In the early 2000s, when Tomoko Yagi and her husband went to the movies in New York City, Ms. Yagi couldn’t find anywhere she could hang out afterward with a nice cup of tea and dessert. Back in her hometown in Japan, she could go to the ubiquitous wagashi (Japanese dessert) cafes that served not-too-sweet confections, such as the fresh fruit and jelly-based anmitsu or the shaved ice treat kakigōri, with a beautiful pot of green tea.
That’s why, in 2004, Ms. Yagi opened her Japanese teahouse, Cha-An, in the East Village. For the next couple of decades, the chill spot became a mecca for anyone who wanted to linger into the night, but not over a drink at a bar.
From the start, Ms. Yagi’s star menu item has been her black sesame crème brûlée. Deep, almost peanut buttery black sesame seeds underpin its nuanced layers: a dark custard base shielded under a thin, crackly sugar crust that shatters under the tap of a metal spoon, a sphere of black sesame ice cream sitting on top, a lacy cookie wheel wedged into it. All that complexity comes in a small but mighty package.
You don’t have to go to a Japanese teahouse in Manhattan to experience the wonders of black sesame, though it couldn’t hurt. Where white sesame tastes like nuts, rich with a single-noted mildness, “black sesame has a bitterness,” Ms. Yagi said through her interpreter. Sugar balances that intense, bittersweet bite, scaffolding flavors beyond just sweetness.
In Rice Krispies treats, for instance, sugary marshmallows benefit from that foil. The occasional crunch of a black sesame seed, between bites of buttery marshmallow and crispy cereal, lets you appreciate the balancing act of black sesame and sugar, dark and light. Jars of the onyx-black seeds are readily available in most grocery stores across the United States and can be a secret weapon in your own dessert making.
“I don’t see black sesame as a trend,” said Hannah Bae of Noona’s Ice Cream in Brooklyn. Though her black sesame pint has been one of her most popular flavors since she started her business in 2016, she considers its allure timeless, simple but complex with an “underlying sort of hush, hush,” both in terms of its inky-coal color and how its bittersweetness can taste seductive, like chocolate. “In my eyes, it’s a classic.”
In the early days of her business, Ms. Bae toasted, then ground, the black sesame seeds herself, bringing out the seeds’ most mysterious qualities (and essential oils). But, like many other commercial bakers, she now uses jarred black sesame paste, a product that effortlessly delivers serious black sesame flavor.
In these Rice Krispies treats, you fry black sesame seeds in nutty brown butter to roast them, then fortify their flavor with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, which creates an aromatic whammy of bold, savory sesame taste. Toasted sesame oil, like vanilla extract, lends fragrance without bulk, and in this recipe, it also helps prevent them from sticking to the pan.
Stored in an airtight container, these savory-sweet treats stay soft and chewy for days. But if you’re feeling doubly nostalgic, you can tear a couple of squares into a bowl and pour over milk to enjoy as cereal. It’s the perfect ending to any day: sweet, but not too sweet.
