Black Sesame Earl Grey Layer Cake

   

A lovely Mother's Day treat inspired by the many Asian bakeries that are doing amazing things with black sesame and earl grey right now. The flavors of nutty black sesame and floral earl grey both come through quite well, and pair beautifully -- fans of black sesame (myself included) will not be disappointed. Next time, I might consider adding an earl grey cake soak to up the moisture, although the secret ingredient (yogurt!) does a lot of heavy lifting for this flavorful layer cake. 

Black Sesame Earl Grey Layer Cake

Makes an 8" cake, two layers (cake recipe is adapted from Mochi Mommy)

Ingredients:

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup black sesame powder

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup flour

1 bag earl grey tea

2 tbsp water

2 cups whipped cream

1 tsp gelatin, 1.5 tbsp cold water

sugar, to taste

Instructions: 

1. Line two 8" cake tins with a round of parchment. Preheat oven to 350F. 

2. Mix black sesame powder with 1 tbsp of oil until it resembles a thick paste. 

3. Beat eggs and sugar until light in color and fluffy, around 3 minutes with an electric beater. 

4. Add oil to the egg and sugar mixture. 

5. In a separate bowl, mix together black sesame mixture and greek yogurt. 

6. In a large bowl, whisk together baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour. 

7. Alternate adding yogurt mixture and flour mixture into the eggs and sugar, folding gently. Do not overmix. 

8. Pour batter into prepared cake tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

9. Allow to cool completely on wire racks. 

decorating the cake: 

1. I typically wrap the cakes tightly and store them in the fridge overnight, and decorate the next day. 

2. Take the cold cakes and even out the tops. You can save the cake scraps/crumbs for decorating. 

3. For the earl grey flavor, steep 1 bag of (extra strong) earl grey in 2 tbsp of water. In a separate bowl, sprinkle 1 tsp gelatin over 1.5 tbsp cold water. 

4. Whip cream to soft peaks, adding sugar to taste. Melt gelatin mixture in microwave for 5 seconds, until just melted. Add in the steeped earl grey tea. Stream the liquid into the cream, and beat until desired texture is reached. 

5. Now it's time to assemble! Place a cake layer, then a layer of cream, then repeat. I typically crumb coat the cake, then leave it in the fridge to set for 20 minutes (minimum) up to an hour. Then i finish decorating with the remaining cream.