Cupcake fatigue? This recipe is your remedy. The tahini buttercream is slightly nutty and perfectly fluffy: a perfect match to the dark chocolate cupcakes!
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I discovered Molly Yeh through the 2015 Saveur Blog Awards, where she won both the Best Baking and Desserts and the Blog of the Year awards. I was instantly drawn to her soft, somewhat moody photography and quickly discovered as I started binging her past posts that her images contrasted with her quirky personality. She refused to capitalize words, sprinkled exclamation points everywhere, was a champion at self-deprecating, and made more jokes per sentence than I ever thought possible. She infused her dishes with her rich Jewish-Asian heritage and created recipes that felt both on trend yet delicious and actually doable. I was captivated—so much so that I started tweeting to and about her using the hashtag #girlcrush, something I had never done before and have not done since (hey, it was a bit embarrassing).
Molly Yeh is a Julliard graduate who moved to a farm in North Dakota with her fifth-generation farmer husband. On her blog, My Name is Yeh, you’ll sometimes read about her farm life (and her cute chickens!) and often about her spectacular desserts.
I was eager to hold her book in my hands and read it cover-to-cover the day it arrived. Molly on the Range is a beautiful cookbook, but also a really fun read. Maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I usually jump in and out of cookbooks, very rarely read the front-of-book sections, and usually skim through headnotes. In Molly’s book, headnotes can spread over pages, but you want to read them all. In fact, remove the recipes and it feels like you’re holding her memoir in your hands. The book is filled with cute pictures of her, her husband, and her farm—and, incredibly, none of it feels forced. There are also beautifully illustrated “infographics” that teach you to make spice blends, sandwiches, and mac ‘n’ cheese. And, of course, pages and pages of mouthwatering recipes I can’t wait to try.
Some of my favorite dishes from Molly on the Range so far:
Some of the recipes I can’t wait to try:
But first and foremost, Molly’s book has gotten me obsessed with using tahini in desserts. I love sesame in sweet dishes, but for some reason, I had never thought of using tahini in cakes and cookies. Strange, considering that nut butters are among my favorite ingredients—I guess I just needed to be shown the way.
I’m head over heels in love with these cupcakes. How had I not yet realized that chocolate and tahini were such a perfect match? I often find buttercream insipid, and I admit I usually have a hard time indulging without some form of guilt. To me, frosting must be flavorful, otherwise I just feel like I’m eating butter by the spoonful, and that’s not a feeling I like. This tahini buttercream is legit: it’s slightly nutty, intriguing, and perfectly fluffy. I’d call it a sweet hummus if I weren’t afraid of putting you off. But I’ve seen chocolate hummus before, so why not? Toasty tahini buttercream + deep, dark chocolaty cupcakes = totally irresistible.
If you’ve been feeling cupcake fatigue for the past few years, this is your remedy. If you can’t get over your cupcake fatigue, simply bake the batter in a single round pan and call it a cake—or better yet, split the cake in two, and spread the tahini buttercream inside and out and all around. Fancy! Whatever you do, just promise you’ll lick that bowl of tahini buttercream clean.
Tell me how you liked it! Leave a comment or take a picture and tag it with @foodnouveau on Instagram.
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Author: Marie Asselin
I love that the buttercream is as high as the cupcake…I must make these !
These cupcakes look, as Molly would say, “AMAZE!” I recently tried tahini stuffed dates and think a dessert-ier version could be dark chocolate covered tahini date “truffles” studded with chunks of halva inside (so the inside would be a similar texture to a crunchier Lara Bar) and then rolled in shredded coconut.
So glad I found your blog via Instagram!
TAHINI TRUFFLES! Gotta make that over the holidays. Amaze idea! ;)
Maybe some kind of tiramisu?
Hmmm that sound intriguing. How about using a spiced, denser (date?) cake instead of the classic tiramisu cookies, and folding some tahini into the cream?
I’ve always wanted to make Raw Chocolate Mousse Tart with tahini
I think tahini would be perfect to add some body to a raw chocolate tart. You could decorate it with toasted coconut shavings, so pretty!
You are truly the best book reviewer and I totally trust your recommendations! I’m not very original but I’d love to try my hand at these cupcakes – I’m so intrigued by the texture and think the idea is brilliant! Admire Molly’s work so this is definitely one I’m keen to add to the collection!
Thanks Lindsey!! I just love sharing my favorites–it totally justifies all the money I spend on books, right? The tahini icing is so rich and fluffy, I can still taste it. It’s very high up my list of favorite frostings, ever!
how about chocolate pudding ?
I like the way you think!
These cupcakes are definitely on my tahini to-bake list. Possible also some halva with dark chocolate streaks…
I’ve never made halva, but it sure looks like it’s the perfect treat to make with tahini. Off to investigate!
Tahini inspires me to make cookies!
Yes to cookies, always.
Tahini is such a sneakily awesome dessert ingredient! I love adding it to cookies for an extra layer of flavor. I just came across Molly Yeh’s Monster Cookies recipe with tahini and coconut flakes and definitely will be adding those to my list to try!
I made Molly’s monster cookies and they’re amazing! Definitely make sure to try them. I agree that tahini adds an interesting layer of flavor, I can’t stop experimenting with it!
Mmmm I would probably start small with cookies or maybe some kind of fudge.
Cookies and fudge. Can’t go wrong with those options!