Black Sesame Matcha Cake Recipe

October 28, 2018

This Black Sesame Matcha cake is inspired by the flavours of Japan. 3 layers of Black Sesame sponge filled with rich Matcha cream. I went for the "naked cake" decoration style, as the contrast of black sponge against the green matcha filling is beautiful. Then, I decorated it to look like Totoro using the cake trimmings, no fondant needed! 😄

I was pleasantly surprised with how moist the cake turned out. Was afraid the sesame paste would affect the texture, but I'm glad it didn't! For those who prefer matcha buttercream instead of matcha cream, you can refer to my matcha swiss meringue buttercream recipe here.

View the full recipe below!

BLACK SESAME MATCHA CAKE RECIPE
by Sumopocky

Equipment
3 x 7 inch cake pans
Electric mixer

Ingredients
[For Black Sesame Sponge Cake]
8 Egg yolks
60g of Caster sugar
100ml of Soy Milk
4 tbsp of Vegetable Oil
30g of Honey
55g of Black Sesame Paste
160g of Cake flour

8 Egg whites
80g of Caster sugar

[For Matcha Cream] or Matcha Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe
230ml of Heavy cream/Whipping cream
2 tbsp of Matcha Powder (adjust according to your preference)

2 Chocolate Chips for Totoro's eyes

Directions
[For Black Sesame Sponge Cake]

1. Preheat oven to 185 °C (365°F).
2. Beat the egg yolks, caster sugar, soy milk, vegetable oil, honey, and black sesame paste, till everything is well-combined.
3. Sift in the cake flour, and mix well.
4. Using an electric mixer, beat together the egg whites and caster sugar till stiff peaks form.
5. Gently fold in the meringue with egg yolk mixture.
6. Line three 7-inch cake pans with parchment paper, and pour the batter equally.
7. Bake at 185 °C (365°F) for 15 to 20 minutes. Let it cool in the fridge, then trim the cake to make sure they are sized equally. Keep the cake trimmings for decoration.

[For Matcha Cream]
1. Using an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream.
2. When soft peaks form, set 2 tablespoon of cream aside for the decoration. Then, mix in matcha powder to the remaining cream.
3. Whisk till well-combined. Make sure not to over-beat.

[Assembly]
1. Spread some cream on the cake board
2. Place the first layer of black sesame sponge cake on top.
3. Smooth a layer of matcha cream on cake.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for the other two cake layers.
5. When you've stacked all 3 cake layers, coat the exterior of the cake with cream, scraping off any excess on the sides.
6. Refrigerate the cake in the freezer.
7. Using the cake trimmings, use clean hands to knead Totoro's ears, nose and mouth. Use a knife to cut 4 thin rectangular cake strips for Totoro's whiskers, and 3 triangular outlines for Totoro's belly lines. Remove the cake from fridge and decorate with cream, cake trimmings, and chocolate chip.
8. Serve the cake chilled. Enjoy!