black sesame cupcakes.

I absolutely adore black sesame. I absolutely adore cake. Put those two loves together and it's little wonder why I cannot resist this black sesame cake. Somehow it has never occurred to me before that I could just make my own version at home. Perhaps it's because it's so good and convenient to buy I couldn't possibly imagine needing to make one myself.

I didn't make these with the intention of besting the one from the cake store; I simply had black sesame paste I had to use up and I figured why not, for the sake of curiosity, see how I fare against the cake that seems so unbeatably good?

My verdict is that these have completely outdone my expectations - they may not have a black sesame taste as strong as the one I bought, but the texture is much more pleasing, less crumbly and more moist. Even though the black sesame taste isn't as intense, it isn't that far off.

So my conclusion for today is that with a little tweaking to the recipe (i.e. experimenting with adding more black sesame paste), I may never need to buy my black sesame cake again *insert smug smile*.

Black Sesame Cupcakes
makes 10

Optional: I hollowed out the centre of some of the cupcakes and filled them with adzuki paste.

For the cupcakes:
120g all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
80g sugar
100g black sesame paste
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk

For the cream cheese frosting:
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup cream cheese
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Bake the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare cupcake tins with paper liners.

Whisk the flour and baking powder together.

Cream the butter, salt, sugar and black sesame paste until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, incorporating the first fully before adding the second.

Stir in the flour mixture (in three additions) and milk (in two additions) alternately.

Divide the batter evenly amongst the paper liners and bake for about 15 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out only with only a few moist crumbs attached. Cool completely before frosting.

Make the cream cheese frosting: Beat all the ingredients together until combined and fluffy. Use immediately or chill for a bit until it's firm enough to work with.