This black sesame layer cake is my new favorite cake recipe. It’s got that warm, nutty black sesame flavor with a soft and fluffy crumb. The gorgeous charcoal gray color of the cake layers is also 100% natural; no artificial food coloring. And to top it all off, this recipe is SO EASY. You don’t need to grind up any sesame for this! Just have an electric or stand mixer nearby to beat your eggs, then add your wet and dry ingredients. Have I sold you on this black sesame cake yet? Keep reading for more info on black sesame or scroll down for the recipe!
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What is Black Sesame?
As the name implies, black sesame is a type of sesame seed that is naturally black. It has a much stronger and nuttier flavor than white sesame. Honestly, I struggle to find the words to accurately describe the taste of black sesame. If I were more poetic, I’d have some quirky pop culture analogy to help you understand the role of black sesame in my life. But alas, I am just not that funny.
Anyway, moving on… Black sesame is a popular flavor in Asian cuisines. You can find black sesame as a filling in mochi desserts, mixed into lattes, and as a flavor of soft serve ice cream! Ugh, so many new recipe ideas! So little time.
Black Cake without Food Coloring
Another thing I love about black sesame is that it adds a striking black color to whatever you mix it in! Obviously, the color gets diluted when you add other ingredients, so it’s hard to get the blackest black without dye. But this bold gray cake? ALL NATURAL!
This would make a fun cake for Halloween or… some other villainous event. (I obviously CANNOT think today.) But I think black sesame is a year-round flavor. Black and white is classy, no?
Making Cake with Black Sesame Paste
What makes this cake recipe easier than other black sesame cakes I’ve seen around the internet is that you DO NOT need to grind your own black sesame. Instead, I use store-bought black sesame paste. It comes in a tub just like peanut butter and has a similar texture as well. Just like natural peanut butter, there may be some separation of oil in the jar, so make sure you mix it well before using. It’s essentially a tahini, just made with black sesame instead of white.
You can usually find black sesame paste at an Asian market. If you don’t have access to one, this is the exact brand that I have, sold on Amazon.
The only drawback to black sesame paste is that it can be a little expensive. I like using the paste because it is very versatile – I can easily add it to some warm milk for a black sesame latte, or even drop a spoonful in buttercream for black sesame frosting. But if the price is deterring you, you can always buy a jar of black sesame seeds and grind it yourself in a food processor.
Cake Recipe with Yogurt
Moving on to notes about this cake recipe: I used greek yogurt to add acidity to my cake batter, which makes the cake crumb more tender. You can substitute other liquidy, acidic ingredients for yogurt, like sour cream or even buttermilk, but I tend to have yogurt in my fridge 24/7. Just note that if you use something more liquidy, like buttermilk, your batter will be slightly thinner and may take longer to bake.
If you don’t have any of the above ingredients, you can also substitute milk for the yogurt. However, because milk has a lot less acidity, you’ll need to omit the baking soda, which is a leavening agent that is activated by acid.
What Frosting Goes Well With Black Sesame?
For this cake, I used a vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. I recommend using any sort of buttercream that has a light flavor, so let the black sesame really shine through. Of course, if you’re a diehard black sesame lover, you can also make a black sesame buttercream.
A quick note on buttercreams: Swiss meringue buttercream uses whipped egg whites, which makes the frosting very fluffy and not too sweet. American buttercream is made with just powdered sugar and butter, so it can be heavier and sweeter. However, American buttercream is much easier to make. The choice is yours! For Swiss meringue buttercream, I highly recommend using this recipe from Style Sweet. If you’re planning to serve and eat the whole cake right away (no judgment), you could also use whipped cream.
Kawaii Kitty Cake
Okay, if you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably noticed that this cake has some unusual decorations. It’s a kitty cake! We copied one of the designs from the Coco Cake Land Cake Book, which is full of kawaii cake designs. It’s fairly easy to make, although you will need some basic cake decorating supplies. I plan on doing a post soon of all the things you need to decorate a layer cake, so stay tuned!
Of course, if you don’t have cake decorating tools, feel free to make this recipe in an 8″ round cake pan.
I hope you try out this cake! If you do, please let me know how it goes, post pictures, and tag me on Insta!
Black Sesame Layer Cake
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/2 cup black sesame paste
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt see notes for substitutes
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line three 6" round cake pans.
- Using a stand or electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Add oil and beat until homogenous.
- In a separate bowl, mix black sesame paste and yogurt.
- In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Alternate adding yogurt mixture and dry ingredients into your cake, mixing slowly and gently until all ingredients are just incorporated.
- Divide batter into your three cake pans and bake at 350 degrees F for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick stuck through the center comes out clean.
- Allow cake rounds to cool, then frost with your favorite buttercream. Leftovers keep at room temperature for 3-4 days.
37 comments
[…] December 10, 2021 […]
Hi Kristen, I’m looking to make this cake for my friend’s birthday this upcoming weekend! However, I want to use 2 9-inch pans versus the 3 6-inch pans. Do you have any suggestions on how to scale the cooking time?
Hi Taylor! Assuming you’re scaling the recipe up to fit the 9 inch pans, I would check it at 25 minutes, but expect it to take 30-35.
Hello,
How do I scale up the recipe for two 9” pans?
Hello! I have a bag of black sesame seeds I need to use up, so I definitely want to use that. Should I process the seeds until they are a fine powder, or should I try to blend them until smooth like peanut butter? Any tips on using the seeds are appreciated. Thank you!!
