Black Sesame Chiffon Cake

No ratings yet

The unique nutty flavour from toasted black sesame seeds infused into a light, airy and fluffy chiffon cake. This is a perfect cake for all black sesame seed and chiffon cake lovers. What a combination!

Prep Time45

Cook Time45

Cooling time2

Total Time3 30

Course: afternoon tea, cakes, desserts, snacks

Cuisine: American, Asian, Japanese

Keyword: black sesame, cake, chiffon cake

Servings: slices

Calories: 129kcal

Author: Bakabee

Ingredients

Black Sesame Paste

1/2 cup black sesame powder
1 ¾ tbsp honey

Cake

5 egg yolks
70 g cake flour sifted
10 g light brown sugar
60 g milk lukewarm
40 g vegetable oil
2 tsp baking powder
30 g black sesame paste
20 g black sesame seeds toasted

Meringue

5 egg whites
90 g caster sugar
1/2 tsp vinegar

Instructions

Prepare the black sesame paste

Grind the black sesame powder in the food processor for a few seconds to remove any lumps.
Mix the powder with honey and pulse the food processor a few times until misture turn into a paste.

Prepare the cake batter

Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Combine egg yolks and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl, whisk them at medium low speed using a hand-held mixer until the mixture thickens and turns pale in colour.
Add sesame paste and continue to whisk until well combined. Stop the mixer once or twice to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl to make sure the paste is well mixed.
Add milk and oil into the mixture and whisk together until well blended.
Sift in the flour and baking powder. whisk the mixture at medium speed until the batter is well mixed.
Fold in the toasted black sesame seeds using a spatula. Be very gentle to avoid knocking the air out. Set it aside.

Prepare the meringue

Pour the egg whites in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Start to whip them at medium low speed until a layer of foam is formed.
Add in the vinegar and continue to whisk until a thicker layer of foam is forms.
Add the caster sugar in the egg whites in three portions. Give each portion around 1 minute to dissolve before adding the next portion.
After adding all the sugar, turn the mixer to medium high speed and continue to whisk the meringue reaches its stiff peak form. You can check it by drawing the egg whites out using the whisk. If a firm peak is formed, it's done.

Fold the meringue into the cake batter

Take a spatula and scoop a small amount of meringue. Add it to the cake batter and mix it in, using a manual whisk. This helps to loosen the thick texture for easier mixing.
Scoop ⅓ of the meringue into the batter and continue to mix it in using the manual whisk until you can't see any white patches. Keep your movements very gentle and mix always in the same direction.
Continue to scoop in the remaining portions of meringue until everything is well mixed.

Bake and cool the cake

Prepare a tube pan. DO NOT grease it.
Pour the cake batter into the pan at the same spot.
Shake the pan a few times to evenly distribute the batter inside the pan.
Hold the pan a few centimetres off the work surface and then drop it to get rid of any big air pockets trapped in the batter.
Run a skewer in the batter in a swirling motion, again to remove any remaining air pockets.
Place the pan on the lower rack in the preheated oven and bake it for around 40 to 45 minutes. Mine took 42 minutes. DO NOT attempt to open the oven door while the cake is baking.
To check the cake is done, no sooner than 35 minutes into the baking time, insert a skewer in the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean, it means the cake is done.
Take the cake pan out and invert the pan on a wire rack immediately. Allow it to cool down completely.

Un-mould the cake

Prepare a serving plate.
Run an icing palette knife along the edges and the funnel of the pan.
Invert the pan and use your thumbs to push the bottom of the pan down.
Then run the palette knife along the bottom of the pan. The cake should come out nicely.
Serve it on its own with a cup of coffee or topped it with fresh whipped cream and sprinkle with more black sesame seeds! Enjoy!

Video

Notes

place an oven thermometer in the oven temperature to make sure it reaches the desired temperature before you start to bake the cake
do not open the oven door during the baking process
read the blog post to see how to prepare the homemade black sesame paste and the details of each step
store it in an air-tight container and recommend to consume it within 2 days (normally gone in 2 hours ...)
watch my video tutorial to see the steps visually

Nutrition