Lemon Ice Box Pie Cupcakes with Lavender Benne Seed Shortbread Crust

Lemon ice box pie is the lemon version of key lime pie - with a small but important twist. On a hot, sticky Southern summer day, lemon ice box pie always beats out its key lime cousin because lemon ice box pie is served frozen!  I made my lemon ice box pie as jumbo cupcakes, ripe for sharing on the porch swing with a tall glass of sweet tea.

Rather than the traditional graham cracker crust, these lemon ice box pie cupcakes have a lavender benne seed shortbread crust.  The lavender is almost undetectable unless you are looking for it.  However, it adds a complex floral note that makes the cupcakes seem extra-special - even if you can't put your finger on why.

I topped the lemon ice box pie cupcakes with the biggest blackberries that I've ever seen and some lemon basil picked right off of the plant.  Think of the top of your lemon ice box pie cupcakes as a palette.  There's tons of room up there for whatever fresh fruit you can find!  If you are still looking for that perfect July 4th cupcake, lemon ice box cupcakes topped with red raspberries and blueberries would surely fit the bill. 

My favorite quote about these cupcakes came from my new friend, Amy, who said, "These are stooopid!"  You have to imagine her saying it with long Southern drawl on the "oooo" and you must realize that calling them "stooopid" was her utmost compliment!

Benne Seeds - Is There a Conspiracy?

While traveling around Charleston, South Carolina in search of a Charleston-themed cupcake recipe to bake in my HomeAway vacation rental home (get the back story in my initial Charleston post), I noticed that the tourist markets all carried benne seed wafers.  "Now, there's a unique product.  I must use benne seeds in my Charleston cupcakes!"

One vendor was offering free benne seed wafer samples (I NEVER turn down a free sample). As I inhaled the benne seed wafer sample, I asked the obvious question:

What are Benne Seeds?

Sesame Honey Cupcakes

I wanted my sesame honey cupcakes to taste like sesame honey crunch candies. I know I was an unusual child, but sesame honey crunch candies were some of my favorite candies (I have always had a love for anything with honey). Perhaps, I wasn't as strange a child as my husband, though, who for some inexplicable reason called sesame honey crunch candies "chicken bones." Did anyone else do this?

Did the Sesame Honey Cupcakes Taste Like Sesame Honey Crunch Candy?

Yes, the sesame honey cupcakes tasted just like sesame honey crunch candies! Those (like me and Jonathan) who love sesame honey crunch candy loved these sesame honey cupcakes. Those who do not like the flavor of sesame and honey, like my mother in law, did not like these. Lastly, those who had never had anything with sesame and honey, like my friend who was in from Seattle, simply didn't know what to make of them.

You should know that like the candies, the cupcakes are not overly sweet and strike me as kind of mellow and cozy - a cupcake that you would have with some steamed milk rather than an espresso.

Groom 2.5 suggested that the cupcakes might go well with some kind of fruit filling. I agree, but I think that would in some way detract from their simple nature.

The Sesame Honey Cupcake Recipe

I got the recipe for the sesame honey cupcake from Curiously Ravenous. Her recipe was absolutely perfect for what I was looking for! I am reprinting it below with my notes.

Makes 12-15 cupcakes

• 2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 3 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/3 C unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 C honey
• 1 egg
• 2 T tahini (you can use my homemade tahini recipe or use store-bought)
• 1 C buttermilk
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 3 T white sesame seeds

1. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
2. In another bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and honey until pale and glossy, about 3 minutes.
3. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk and vanilla.
4. With the mixer running, add the egg to the butter-sugar mixture, until well-blended.
   
5. Continue beating in the tahini.
   
6. In 3 additions, alternately blend in the flour and buttermilk, ending with flour.
   
7. Mix in the sesame seeds.
8. Fill cupcake liners almost to the top. These cupcakes do not rise very much.
9. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the top of the cakes are lightly golden.

