I love my dentist; he makes me feel like rock star every time I go to see him.
He’s always raving about how nice and amazingly clean my teeth are.
Now, maybe that’s just a trick he uses to get his patients to take good care of their teeth, but it totally works, because clean teeth is a minor obsession of mine now, especially in the days leading up to my appointment. I guess I’m part of the minority who don’t mind going to the dentist.
Since I go in twice a year, we try to catch each other up on what we’ve been up to in the last six months. On my last visit, which was right after the holidays, I joked that I’d been baking up a storm, and he gave me a lecture on sugar and tooth decay.
I don’t think my dentist would like this pomegranate molasses butter cake – this cake is sticky, tart and sweet, and has nuts doused in sugar… oh no, he wouldn’t like it.

When you combine the acidity of the pomegranate molasses with a bit of sugar, you get something so spectacularly delicious, it’s got to be bad for you somehow.
I didn’t think I would like this cake; I needed two tablespoons of pomegranate molasses for this lentil salad, so I got a bottle and then tried to find other recipes to use the rest up.
Pomegranate molasses is made from boiled down pomegranate juice, lemon and sugar (although some versions omit the lemon and sugar altogether).
The sauce is very tart and sweet, thick with a deep rich maroon colour; it adds an incredibly rich flavour to everything!

The recipe for this cake comes from The New York Times; I adapted the recipe a little to make it egg and dairy free.
It’s a buttery, moist, sweet and tart cake that everyone loved. It’s great with tea and as a snack too.
We had it for dessert, and yes, I brushed my teeth every night after dessert.

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Pomegranate Molasses Butter Cake (Adapted from The New York Times)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup or 4 ounces butter, softened, plus more for greasing pan (I used Earth Balance Soy-free spread)
• 1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting pan
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, plus 1 teaspoon
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 4 teaspoons
• 3 tablespoon ground flax, plus 9 tablespoon water
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 6 tablespoons light coconut cream
• 3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts or pecans

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch-square baking pan, dust lightly with flour and knock out excess.
2. Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, combine milk and 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses.
4. In a large bowl, cream together butter and 3/4 cup granulated sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
5. Slowly add flax mixture, beating until well combined.
6. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with milk mixture. (Begin and end with flour, and mix after each addition until just combined.)
7. Pour batter into pan and bake until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.
8. Cool for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges, turn cake out onto a rack, and then turn right side up again.
9. Whisk together confectioners’ sugar, coconut milk cream, and 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses. Brush glaze over cake, letting it drip down sides.
10. In a small, preferably nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, combine nuts, 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses and 4 teaspoons sugar.
11. Stir constantly and watch carefully until sugar melts and coats nuts, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle over top of cake.
12. Enjoy!

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