Cardamom Cake Recipe
All Hail Cardamom Cake and Hail Sugar!!
Like preserved lemons, cardamom was something I discovered as an adult and it’s now my favorite baking spice. I love it in yeast breads, in muffins, and here in a delicious cake. The cake is topped with Hail Sugar (aka Pearl Sugar) - a standard in Swedish baking - it doesn’t melt and adds a sweet crunch.
This cake is firm, not too sweet, with a pronounced cardamom flavor. Quite simply this cake is really delicious! The texture is a change from a classical typical sponge, a firmness without being dry, and full of flavor. This cake is not fluffy and light and not meant to be.
Cardamom Cake might inspire you to take a break from all the holiday bustle and enjoy what the Swedes call fika - coffee, cake and conversation.
This recipe is based on a very old recipe. It is by todays cake standards very dry. Consider adding 2 to 4 eggs if you want a softer cake.
1) Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
2) Butter a 10” springform cake pan with a removable bottom. Dust with flour.
3) Cut parchment paper into a round circle to cover the bottom of the pan.
4) Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and cardamom into a bowl.
5) Cube the butter and add into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon.
6) Add the milk and mix together until incorporated.
7) Move the batter into the springform pan and sprinkle top with pearl sugar and cardamom.
8) Bake the cake in the lower part of the oven for 20-30 minutes.
9) Check with a stick to see when it is done.
10) Let the cake cool for 16 minutes before removing the sides.
11) Then let the cake cool completely.