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“This. Is. DELICIOUS. Go ahead and make it, share it with your friends and family and coworkers. It will go down in history as one of the best things you’ve made.” ~Jess
the love of cardamom crumb cake is in my dna
I grew up in the suburbs just outside New York City, and I have a pretty good dose of German heritage on my dad’s side. If you put those two things together in a hat and shake them up real good, you’ll come up with, among other things…crumb cake.
My cardamom crumb cake is New York–style, meaning it’s not light and fluffy ~ the tall cake layer is dense and close-crumbed, almost pound-cake adjacent, with a buttery, vanilla-rich (or in this case cardamom) bite that feels substantial under the fork.
what you’ll need for cardamom crumb cake
Mostly pantry staples, you know the drill. What you may need to pick up before baking:
- sour cream
- adds fat and moisture for a denser, tighter, ultra-tender crumb with buttery richness; helps the cake stay moist.
- ground cardamom
- a full tablespoon of this aromatic spice permeates the whole cake.
There are lots of ways to make a crumb topping ~ sometimes the crumbs are like little boulders all over the top, and other times it’s more like a streusel topping. This one is the latter. The crumbs are made from a bit of reserved cake mixture, so it’s super easy. The cake will take you about 15 minutes to get in the oven. Easy peasy.
why cardamom?
In baking I’ll often sub cardamom for cinnamon to get a new flavor profile with a similar warmth and aroma.
Cardamom is an aromatic spice in the ginger family. It grows in green or black pods filled with tiny seeds. When you grind the seeds you’ll get an incredibly fragrant spice. You can also use the pods whole in savory dishes, just crush them lightly to release the seeds.
bakers tips for cardamom crumb cake
I love cardamom crumb cake warm from the oven, but like other all-butter cakes it can dry out fast:
- Try not to over-bake, once the center has risen and the edges are golden, check with a toothpick. Moist crumbs are fine.
- Don’t slice until ready to eat to keep the edges from drying out.
- Wrap in plastic and store at room temp, not in the fridge ( which can dry it out faster.)
The crumbs on this cake are more like streusel
- It will feel dry to the touch. Use your hands to compress it into rough clumps as you add to the top of the batter.
- Be sure to spread it all over the surface of the cake, into the sides and corners.
the bottom line
This lovely cake stands out from others because it’s spiced with warm, fragrant cardamom, which is not traditional, but really wonderful. Cardamom is more subtle than cinnamon, and if you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you do. Switching out cinnamon for cardamom is a tiny little change that can freshen up a lot of your favorite recipes. If you look closely at the photos you can see the little black specks of the cardamom seeds.
I happen to love the spice, and use it in everything from morning buns and Christmas cookies to meatballs and roast chicken.
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Cardamom Crumb Cake
Video
Equipment
- 9×9 square baking dish
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp ground cardamom
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F
- Spray a 9×9 square baking pan and line with parchment paper if you want to be able to lift it out for cutting. That part is optional.
- Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine, You can also do this by hand in a large mixing bowl.
- Cut the butter in small pieces and add it to the bowl. Pulse to combine, maybe about 20 pulses. The mixture should be crumbly with the butter well distributed and in very small pieces. You can also do this by hand with a pastry cutter.
- Measure out 1 cup of the mixture and set aside.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients and mix with the dry, just until combined. Spread the batter into the pan, and top with the reserved crumbs.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
Nutrition
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This crumb cake recipe is super easy to make. It’s a keeper. The cardamom is a lovely addition. and a nice change from the typical cinnamon crumb cakes usually have. The extended family gave it a big thumbs up. With no time to run to the store, I subbed yogurt for the sour cream and had an excellent result. Thanks for a great recipe and it came out looking exactly as pictured here!
Yay, so happy to hear it. I’t always a bonus when recipes turn out just like the photo ~ that’s so satisfying 🙂
Followed recipe exactly, perfect at 40 minutes. Love, love the taste and the tender crumb! Thank you for a recipe that is a kee9, for sure!
I had the same issue with the cooking time, and have an oven thermometer. It was essentially liquid after 42 minutes- I had to cook the cake for an extra 30 minutes. Not sure what happened, but was delicious when finally finished!
Could be different pan sizes?
Would it be ok to double the recipe and put it in a 9×13 pan?
I think that should work, and the cooking time should be roughly the same, but keep a close eye on it.
This. Is. DELICIOUS. Go ahead and make it, share it with your friends and family and coworkers. It will go down in history as one of the best things you’ve made. DO IT I DARE YA!
<3 Thanks Jess!
Hi, Sue. I just made this today, and it was delicious (or as Mary Berry is fond of saying “scrummy”). I came back to this page because I wanted to check the comments to see other ways people may have played with the recipe flavor. I would love an orange cake, and I loved the texture of this cake immensely. Imagine my surprise when someone mentioned sour cream! “What sour cream?!” I said to myself. Back to the recipe I went, and lo and behold, I missed both the sour cream and the vanilla. Let me tell you, it was still “scrummy” without those ingredients. I may try it again the “right” way, but the texture of the cake was sublime. Thanks for a great recipe! I’m thinking about tweaking this into an orange cake, too. Just some subtle flavor. Best wishes to you.
Oh now you’ve got me dreaming of an orange crumb cake, Kari! I’m planning a banana version, in fact I just stocked up on the bananas yesterday for that. That’s amazing that you left out the sour cream and it was still good!! Let me know the results of your orange experiment 🙂
Not sure what happened, but this cake was still pure liquid at 40 minutes. Very good flavor, I love cardamom.
It sounds like your oven is not heating to the proper temperature, Jennifer. I’ve found that every oven I’ve ever had is off in some way or another, I highly recommend getting an inexpensive oven thermometer so you can check.
any recommendation on scaling down to use 8×8 pan? Thanks!
I made this to take into my physical therapist. Keep hoping bribes will work. They don’t; they still hurt me. So maybe I should just give it to my dearest friends. Or maybe I’ll just keep it all to myself. Ha yes that’s the answer! This is one of the most fabulous cakes ever. I’ve been wanting to try cardamom and I am in love with it. The cake is so easy to make. Love love love.
I’m thrilled you loved this Teresa, and so sorry it didn’t help with the pain 😉 I’m also thrilled you’ve discovered cardamom, you’ll see lots more of it here!
Hi! What would be a good substitute for the sour cream in this recipe?
Generally if I don’t have sour cream I use yogurt, Kristin. I like Greek yogurt, and whole milk will work best, but it won’t be quite as lovely as the sour cream. Creme fraiche or thick buttermilk will also work. Good luck!
I used the sour cream and this turned out just as pictured above! So yummy, thanks!
I’m so glad, thanks for letting me know Kristin 🙂