I can’t believe I am posting a new recipe here after so long. Ever since the lock-down I have been on my toes round the clock. If anything good has come out of this situation for me (this seems to be the question that gets asked often these days) is that I have had a break from driving 3 hours to and back for school drop offs and pick ups daily as the twins stayed at home. However there was distance learning aka home schooling to deal with. Hungry and impatient kids needing ongoing support and attention while I had my own projects lined up. Finally when Easter break came, a different challenge surfaced. How to find new ways of keeping kids engaged! They managed to pick up a few hobbies and interests but I have been struggling to do any of the things I enjoy. Like baking or photographing or writing. I feel for all the parents with young kids. As if life wasn’t hard enough before the pandemic!

Coming to this cake, if you’ve tried out treats from Asian bakeries, you might have come across black sesame flavour. It’s nutty, fragrant and really lovely. This cake is actually way simpler than it looks. Part of the cake batter is mixed with black sesame powder and then the black batter is swirled in with the original batter.

The buttercream and rosettes are optional but I was waiting to experiment with a blue-gray palette for a long time and I grabbed the opportunity. If you want to enjoy the cake without a frosting, it will still be great.

How are you dealing with the current situation? Have you developed any new hobbies or creative interests?

Black Sesame Swirl Cake
Makes a 9 inch round cake
150 g butter, cubed
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 and 3/4 cups self-raising flour
200 g greek yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp black sesame powder

For the vanilla buttercream
250 g butter, softened
3 cups icing sugar
2 tbsp milk
Vanilla extract
Blue food gel
Grey food gel

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease the base and sides and line the base of a 9 inch pan with baking paper.
Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until combined.
Stir in half the flour and yogurt until just combined. Stir in the remaining flour, yogurt and vanilla until combined.
Pour 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Add black sesame powder to the remaining batter to make the black swirl. Dollop onto the pan and swirl with a wooden skewer. Bake for 40 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from oven. Cool to room temperature.

To make the buttercream, using an electric mixer, beat butter in a bowl until pale. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, vanilla and milk until fully incorporated. Divide buttercream between 3 bowls, add the gel colours to two of the bowls and pipe rosettes onto cake using a 1M tip.

You know, it’s actually Spring and there are many fruits to choose from. Why an apple and cinnamon cake? Well, we are huge lovers of apples and eat them round the year. Being a Mum to school going children also means it’s a lunchbox favourite. And then, if you’re living on the other side of the world from us, you’re probably entering apple season.

A one bowl recipe is always good to have at hand. Especially when it involves mostly pantry staples and when it can be made into something fabulous by just presenting fruit in a different way. The cake is simple but the apples elevate it in both taste and appearance. Please don’t by any means think it’s difficult to achieve that look or you might need a special equipment like a mandolin etc. Because you don’t! I’ve just used a kitchen knife and though I did end up with slices of uneven thicknesses (I’m sure you can see that), they are hardly noticeable in the final presentation. Especially after baking.

If you love apple cakes, don’t forget to check out my other recipes here and here.

Apple and Cinnamon Cake
Makes a 9 inch round cake

180 g unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 and 1/4 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup plain flour
2 tsps powdered cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
3 large pink lady apples, cored, thinly sliced
icing sugar, to dust

Preheat oven to 17 degrees C (150 degrees C for fan forced ovens). Grease the sides and base and line the base of a 9 inch baking pan with baking paper.

Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at at ime, beating well after each addition.
Add the flours, cinnamon and milk. Beat until well combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Starting from the edges, place apple slices in circles in an overlapping fashion to form a rose. Press down gently into the batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven. Leave aside for 10 mins, then gently turn onto a wire rack. Enjoy warm or at room temperature with a dusting of icing sugar and a side of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.