When you can’t decided between a savory or sweet snack: do both! # 291: Sesame Swirl Tea Cake

Tea cake is a much cuter name than quick bread. They’re essentially the same thing: dense and soft, served in thick, plush slices. But one sounds like it’s ready for a party!

I tried so hard to not put chocolate chips in this cake. Tahini has a similar nuttiness to peanut butter, so it seemed like a no-brainer to me! But I resisted the urge and made the recipe as is. Then when Nate tried a bite, he said it would be yummy with some form of chocolate to up the sweetness. Completely unprompted! I rest my chocolate-obsessed case.

I’ll be unabashedly slathering my next piece in nutella, thank you very much.

This lil loaf has every version of sesame in my pantry: toasted seeds, sesame oil and tahini. I’m sure my toasted sesame oil was excited to be used in something other than a fried rice or stir-fry.

Bedecking the pan in sugar and sesame seeds for added crunch and sweetness.

Oh you fancy huh?

Black pepper or black sesame? This much pepper in a cake would be intense! I’m sneezing just thinking about it, but it would probably be yummy with a really sweet strawberry jam or other fruit-heavy filling.

I definitely just fell down a rabbit hole of black pepper & fruit recipes (oops) and can’t wait to make some of them this summer.

The black sesame batter was more gray than black, but I still love the color contrast.

She cute.

More sugar and seeds! I’m a sprinkling fiend.

Welp, I checked it early and caught it from severely over-baking… This oven wants to add its own artistic flair to my bakes and goes rogue with the temperature for no reason. Luckily if you shave off the extra toasty sides and bottom, you still get a pretty cake!

All about that crispy sugar top!

Love that each slice has a different swirl pattern.

Happy munching!

Recipe from Claire Saffitz, on Bon Appetit website behind the pay wall sadly