Simple Can Be Sensational: Simple Sesame Cake

I've started keeping black sesame seeds on hand, so I'm always on the lookout for recipes where I can put them to use. Yossy Arefi's Simple Sesame Cake from Snacking Cakes gets its sesame flavor from both tahini and sesame seeds, and while she points out that you can make it with white seeds only, she also says she likes the confetti effect of a mix of white and black seeds. Since I always have tahini on hand as well, it was easy to throw this one-bowl cake together. 

 

I decided to double the recipe and bake it in a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. I lined the pan with parchment paper, coated the paper with baking spray, and then sprinkled a mixture of black and white sesame seeds on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. To make the batter, I whisked sugar with eggs until pale; added milk, tahini, oil, vanilla, and kosher salt; and mixed in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and more black and white sesame seeds. I poured the batter into the pan and sprinkled on a mixture of sugar and more sesame seeds before baking.

I loved this cake so much. It was dense but squishy and had the most wonderful sesame flavor. I love sesame but don't particularly enjoy the flavor of plain tahini -- I much prefer the warm flavor of toasted sesame oil. For some reason this cake seemed to have that aromatic, toasted sesame flavor I love. The sesame seeds that were not just in the cake batter, but also on the bottom of the cake and on top, added some delicate but distinct texture, and the crunchy bits of sugar on top were a sweet bonus. This cake seemed to verge on being savory, but it had everything I want in a cake, even without any frosting.

 

Recipe: "Simple Sesame Cake" from Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi, recipe available here from Seed + Mill, or here from the Washington Post.