Hi Jo! You should grind until a paste for this recipe, adding a little oil as needed if it’s too dry. Making black sesame paste uses up a lot of seeds, so this should be perfect for that!
Hello Kristen,
Are you able to provide the weight for the ingredients in above recipe?
Really appreciate your reply.
Thanks
Annw
Hi Anne! I didn’t weigh while I was making this recipe, so I’ll just give generic measurement conversions:
1 cup sugar = 200 g
1 cup flour = 120 g
1/4 cup oil = 50 g (or 60 mL)
1/2 cup greek yogurt = 140
baking powder = 4g
baking soda = 1 g
salt = 1 g
I don’t know the weight of black sesame paste, but in volume it’s going to be 120mL.
The next time I make this recipe, I’ll measure as I bake and update this post!
[…] you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to check out my yuzu lemon cupcakes and my black sesame layer cake […]
I followed this receipt to the “T”, I have to admit that when I read the receipt I thought that is not much batter. Well it’s not, there is barely enough batter to fill 2 eight inch pans. You end up with 2 thin layers, looks nothing like the picture. I made a cream cheese icing, dyed it pink and used pink sprinkles. The cat looked sad, however, it tasted really good, everyone loved it. So I would suggest if you want it to look like the picture double the receipt.
Hi Hazel, if you read the recipe, it states that this recipe is for a 6 inch cake, not 8 inch, in multiple places in the directions.
Hello can I make this cake in advance like 4 days ahead thanks
Hi, if you want to make this cake ahead of time, you can wrap each baked layer in plastic and freeze. It will also keep in the fridge, but usually I only let it stay in the fridge 1-2 days.
Hi there!
Thank you for this lovely recipe. I’m planning on going the distance and grinding some black sesame seeds for this cake, and I’m wondering: Would the cake suffer if I lightly toasted the sesame first before grinding?
Thank you and be well!
Hi! I think it should be fine, but as you grind the seeds, check to see if it gets too dry. It should be able to pour like tahini; if it doesn’t you may need to add 1/4 cup oil.
Hello, I would really like to try this recipe. Do you think it’s enough batter for a Bundt cake pan instead?
Hi Jessica, this recipe is for three six inch layers, so it definitely would not be enough for a Bundt pan. You may need to triple or even quadruple this recipe for a Bundt pan!
Hi! I’m so excited to try this recipe. I’m interested in making these into cupcakes instead. Would you know the cooking time for cupcakes and how many this batter will yield? Thank you!
Hi Wendy! I haven’t tried it as cupcakes yet, but I would guess it makes about 12 and I would check for doneness around 15 minutes. Let me know how it goes!
I only have one 7 inch pan. Is it okay to bake just one cake and slice it into 3 layers? If so? How long should I bake it?
A 7 inch pan will result in much thinner layers and may not be able to make a three layer cake. Theoretically you could bake a tall cake and slice it into three layers, but I haven’t done that with this recipe, I can’t give exact times or temperatures.
Hi there, would this freeze well? Hoping to make it in advance of my son’s birthday
Hi Jaya,
Yes, you can freeze it! Wrap the baked layers individually in plastic wrap before sticking it in the freezer. A whole frosted cake also freezes well, but you’d have to be super careful about not messing up your buttercream design.
Hi, I’m planning on make this cake. Can I use black sesame powder instead of paste? Also for the 6 in pan in the the recipe, what is the height?
Hi Ada, I talked about some potential issues with not using paste in an earlier comment, so you can see the advice I have there! As for the cake tin, they’re 2 inches in height. Hope it helps!
Followed the cake recipe exactly as described and it turned out great! I like my desserts less sweet than the average person and next time I will cut back the sugar to 3/4 c. I used whipped cream frosting to decorate instead of buttercream. Will definitely make again!
Hi – can you make a loaf cake instead?
Hi Ellen, I’ve never made this exact recipe in a loaf pan, so I can’t say for sure how it will turn out, but feel free to give it a try!
I haven’t tried making this, but here in Bangkok, there is an amazing bakery that makes a sesame sponge with coconut cream frosting and topped with fresh diced mango and it is wonderful.
I’d like to make the Kitty cake but not sure how you got the frosting texture–can you share your technique?
Hi Eaton,
To get that “fur” texture, you need to use a “grass” icing tip. Wilton has one that’s pretty easy to find at a craft store. The ears are made from fondant, and I just piped the buttercream on top of them.
I’ve made this cake ~5 times now. This is hands down not only the best cake I’ve made, but the best cake I’ve ever had. I’ve made it for a friends wedding, birthday parties, graduation, and now a pride month party, and it has been an enormous hit at every single one. I have friends who beg me to make it. Please try this recipe it is the greatest! Thank you Mochi Mommy.
[…] Black Sesame Layer Cake […]
[…] Black sesame layer cake […]
Hi! Do you use cake flour or regular AP flour?
You can use either, but I used all purpose for the batch seen in these photos. Hope that helps.
Delicious & moist! I added 1 T of vanilla bean paste and made a Yuzu buttercream. Layered the cake with the buttercream and Yuzu marmalade. It certainly isn’t your “standard” cake taste, but it is so unique and has gotten rave reviews. I’ve made it twice now for events, and will be adding it to my catering offerings…