This Black Sesame Cake is a delicious place to start if you have never baked with black sesame before AND you want to start learning to decorating cakes! The flavor is nutty with a tender, moist crumb. The frosting is light and creamy vanilla with a silky texture. Breaking the recipe into day by day steps, baking on one day and frosting the next, makes the whole process feel completely manageable.
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✨ Recipe Snapshot
EASE • FLAVOR • EFFORT
Ease: ★★☆ Moderate
Flavor: nutty • vanilla • creamy
Active time: ~1 hour
Total time: ~2-3 hours estimated (subjected to your experience and speed as well)
Make-ahead friendly: Yes, undecorated cake layers can be baked & frozen beforehand.
Freezer Friendly: Yes, ingredients can be prepped ahead or cake layers baked/frosting made and all frozen beforehand.
Mixing: multi-step
Cleanup: full cozy baking session
Tools: full set up because you’ll be baking, making frosting, and decorating.
💡What To Expect:
Nutty, soft black sesame cake with creamy vanilla buttercream.
The recipe bakes and decorates a small 4” cake to build your confidence. You can easily scale the recipe when you need a larger cake as well.
If you want a more thorough step by step tutorial, check out my Cake Decorating for Beginners With Pro Tips post. For a more advance and beautiful technique like ombre buttercream style, you can learn it from this post on How to Perfectly Frost an Ombré Buttercream Cake
⏰ Make-Ahead & Flexible Timeline (Day-by-Day Guide)
Do you feel overwhelmed or have a busy schedule but still want to make this recipe?! This recipe can be made in one day or broken into steps across several days depending on your schedule. ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-
˗ˏˋ ★ Option 1: Same-Day Bake ★ ˎˊ˗
Follow the recipe card below for directions on preparing the Black Sesame Cake in 2 days but follow the day by day steps if you want to break the steps down into more flexible work days.
˗ˏˋ ★ Option 2: Make Ahead★ ˎˊ˗
Day 1: prep ingredients/tools
Make sure you have all your ingredients measured and ready. Prep your tools and mixing bowls.
Day 2: bake cake layers
Mix and bake your cake layers and let cool. Make your frosting syrup and let cool.
When your cake layers are cooled, wrap in plastic or reusable freezer bags and store in the freezer until you are ready to decorate. Store your frosting syrup in a freezer container and freezer as well.
Day 3: bake or assemble
The day you want to decorate your cake, take out all your cake layers and syrup to store in the fridge to defrost the night before.
The day of decorating, take out your syrup and butter to let it come to room temperature. Trim your cake layers if needed while waiting. Then whip up your frosting.
Fill your cake layers, crumb coat, and chill.
Finish decorating and you’re ready to enjoy the same day or next day.
˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ woohoo, you did it!!! ٩>ᴗ<)و I hope this was fun and it helped you become a more confident baker ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗
🔍 WHAT MAKES THIS WORK
For the Buttercream:
Your syrup and butter need to be at room temperature so they emulsify into a smooth, spreadable frosting. Forgot to plan ahead? No worries, this happens to me too. Just microwave the butter until melted, then whip it in your stand mixer, it'll cool down as it whips, usually about 2-3 minutes, until it feels just barely warm when you touch the bowl. Once it's cooled, lower the mixer speed and slowly stream in the cold syrup. Keep whipping until the buttercream turns light, fluffy, and holds soft peaks when you lift the whisk.
Main Ingredients
- Black sesame powder is gives the cake its deep, nutty flavor and striking dark color. The more finely ground it is, the smoother your crumb will be.
- Heavy cream adds richness and moisture to the batter, keeping the cake tender without making it dense.
- Sour cream or plain yogurt contributes a subtle tang and extra moisture, and also helps activate the baking powder for a better rise.
- Vegetable oil keeps the crumb soft and moist over time, since oil-based cakes stay tender longer than butter-based ones.
- Unsalted butter in the frosting gives it a rich, creamy base. Softening it before mixing is key to getting a smooth, fluffy result without lumps.
- Confectioner's sugar dissolves smoothly into the frosting, giving it sweetness and structure without any graininess.
- Warm milk or water is added gradually to the frosting to emulsify it fully, creating a lighter, fluffier texture rather than a dense or greasy one.
See recipe card below for ingredient measurements! This is for those that want a more in-depth idea of what each ingredient is and what they do. ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-
🥄TOOLS YOU’LL NEED
- Kitchen scale, measuring ingredients by weight
- Measuring spoons, measuring teaspoons of extracts and salt
- Two mixing bowls, combining dry and wet ingredients
- Rubber spatula, folding and scraping batter
- Cake pans, baking cake layers
- Toothpick, testing cake doneness
- Wire cooling rack, cooling cake layers completely
- Stand mixer, making the frosting
- Offset spatula, applying and smoothing frosting
- Cake board or plate, assembling the cake
OPTIONAL UPGRADES
- Cake turntable, rotating cake while frosting
- Bench scraper, smoothing frosting along cake sides
- Alternative: Use a straight-edged spatula or ruler held at an angle.
