Japanese

Black Sesame Milk Pudding

Name: Black Sesame Milk Pudding
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Japanese

A softly set, nutty black sesame milk pudding with a creamy, smooth texture. A Japanese café-style dessert with 15 minutes of hands-on time.

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Ingredients

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40g black sesame seeds (or 3 tbsp black sesame paste)
400ml full-cream milk
100ml thickened cream
3 tbsp caster sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tsp powdered gelatine (7g)
2 tbsp cold water
1 tsp toasted white or black sesame seeds, to serve

Instructions

Sprinkle the gelatine over the cold water in a small bowl and leave for 5 minutes to soften.
Toast the black sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes until fragrant (they burn quickly, so keep them moving). Grind to a fine, slightly oily powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
Gently heat the milk, cream, sugar, salt and ground sesame in a saucepan, stirring, until steaming but not boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatine until completely dissolved.
Set the pan in a bowl of iced water and stir for a few minutes until the mixture cools and thickens slightly. This keeps the sesame suspended instead of sinking.
Pour into 4 small cups or ramekins, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours until softly set. Scatter with toasted sesame just before serving.

About this dish

Kuro goma purin, or black sesame pudding, is a Japanese café and convenience-store favourite. It's charcoal grey, softly set, and tastes deeply nutty and toasty, a little like peanut butter's sophisticated cousin.

Toasting and grinding your own black sesame seeds gives the best flavour and those fine speckles through the pudding. A spoonful of ready-made black sesame paste is a good shortcut.

It sets with gelatine in the fridge, so make it the morning of, or the day before, a dinner party.