It's only recently that I started cooking and baking with black sesame seeds. Interestingly, black sesame has a deeper, more intense flavor, an almost bittersweet nuttiness that is refreshingly delicious. Ordinary sesame seed is ho-hum while black sesame seed wakes up the taste buds. I'm a huge fan of La Fuji Mama's food blog and her Black Sesame Pudding recipe is a must-try. You won't immediately taste the flavor of black sesame due to the silkiness of the whipped cream stirred in but the short and sweet aftertaste of black sesame is what makes this dessert truly memorable. A special dessert with a taste of the Far East.


Ingredients:

• 0.25 ounce unflavoured gelatine powder (I increased this to 0.50 ounce for quicker setting)
• 1.5 tablespoon cold water
• 1/3 cup toasted black sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream

Directions:

1. Dissolve gelatine powder with cold water. Set aside.

2. Using a food processor, grind 1/3 cup toasted black sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon sugar until well grounded.

3. In a saucepan, mix milk, ground black sesame seeds and sugar. Cook in medium heat until it reaches boiling point while continuously stirring. Immediately add the softened gelatine until well blended. Remove from heat  and stir in whipping cream using a wire whisk.

4. Transfer pudding mixture to a smaller stainless steel bowl. Let smaller bowl sit on a bigger bowl filled with ice cubes to cool off pudding.

5. After pudding has cooled off, give it a quick stir and pour into prepared pudding jars. Top with toasted black sesame seeds. Chill in the refrigerator until firm.