Black Sesame Chiffon Cake

This black sesame chiffon cake has a gentle, pleasant fragrance with a very light and fluffy texture. Seriously, you’ll feel like not having enough even though you take half of the cake.

That said, black sesame seeds can help reduce white hairs. This belief has been circulated in Chinese community for ages that can’t be proved anyway.

We are certain is that black sesame seeds are really good for our health with high in many minerals, such as calcium, protein and antioxidants. As for cooking, black sesame seeds can enhance the flavour of many dishes, making them very popular in Southeast Asian cuisine.

For baking a cake, we often use pure black sesame powder for convenience, as it's easily blended with other ingredients without any lumps left inside.

See the inside of this black sesame chiffon cake is very even and soft.

Both black sesame powder and black sesame seeds have a sweet and nutty flavour, yet have a slightly bitterness if using too much. The mild bitterness of the seeds could add a layer of flavour to balance the sweetness in desserts. They also can act as a spice in making cakes.

Black Sesame Chiffon Cake Recipe

(Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Prep time: 25 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Yield: one 20cm / 8 inch round removable bottom tin

The Black Sesame Powder that I used is unsweetened available at Amazon.

Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites
• 60 gm caster sugar
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 80 gm cake flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 25 gm black sesame powder
• 5 egg yolks
• 30 gm caster sugar
• 50 gm extra light olive oil
• 80 ml milk

Make sure the mixing bowl is very clean, without any trace of oil, water or egg yolks.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C / 335F.
2. Use a large clean mixing bowl, without any trace of oil or water, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form. Add the cream of tartar. After mixing well, add the 60 grams of sugar in three batches, about one-third at a time, and beat well between additions. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. (Note: please refer to this video “How To Beat Egg Whites”.)

3. Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt and mix well. Sift in the black sesame powder. Use a spoon to press through the sift if necessary. Combine well.
4. Whisk the egg yolks with the 30 grams of caster sugar, until the sugar completely dissolves. Stir in the oil, bit by bit, until completely combined. Add the milk and stir well.

5. Sift the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, in three batches. Combine well.
6. Fold-in the beaten egg whites with a spatula. (Note: please refer to this video "How To Fold-in Egg Whites.)
7. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 to 40 minutes. After baking the first 15 minutes, if you find the cake surface gets browning, reduce heat to 160C / 320F. Continue to bake until cooked through. A needle comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
8. Remove the cake from the oven. Invert the pan immediately on a wire rack (I found a flask that perfectly holds my cake pan inverted.) Let it cool completely.

Notes：

• You might use any kind of vegetable oil without any strong fragrance.
• To get the best results, try to use a removable bottom cake pan. You don’t need to grease it. Otherwise the cake will shrink once it cools down.
• The cream of tartar can help stabilize the beaten egg whites. If you can't find any, you can replace it with 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.