Black sesame is commonly found in many asian foods, both sweet and savory. It’s particularly common in Japanese cuisine. If you’re a fan of peanut butter or all things nutty, you’ll likely love black sesame.
In the middle east, northern africa, and eastern mediterranean, sesame paste is called tahini and made with regular sesame seeds. If you’re looking for black sesame paste in the store, the label will likely say black tahini.
If you know me, you know that I love to make things from scratch, mainly for the purpose of learning. I like to understand how something is made and the process it takes to create something. It gives me a greater appreciation for whatever it is I’m making once I understand the work that goes into it.
This isn’t to say that I never buy ready to use ingredients. There have been times where I’ve made things from scratch and swear I will never do that again. For example, the time I made sprinkles. THAT was a pain in the a–, but I now know what goes into the process and will leave it up to the people at Fancy Sprinkles for all my sprinkle needs.
I’m happy to report that black sesame paste will not be like the sprinkles case. I will be happily making black sesame paste from scratch until the end of time. It’s so simple and so rewarding!
Do yourself a favor, swing by the store or order a bag off amazon. You’ll want to keep eating all things black sesame.
Black Sesame Paste
- 100g (3/4 cup) Black Sesame Seeds (This is the one I used)
- 30g (2 tbsp) Honey (or to taste)
- 20g (1 tbsp + 1 tsp) Milk or Water (Optional)*
Place the black sesame seeds in the a medium sized pan over medium heat**; stir the black sesame seeds gently with a spatula so the seeds are evenly toasted. Let the seeds toast for about 10 minutes; once you can smell the scent of sesame, they’re ready. Transfer the sesame seeds to a bowl to cool. If you listen closely, you should be able to hear the crackling of the seeds.
Once the seeds are cooled, place them in a food processor, blender, or spice grinder. I used a spice grinder. If you have a spice grinder and decide to use it, I would grind the seeds in two batches as it’s a lot for the little grinder to hold.
Transfer the ground black sesame to a medium sized bowl and add the honey and milk (if using). Use a small whisk or spatula to mix the honey and milk with the ground black sesame seeds. Once a paste is formed, it’s ready to be added to any of your creations! I store my sesame paste in the fridge.
Additional Note: This recipe is for a sweet black sesame paste. While you can use it in savory dishes, you may want to substitute the honey for sesame oil if you know it’s only going in savory dishes.
*Most recipes I saw online only used honey and sesame but I personally thought it made the paste a little too sweet because you need more honey to make the sesame into a paste. If you want to skip the additional liquid (milk/water), you can add more honey until your desired sweetness.
**If you bought raw black sesame seeds, DO NOT SKIP TOASTING. This step brings out the black sesame flavors. The paste will have none of the nutty goodness if you don’t toast the seeds first. You won’t need to toast them if you bought toasted black sesame seeds.
Black Sesame Whipped Cream
- 2 tbsp Black Sesame Paste
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream (straight from the fridge, you want this to be very cold)
- 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar (If using my recipe above)***
Place the black sesame paste, heavy whipping cream, and sugar (if using) in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Turn on your mixer to medium and whip to soft peaks, about 4-5 minutes. Be careful not to over whip. It will make your whipped cream look broken, still delicious, but not as pretty.
***I like to keep my black sesame paste a little less sweet so that I can adjust the sweetness depending on what I’m making with it. If you’re using store bought black sesame paste, taste it before adding the additional sugar. The sugar can be substituted for any sweetener you prefer.
Ways to Use
There are so many things you can do with black sesame paste; flavoring your whipped cream is just one way. Try it as a spread on toast, top off your ice cream with a drizzle, or mix it into your next batch of cake batter. The ideas are endless. Let me know what you do with your black sesame paste. Excited to see your creations!