Black Sesame Banana Cake with Peanut Butter
Author Notes: Adapted heavily from a recipe published in the March 2012 issue of Bon Appétit : http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/black-sesame-pear-tea-cake —Sarah Jampel
Makes one 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup buckwheat flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup black sesame seeds, plus more for sprinkling
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 cup mashed banana
- 6 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter one 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and two tablespoons of the black sesame seeds in a medium bowl. Grind the remaining sesame seeds in a spice mill to form a thick paste, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until well-combined, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sesame paste and beat, occasionally scraping down the sides, until blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the mashed banana.
- On low speed, beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 additions. (Begin and end with the dry ingredients.)
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Dollop peanut butter over top and use a knife to swirl it into the batter. Smooth the top, then sprinkle sesame seeds and granulated sugar over top. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a tester comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
- Cool completely in the pan before turning out and slicing.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
More Great Recipes:
Rice & Grains|Desserts|Bananas
Showing out of comments
about 2 months ago Zozo
This was fantastic! I adapted it to use up some sourdough starter which appeared to make it puff up much more than in the photo.
Note for anyone who uses black sesame tahini (I had some, so used it instead of grinding the sesame) that you should probably not use much more than 50g or the black sesame flavour will be all you can taste!
4 months ago DB
Do you use roasted or raw sesame seeds?
4 months ago Sarah Jampel
Sarah is Food52's senior staff writer & stylist.
Use roasted if you can find them at the store! But I've used raw, too. I just would be careful trying to toast your own black sesame seeds at home—it's easy to burn them since you can't tell when they're toasted from a change in color.
4 months ago DB
Can you use BLACK SESAME POWDER?
4 months ago DB
Nevermind....it still need to be a "paste".
6 months ago Young Mimi Lee
Left it in the oven, not venue. Autocoŕrect!
6 months ago Young Mimi Lee
What a delicious midmorning cake this is! Not too sweet, nutty, at times crunchy from the whole black sesame seeds, and the peanut buttery bites. This is a keeper! I left it in the venue for 55 minutes after reading reviews, maybe I'll bake it for 50 min next time. Would anyone know how to bake this with Stevia? Thanks for the recipe!
7 months ago Elizabeth
Turned out beautifully- with a lovely golden, sesame seed studded lid (the prettiest banana bread I've made). I only had white sesame seeds, and used tahini in place of the peanut butter and the ground sesame seeds. It took exactly 45 minutes at gas mark 5.
11 months ago Marsha Gainey
This wasn't great. It's edible and it's moist. It is also bland and unattractive. It took about an hour and 15 minutes to bake in my oven. I substituted 1/2 c. ww flour for the buckwheat and almond flours. At least it used up the majority of a bunch of overripe bananas I had. I will not be making it again.
http://www.what-marsha...
11 months ago Sarah Jampel
Sarah is Food52's senior staff writer & stylist.
Sorry to hear that Marsha!! Definitely not for everyone but I hope you try another recipe from Food52 that you love!
over 1 year ago KirstenInCO
Just baked this after a week of scouring my local shops for the uncommon-to-MY-pantry items. I used Justin's honey almond butter instead of peanut butter but followed the rest of the recipe exactly. I live at 10,500ft in Colorado and baking breads/cakes can be difficult. This came out perfectly! It is so light and fluffy and didn't fall/sink in the middle as so many of my cakes do. I was concerned about the flavor prior to baking (no cinnamon, no vanilla or other flavors) and the raw batter had quite a sour smell. It is delicious! This is going to be my go-to banana bread now. Thank you so much!
over 1 year ago Kate Malczewski
i made this with quite a few substitutions: coconut oil for butter, whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose, kefir instead of buttermilk, tahini for the ground black sesame seeds, etc. etc. IT WAS DELICIOUS. highly recommend this recipe!
over 1 year ago Nicolette del Muro
This looks like a great snowy day recipe! I made a few substitutions because of what I had on hand. I used goat milk instead of buttermilk, white sesame seeds and flaxseed instead of black sesame seeds, and extra almond flour in place of the buckwheat (although I'd love to try it again with the buckwheat). Also, I keep my overripe bananas in the freezer, and use them to bake with once they're extra brown and sweet. It's in the oven now - fingers crossed!
about 2 years ago Kerin Saul
Made this yesterday, just divine. Mashed the blk sesame in a mortar & pestle with a little egg white.
over 2 years ago shu-jin_rankin
If I sub tahini for the sesame paste, do I just use 1/4 cup of it?
over 2 years ago Hannah Robie
I've had this cake bookmarked since it was published, and just got around to making it this weekend. Incredible. I used tahini and unhulled sesame seeds in place of the black ones, and boy I have to say - this is my new favorite banana quickbread! Buckwheat, bananas, sesame and peanut butter forever.
over 2 years ago Sarah Jampel
Sarah is Food52's senior staff writer & stylist.
So thrilled to hear that!
over 2 years ago Nozlee Samadzadeh
Okay Sarah, it's snowing outside and I have all of the ingredients for this EXCEPT THE BANANA. I'm gonna sub in pureed butternut squash and HOPE FOR THE BEST.
over 2 years ago Nozlee Samadzadeh
Holy wow Sarah THIS CAKE
over 2 years ago Nozlee Samadzadeh
"It's like a little bit of a shock at first, but then it grows on you" -- Jarrett
over 2 years ago Sarah Jampel
Sarah is Food52's senior staff writer & stylist.
HOORAY! I am so happy!
over 2 years ago weshook
You have definitely grabbed my attention; I'll be trying an egg-free version soon.
over 2 years ago Windischgirl
Baking right now. Made a double batch as I had lots of bananas and 1/2c of PB to finish. Making mini loaves (3 minis=1 full size). I used tahini for the sesame paste but thickened it up with some flax meal. As I was mixing the batter, all I could think about was Elvis. Wasn't PB and banana his go-to sandwich?
over 2 years ago Sarah Jampel
Sarah is Food52's senior staff writer & stylist.
I think PB, banana, AND bacon was Elvis's order!
over 2 years ago Windischgirl
I think I'll put off making BLTs with the bread! Do love the combo of banana and sesame...reminds we of halvah, one of my favorite treats. I'm taking a loaf to work tomorrow for my taste testers. One of my colleagues and I are dreaming of opening a bakery...that is, when we hit the lottery.
over 2 years ago Beth100
This sounds heavenly to me – everything I love in a flavor profile! Thanks for sharing something appealingly off the beaten path.
over 2 years ago Sarah Jampel
Sarah is Food52's senior staff writer & stylist.
Thanks, Beth100!! Hope you like it as much as I do.
Showing 27 out of 27 comments