This Black Sesame Cake is wonderfully moist and nutty, with a unique balance of sweet and salty. The cake is topped with a creamy black sesame frosting for ultimate nutty flavor. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Black Sesame Almond Milk from Three Trees
I recently discovered Three Trees plant-based milk and I was intrigued by their flavors. As well as original almond milk, they also make vanilla, pistachio, black sesame and oat & seed. I’ve been a fan of everything black sesame since the first time I tried it many years ago. So I knew I wanted to create a recipe using the black sesame almond milk, and came up with this delicious cake. I love it because it has a nice balance of sweet and salty, and the nutty sesame flavor always has me reaching for a second slice.
Make it 100% vegan with one small change
The great thing about this cake is that it doesn’t have any eggs, cow’s milk or butter in the cake itself. The only butter is in the frosting. So, if you want the whole cake to be vegan, all you need to do is replace the butter with vegan butter. I’m not vegan myself, so I don’t typically have vegan butter in my fridge.
Here’s why you’ll love this Black Sesame Cake
- It’s light and incredibly moist
- The unique, nutty flavor of black sesame is irresistible
- You don’t have to have eggs on hand to make it
- The cake without the frosting is dairy-free and vegan
- The cake will keep at room temperature for several days (and still be so moist!)
If you can’t find Three Trees Black Sesame Almond Milk
Have no fear! The recipe will still work if you use regular almond milk, but you will need to add 3 tablespoons of ground (roasted) black sesame seeds to the almond milk.
How to make Black Sesame Cake
- Combine black sesame milk with vinegar. This helps the milk to mimic the qualities of buttermilk, so that the cake will be wonderfully moist.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a seperate bowl: flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt.
- Add vegetable oil, lemon juice, water and vanilla extract to the milk/vinegar mixture and mix briskly with a fork. Stir wet mixture into dry flour mixture and stir until no lumps remain. Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, checking the cake at the 30 minute mark.
- While the cake is cooling on a rack, toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat for 5 minutes until fragrant.
- Once cake has cooled completely, make the frosting. Beat the butter on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Then gradually add the powdered sugar until combined. Finally, add the ground black sesame seeds, vanilla extract and salt, and mix until combined. Frost the cake!
About Three Trees
Three Trees founder, Jenny, noticed a huge gap in drinkable nutrition in the United States. She knew in Asia there’s a real culture of using plant-based ingredients to create things that are nutrient-dense, so she wanted to bring that philosophy to the United States. Jenny started experimenting with nut milks in her kitchen in 2012, which led to selling them at farmers markets. Today, Three Trees is now proud to have their products in stores across the United States.
Three Trees milk can be found nationwide at Whole Foods and select retailers within the United States. It can also be ordered online from Amazon Prime Now, Fresh Direct and Instacart. If you’re in the San Francisco Bay area, you can order from Good Eggs, Farm Fresh to You and Farmstand.
Black Sesame Cake
Equipment
- 1 8 inch cake pan
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup black sesame almond milk can substitute plain almond milk, see notes
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1½ cups all-purpose white flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter room temperature
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons black sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray a 8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with circle of parchment paper.
- Stir black sesame almond milk and vinegar together in a large glass measuring cup. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- Briskly mix vegetable oil, water, lemon juice and vanilla extract into black sesame almond milk mixture using a fork. Using a rubber spatula, stir milk mixture into flour mixture until batter is lump-free. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Start checking to see if cake is done at 30 minutes.
- Allow cake to cool in pan over a cooling rack for 15 minutes, then turn cake out of pan to cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting:
- Toast the black sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Put them in a plastic zip-lock bag and bash with a rolling pin until you get a rough powder. Alternatively, put them in a food processor until roughly ground.
- In a medium bowl using a hand mixer (or stand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually sift in the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Beat in the black sesame powder, vanilla and salt until combined. Frost the cake.
Notes
- If you can’t find black sesame almond milk for the cake, you can use regular almond milk, but you will need to add 3 tablespoons ground black sesame powder to the plain almond milk.
- Cake can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for 3 days.
- If you want the cake to last longer, it can be refrigerated for up to 5 days, but make sure to bring it to room temperature before eating (otherwise the frosting won’t be soft & creamy).
Sounds delicious Pry I can’t get this milk here in NZ