(Recipe from ‘The Cardamom Trail’ by Chetna Makan)
I’m a sucker for any recipe with unique flavour combination so of course I bookmarked this recipe!
Living in Asia, we are no stranger to black sesame. Love it in breads, mochi, dim sum, cakes, ice cream... it’s definitely one of my go to flavour because I‘m the kind who is reluctant to spend money on plain ol vanilla/chocolate cake. The more exotic it is, the better!
Black sesame has an earthiness to it so it works very well with a muted canvas like bread to make it less ’gelat’. Very excited to pair it with lime, which I think will create a nice zing to it!
It’s not a bad cake, but I personally think the two main ingredients certainly did not work well together. They just feel very singular, playing their own part within the cake instead of combining their efforts together to create something spectacular (Am I still talking about cake???)
The black sesame definitely got lost somewhere despite my extra effort to toast and grind. I tend to veer away from recipes requiring extra steps and this one has no results to back up the complication. Very mild hint of lime within the cake batter itself as well but an easy fix by poking holes and drizzling it with lime juice will help it become moist and flavourful!
Being a pound cake recipe, it’s characteristically dry after leaving it for a couple of days. The lime glaze did save the day, adding a citrus boost to an otherwise flat cake.
I didn’t exactly follow the recipe for the lime glaze. Looking at the recipe, it’s going to turn out to be one of those grainy glaze, which I’m not a fan of. Hence, I halved the icing sugar and added in yoghurt so the tanginess is still preserved. Love it though!
Suggestions:
- Poking holes and pouring in lime juice when freshly baked will help the cake retain its moisture and add extra punch of lime within the cake
- Perhaps can play around with the ratio of sesame? Up 1 more tbsp and reduce the flour consequently. OR maybe including tahini!
- Creaming butter & sugar together first until light and fluffy. The author might be even more into fuss free recipes than me hahahaha.
Verdict: 🧁🧁🧁
(Bonus half cake point because I really wanted lime and black sesame to work)
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