gently stir all the ingredients together until just combined (do not over mix). Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.
- Place pistachios in 4 rows of 4.
- Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into 16 squares.
Notes
- You can make your own self rising flour at home.
1 cup self rising flour = 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 148
- Sugar: 6.4 g
- Sodium: 149.7 mg
- Fat: 8.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.8 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 1.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Maureen (@OrgasmicChef)
What a lovely cake and knowing that it has such memories for you makes this a very special cake indeed. I would love to try it in honor of your gran.
mayihavethatrecipe
Thanks! You'll be surprised how easy it is to make. The turmeric give it a very unique taste that is almost addictive. Hope you like it!!
Daniel
I was treated to a piece of this cake at the Cohen's house. I thoroughly enjoyed more than one piece. It also goes well with apricot jelly. Thanks for sharing.
mayihavethatrecipe
You can sample our recipes anytime Dan.
Caitlin
I was so intrigued by the unusual list of ingredients that I had to give this a try. It's really tasty--reminiscent of corn bread, but with deeper, more interesting flavors. It was especially nice with a little honey drizzled over the top. A perfect accompaniment to afternoon tea!
mayihavethatrecipe
We are glad you enjoyed it. My husband ate it with some fig preserves and he love it! Thanks for sharing.
Oh My Veggies (@ohmyveggies)
Turmeric is one of those spices that I really under-utilize in the kitchen. I'm just not quite sure what to do with it, what flavors it works well with, etc. But this cake looks beautiful!
mayihavethatrecipe
Thank you. You should give it a try it is different and you will want to come back for more. Thanks for sharing!
erinmotz
Turmeric cake, how interesting!!! I love this idea and the color is amazing!
mayihavethatrecipe
Yes, definitely not your every day cake, but sooo delicious! Give it a try, you'll love it!
kitchenriffs
Such a nice cake! I know I've seen recipes for Turmeric Cake before, but can't remember where. Your version looks sensational. Really nice blog - glad I found you. I'll be back.
mayihavethatrecipe
Thank you so much, we really appreciate it! We love sharing our family recipes. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Eva
When I first saw this recipe I thought, wow, weirdest cake ever! I was so curious that I decided to try it... Surprisingly it was delicious! Not too sweet and it had a great color and flavor! I'm a fan now. Thanks for sharing!
wendy
I found your recipe while searching for vegan cake, oh my goodness I mad this and everyone loved it, thank you for sharing it.
Sarah
I came upon this wonderful recipe while reading about the merits of turmeric. I will most certainly be making this along with lots of your other recipes. What a delight to stumble upon a treasure trove of beautiful cruelty free food! Thank you! And thank you to your Grandmother also 🙂
Heidi
Wondering how it would taste if I added some cardamom?
Vicky & Ruth
Never thought of that. It would probably complement the turmeric really well!
Deborah
Hi
The Clean Plates newsletter http://www.cleanplates.com/eat-in/tips/10-turmeric-recipes/
listed this as a gluten-free recipe. It looks delicious Do you have a gluten-free version?
Thanks so much
Deborah
Vicky & Ruth
Hi Deborah,
Thank you for your message. We just realized that the recipe was listed as gluten free, our apologies. Unfortunately we do not have a gluten free version at the moment, but our suggestion would be to try using a "1 to 1" gluten free flour, such as Bob Red Mill's . Hope this helps and again, we apologize for the confusion.
Tee Bone
I will most assuredly be trying this cake but I have two questions...
1. Is it more of a dessert or a go along with the meal? (some comments mention it being like cornbread)
2. How do you say "sfuf"? I know my whole family is going to want to know this too. While we can always just call it turmeric cake, we like to use authentic words...when we know how to pronounce them. 🙂
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you for your question. This is our grandmother's recipe and we always ate it as dessert or with coffee for breakfast.
LOL it so cute that your family would want to know the right way call this cake. We pronounce it S-FOU-F
Let us know how you family liked it.
TeeBne
This was indeed tasty! However, it came out a deep orange as if it were made with pumpkin, instead of the golden yellow shown in your pictures. AND I think i can see both sides...it is not overly sweet (maybe because I have a tendency to have a light hand when measuring sugar), so it could be a side like cornbread. But it is sweet enough to serve as dessert, especially with something like a small scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream or even fruit......but I most definitely see it as a breakfast dish with coffee!! That will be what I have in the morning. 🙂
Tee Bone
This is indeed tasty! However, mine came out a deep orange as if made with pumpkin, instead of the golden yellow in your pictures. I am guessing that had to do with the baking soda that I used by mistake thinking I grabbed the baking powder as I had all purpose flour on hand. Furthermore, I can see both sides of my question...I have a light hand when it comes to measuring sugar so this was not too sweet making it work as a side like cornbread but also sweet enough to be a dessert...especially if served along side a small scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream, or even fruit. BUT I think you described it perfectly as a breakfast dish with coffee & that is what I'm having in the morning! Thank you so much 🙂
Jean
Thank you for this recipe. Easy and healthy
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you Jean! Glad you liked it!
Marion
Hi, this sounds lovely and I will give it a try! Just wondering how much extra sweetener to add of all I have is unsweetened plant milk?
Thanks for your help, Marion
Vicky & Ruth
Hi Marion!
One tablespoon of sugar should be enough. If you like your cakes on the sweeter side, you can add two. Hope you like the recipe!
Harpreet
is it alright to use regular milk instead of almond or coconut?
Vicky & Ruth
Yes, you can use regular milk. Enjoy!
DM
I used this recipe and made this delicious turmeric cake, which has become my favorite. I've made it 3 times already! It's so tasty, moist and pretty healthy when you consider it's made w/ almond milk and you can use coconut oil (instead of vegetable oil for a nuttier flavor). It's a hit with everyone. I highly recommend it.
Vicky & Ruth
Thank you so much 🙂
Carmela
Hi! Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe!
Is it possible to change the coconut for something else?
My husband hates coconut hahahahaha
Vicky & Ruth
Hi Carmela, we are not sure about your question. We think that the recipe might work if you use any chopped nuts instead of the coconut. Pistachios would work great with this turmeric cake, but any nut should work. If you try it please let us know how it came out.
Stephanie McCreary
I'd like to make this. Do you think I could substitute coconut oil for vegetable oil? Thanks!
Vicky & Ruth
Hi Stephanie,
Yes, absolutely. In fact, we have this recipe in our cookbook using coconut oil, and it comes put beautifully. Please let us know if you have any more questions.
Elaine
Greetings! Looking forward to trying this recipe. We normally have unsweetened vanilla hemp milk at home. Could we use if we alter the sugar amount? Please advise. Thank you!
Vicky and Ruth
Hi Elaine,
You can use the unsweetened vanilla hemp milk for this recipe, no need to adjust the sugar. There was an error in the body of the post mentioning only sweetened plant-based milk. This recipe works with bowth sweetened and unsweetened milks because it is not an overly sweet cake sweetened plant-based milk with just make a little sweeter,it works either way.