- Microwave-safe bowls, softening butter and warming milk
- Oven thermometer, verifying accurate oven temperature
HOW TO MAKE (STEP-BY-STEP)
For the Black Sesame Cake
Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together until fully combined with no lumps.
Step 2: Divide batter between pans and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean and the tops spring back when pressed. Cool completely.
Make Vanilla Buttercream
Step 3: Combine milk syrup ingredients and heat in microwave to warm if needed.
Step 4: While whipped softened butter at medium speed, slowly stream in milk syrup. Raise speed and whip until light and fluffy.
Assembling the Cake
Step 5: Trim any domed or cracked tops flat with a serrated knife. Slice layers in half if you'd like.
Place your first cake layer on a board or plate and spread an even layer of frosting on top. Repeat with remaining layers, finishing with cake on top. Apply a thin crumb coat to seal in loose crumbs, then chill for at least 30 minutes.
Step 6: Apply a generous final coat and smooth with a spatula in a back-and-forth motion. Decorate with sprinkles, edible flowers, or black sesame. Serve same day, or chill and bring to room temp an hour before slicing.
‼️PRO TIPS FOR SUCCESS
ALWAYS make sure you work with completely cooled cake layers AND you chill the cake after crumb coating. This will make your life so much easier to decorate. This means that you MUST give yourself enough time to work on this cake (and cake decorating in general!). This is a delicious art that cannot be rushed :)
💕More Recipes You’ll Love
If you love this recipe, try these next!
❄️STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS
Room Temp
* Keeps for up to one day in an airtight container or cake dome, but the buttercream will soften, so only go this route if you're serving it the same day.
Fridge
* Stays fresh for up to four days covered tightly. The frosting will firm up in the cold, so pull it out about an hour before serving and let it come back to room temperature for that soft, fluffy texture.
Freezer
I don’t recommend freezing a fully decorated cake as it takes up freezer space and may compromise the texture of the frosting but if you need to freeze individually slices leftover, here’s what you can do:
Wrap individual slices and freeze for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temperature before frosting or serving.
❓FAQ
This cake is nutty and soft, paired with the vanilla buttercream, it's a delicious asian inspired fusion cake!
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🧾Recipe
Black Sesame Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients For Black Sesame Cake
- 90 grams all purpose flour
- 115 grams white sugar granulated
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt fine
- 150 grams black sesame powder
Wet Ingredients For Cake
- 45 grams vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract pure
- 70 grams heavy cream
- 20 grams plain unsweetened greek yogurt
Frosting Ingredients
- 56 grams unsalted butter microwave to soft
- 50 grams confectioner’s sugar
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract pure
- 35 grams milk or water microwave to warm
Instructions
For the Black Sesame Cake
- Preheat your oven. Butter and flour your cake pans, tapping out the excess.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together until fully combined with no lumps.90 grams all purpose flour, 115 grams white sugar granulated, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt fine, 150 grams black sesame powder
- Add the wet ingredients and mix just until no dry streaks remain. Stop as soon as it's combined, don’t overmix.45 grams vegetable oil, 1 large egg, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract pure, 70 grams heavy cream, 20 grams plain unsweetened greek yogurt
- Divide batter between pans and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean and the tops spring back when pressed. Cool completely before moving on.
For the Frosting
- If your butter and milk are cold, microwave separately until the butter is half melted and the milk is just room temperature.
- Whip butter on medium-high until light, pale, and creamy, about 5 minutes.56 grams unsalted butter microwave to soft
- While butter is whipping, mix together milk syrup ingredients.50 grams confectioner’s sugar, 1 pinch fine salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract pure, 35 grams milk or water microwave to warm
- Lower the speed and slowly stream in the warm milk to avoid splashing. Keep mixing for 10 to 15 minutes until fully emulsified, fluffy, and noticeably lighter in color.
Assembling the Cake
- Trim any domed or cracked tops flat with a serrated knife. You can also trim each cake layer in half horizontally if you prefer an even cake to buttercream ratio or leave as is for more cake than buttercream ratio.
- Place your first cake layer on a board or plate and spread an even layer of frosting on top. Repeat with remaining layers, finishing with cake on top.
- Apply a thin crumb coat to seal in loose crumbs, then chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Apply a generous final coat and smooth with a spatula in a back-and-forth motion. Decorate with sprinkles, edible flowers, or black sesame. Serve same day, or chill and bring to room temp an hour before slicing.
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