Black Sesame Pumpkin Loaf Cake

close up showing the distinct layers of pumpkin cake, black sesame filling, and black sesame crumble.

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A tender, cinnamon-spiced pumpkin loaf cake layered with a nutty black sesame filling and finished with a crunchy black sesame crumble topping.

Servings:

Author: Maryanne Cabrera

Ingredients

Black Sesame Crumble:

70 g unsalted butter melted, warm
50 g brown sugar
25 g granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
70 g all-purpose flour
30 g black sesame seeds processed to coarse powder

Black Sesame Filling:

20 g black sesame seeds
25 g granulated sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Pumpkin Cake:

200 g granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temp
50 g neutral flavored oil such as avocado oil or vegetable oil
50 g unsalted butter melted
230 g canned pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract or combination
200 g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

Crumble:

In a medium bowl, stir together warm melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt.
Add flour and ground black sesame. Mix until dough forms. Mixture will be soft with a play-dough like texture.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Filling:

Combine black sesame seeds, sugar, cinnamon and salt in small food processor. process until mixture is coarse powder. Set aside until needed.

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x4-inch light-colored loaf pan with parchment paper, lightly grease it, and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and eggs for about 1 minute, until pale and slightly thickened.
Add oil and melted butter. Whisk until combined. Follow with pumpkin puree and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda. *If your flour is lumpy, sift it first!
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Use a spatula to fold ingredients together. Mix just until no dry streaks of flour remain. Don't overmix!

Assembly:

Scoop half of cake batter into the prepared loaf pan. Spread evenly.
Sprinkle black sesame filling over the batter, leaving a ¼- to ½-inch border around the edges to keep the filling inside.
Dollop remaining batter on top and gently spread into an even layer, all the way to the edges.
Remove black sesame crumble from fridge. Break into chunks and bits, scatter it over the batter, and gently press it in to ensure it adheres to batter. If desired, sprinkle additional black sesame seeds on top.
Bake for 50-60 minutes in center rack of preheated oven, rotating pan midway through. If the topping brownies before the cake is done, tent it loosely with foil and continue baking.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Unmold cake and transfer to wire rack to completely cool. Use a serrated knife and slice with a gently sawing motion.

Notes

Spice swap: I prefer cinnamon so the black sesame stands out, but pumpkin pie spice works in the same amount if you’d rather use it.

Storage: Store in a covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate for longer storage. Serve chilled, at room temperature, or lightly toasted.

Skip the filling: You can make this without the black sesame filling. Just leave it out and layer the batter as usual. For a shorter loaf like the one in the comparison photo, halve the cake batter.

Nutrition