The Sesame Honey Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Curiously Ravenous used a sesame honey buttercream frosting on her cupcakes. Since I'm not a buttercream fan, I opted for a Cupcake Project original cream cheese version. You might notice the absence of sugar in my recipe. Whenever I've added powdered sugar to a frosting recipe with honey it, the level of sweetness disgusts me!

• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 C butter, room temperature
• 2 T tahini
• 1/2 C honey

1. Whip cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Slowly mix in tahini and honey.
3. Spread on the cupcakes. You don't need to make them look pretty because they are going to get covered in sesame seeds.

The Dunk and Drizzle

Once the cupcakes have been frosted, simply dunk them in a plate of toasted sesame seeds. If you need a tutorial on toasting sesame seeds, see my notes in the tahini post. I used all white sesame seeds, however, I think it would look really neat to use a combination of white and black sesame seeds.

Once the sesame seeds were all in place, I drizzled some honey over the top of the cupcakes. The photo above is really just another opportunity to show off Jonathan's new macro lens!

Related Recipes

If you would prefer to make the actual sesame honey crunch candy instead of a cupcake recipe inspired by it, you might want to check out Alanna's recent sesame candy recipe. I haven't personally tried it yet, but it sounds fantastic.

If you would prefer a cupcake recipe based on another favorite candy, you might want to check out my Ferrero Rocher cupcakes.

Tahini Recipe

This tahini recipe is simple to make.
You just need sesame seeds and olive oil.

Tahini, like baker's coconut and dulce de leche, is one of those items that people often buy pre-made without even thinking about the option of making it at home. It turns out that the homemade tahini recipe is really easy to make and tastes just as good as the store-bought kind - if not better. However, as I'll explain later, the texture of a homemade tahini is not quite the same. This didn't bother me (as tahini is typically mixed into something), but it may bother you.

Before I get to the tahini recipe, though, let's start with what tahini is and what it is used for.

What is Tahini?

Tahini is a paste of sesame seeds and olive oil used in all kinds of Mediterranean cooking. It's often found in the ever-popular hummus and the incredibly fun to say baba ghanoush.

In my case, the tahini was used for some sesame honey cupcakes.

What's the Difference Between Store-Bought and Homemade Tahini?

My homemade tahini looks like peanut butter.
Store-bought tahini is much smoother.

Faith from The Kitchn describes the difference between homemade tahini and store-bought tahini:

Commercially made tahini separates the bran from the kernel and only grinds the kernel, which is why it is so smooth and thin. At home you're grinding both the bran and the kernel in a home food processor that isn't as powerful, so the resulting tahini looks gritty and sticky... It's more like thick peanut butter with small flecks of the bran.

You can see in the photo above how thick my tahini turned out. Jonathan (who on an unrelated note just bought a new macro lens - I'm lovin' the closeup sesame seed shot he was able to take) felt that the bran added a complexity of flavor that he hadn't experienced in store-bought tahini. I honestly couldn't recall what jarred tahini tasted like and didn't have a can on hand to compare. You'll have to do your own side-by-side if you care that much about this issue.

Tahini Recipe

I got the tahini recipe from The Kitchn. It's so easy! The recipe is below along with my notes.

For about 2 cups of tahini, you'll need:

• 2 C sesame seeds
• 1/3 C olive oil
  

First, you'll need to toast the sesame seeds.

1. Heat a heavy, wide-bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat.
   
2. Add the sesame seeds and toast lightly - about 2 minutes, shaking the pan so they toast evenly. Two tips here: a) I am a messy cook with limited arm strength. I have a great fear that if I toss a pan, food will end up everywhere, therefore, I tend to just vigorously stir rather than toss. b) Keep a careful eye on the sesame seeds as they go from toasted to burnt really quickly. As soon as they start to brown, they are done.
   
3. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely.

Next, you'll process the toasted seeds with the olive oil.

1. Put the toasted sesame seeds in a food processor and drizzle in the olive oil. As you can see, I poured rather than drizzled. It worked just fine!
   
2. Pulse for 3-5 minutes, or until it's as smooth as you can get it.
   
3. Add a little more olive oil if necessary.
   
4. Remove from food processor and store in the refrigerator.