Black Sesame Carrot Cake (loaf)

This is a really delicious loaf cake. It is moist, flavorful and a nice alternative to carrot cake. I have made it before from Jessica Koslows' cookbook (also on food52) and with just a few modifications I think this one came out even better. The original recipe has a bit more flour and sugar, and a few other slight variations. I followed the Bon Ap version pretty closely but was generous with the spices and skimped on the sugar (by about 1/4 cup) since the I was using slightly sweetened homemade applesauce and the previous cake had registered a little too sweet. Again, I love the sesame toppings' crunch and Halloween aesthetic!