The Best Black Sesame Layer Cake Recipe

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!