Since our trip to Japan I’ve been seriously obsessed with black sesame desserts.

So don’t be surprised if this is the first of many sweet sesame recipes.

You probably think of sesame as a savory flavor, but it really plays quite well in the sweet sphere too, as I learned, rather quickly while stuffing my face with sesame soft serve, mochi, and macarons. These little seeds are quite common in desserts in Japan, and once you’ve tried a few you’ll understand why. The sweet and nutty combination is simply divine.

Shortly after our return, I picked up a jar of black sesame tahini (basically black sesame seeds ground to a smooth paste not unlike peanut butter) and have been waiting for the right moment to crack it open.

That moment is now.

These are classic chocolate truffles, with a rich chocolate ganache and snappy chocolate coating, but with a nutty twist: I stirred in about 5 tablespoons of black sesame tahini into the ganache filling. I started with 2, but the flavor wasn’t quite prominent enough. I think you could go up to 6 or 7 even without affecting the consistency of the ganache.

I rolled some truffles in black sesame powder, and dipped others in chocolate topped with a sprinkle of whole black sesame seeds to offer a visual ‘hint’ as to what’s inside.

Let me say, much like the Chocolate Black Sesame Cookies I made a few years back, the sesame flavor is subtle, especially when paired with a bitter dark chocolate. I was expecting it to be stronger, but even with a solid third cup of tahini in here, the nuttiness comes through as a subtle suggestion of flavor rather than a firm statement.

It’s actually quite lovely.

Black vs White Sesame

Black sesame seeds are unhulled, whereas the common white sesame seeds have their hulls removed (there are also different varieties of sesame seeds, so there are unhulled varieties that are brown instead of black, but hulled sesame seeds are always white). Unhulled sesame seeds have a coarser, crunchier texture and a nuttier flavor; they sometimes border on bitter, making them the perfect in desserts, where the sugar counteracts that bitterness.

Black sesame tahini is not nearly as common as white tahini, but I was able to find a jar of it on Amazon. Could you use regular tahini in this recipe? You bet. The flavor will be more mild, less nutty, but still noticeably sesame.

If you’re making rolled truffles you’ll also want some black sesame powder, or finely ground black sesame seeds. You can also make your own by finely grinding black sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle.

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