Crunchy Black Sesame Butter Cake

Okay I'll admit that the sesame seeds were thrown in on a whim. But thank god I did. This goes down as one of the best tasting cakes I've ever made. The sesame adds a nice nutty but not too overwhelming flavour to the cake. And not to mention the fun of biting into the crunchy toasted sesame bits. I heard somewhere that sesame seeds are supposedly good for your skin too. But thats probably the Chinese in me talking.

Oh and you'll probably notice from the pictures that I baked them in a cupcake format. Thing was I had some leftover paper cups that I've been wanting to use so yea. But take my advice and bake this in a loaf pan instead. I reckon it'll taste a lot better.

Ingredients

125 grams butter, room temperature
125 grams white sugar
30 grams brown sugar
4 small eggs (or 3 large ones)
125 grams self-raising flour
50 grams black sesame seeds

Heat oven up to 180 degrees Celsius and position rack in the middle. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan and line with buttered parchment or wax paper. Set aside. Cream butter and sugars together until smooth (about 2-3 minutes). Add in the eggs one at a time, blending fully until well incorporated before adding the next one. Sift in the flour, 1/3 at a time, and fold. Add in the sesame seeds and fold again. Pour into a prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Mom's Apple Cake

Just like how everyone is born under an astrological sign, I believe that everyone is also born with a deep, spiritual connection to a specific type of dessert. Some are pudding people. Others (like me) are brownie people. My mom? She's a apple cake. One of the best out there too (if I do say so myself).

This is probably my favourite cake of all time. Its warm, homey and very 'mom'. Eat it straight out of the oven for best results. You can also drizzle it with some vanilla sauce but in my humble opinion? Just have it as it is.
 

I got so excited that I dug straight into it before taking a picture.

Ingredients

125g butter, at room temperature

150g white sugar

3 eggs

250g self-raising flour

4-5 tablespoons milk

3 medium apples, cored and sliced

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Warm oven to 200 degrees Celsius and butter a 10 inch round baking pan. Toss sliced apples with cinnamon and brown sugar.

Cream butter and sugar until creamy and smooth. Add in eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until well blended before adding the next. Continue to cream the batter until white and fluffy.

Fold in the flour a bit at a time until well incorporated. If batter is too thick, add in 4 tablespoons of milk one at a time, until desired consistency. Pour into baking pan and arrange the cinnamon-sugared apples as follows:

Then sprinkle the chopped walnuts around:

Lower the oven temperature to 180 degrees Celsius and bake for 35 - 40 mins.

Bon appetit!