Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Black Sesame Frosting

Something we’ve discovered since we started this blog is just how much we’ve under appreciated certain flavors, textures, and food combinations just because they often only show up in certain ways in Chinese cooking. I mean, soy sauce is soy sauce, yes, and you’d be hard-pressed to find it anywhere other than in the “ethnic aisle” of the grocery store, buuuut soy-butter pasta? Soy-cream sauce? All good choices. Recently we discovered a new use for black sesame. We love black sesame. Anyone who’s ever had black sesame sticky rice balls (tang yuan) knows what we’re talking about. Those delicate squishy pillows of glutinous rice dough and black sesame filling are a real treat. The flavor is deep and nutty and has more depth of flavor than regular sesame. But one of the biggest dilemmas when eating tang yuan is whether to get the black sesame flavor…or the peanut flavor. It’s serious business. So in the spirit of not making food-related compromises and repurposing some of the best Asian flavors in our arsenal, we conceived these peanut butter cupcakes with black sesame frosting. They are awesome. The frosting has just the right level of sweetness and the cupcakes (recipe by Sally’s Baking Addiction) are positively packed with peanut butter flavor. And, they got a stamp of approval from my very very very picky roommate. So if that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.   If you cakes are more your thing, then you will definitely want to check out the classic peanut butter cake recipe we made for Jake’s 14th birthday!

Peanut Butter Black Sesame Cupcakes: Recipe Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a mixer, cream together the peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes on medium speed). Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. Slowly beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stir until just combined, and do not overmix. It’s a pretty thick batter! Divide batter evenly among the cupcake tins. Bake for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake them! Cool completely. To make the frosting, start by toasting the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Put them in a plastic zip top bag with the air pressed out of it. Using a rolling pin, smash the sesame seeds until you get a rough powder. Beat the butter at medium speed for 2 minutes, until fluffy.Gradually sift in the powdered sugar and beat. Beat in the black sesame powder, vanilla, and salt. Frost and enjoy!