Roasted Cardamom and Coffee Pound Cake is infused with the distinctive flavors of Turkish coffee ~ cardamom and strong coffee give this simple pound cake a rich, aromatic twist. It works for breakfast, afternoon tea, or dessert.
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The flavors of coffee and cardamom go so well together in my Turkish Coffee that I want to keep the vibe going with this aromatic little cardamom pound cake. It’s made with roasted cardamom and rich dark coffee for a truly sophisticated dessert.
Baking with cardamom
Cardamom is an Indian spice that comes in the form of pods. I’ve mentioned it before, but cardamom is the third most expensive spice, by weight, in the world, following saffron and vanilla. You can sometimes find the whole pods in the spice aisle, I found mine at the spice booth at the farmer’s market. When they split open they reveal the seeds inside, which can be used whole, or ground into a powder. When the pods and seeds are roasted they develop a richer flavor and aroma. I love cardamom and I use it often in my recipes. Be sure to check out my Cardamom Crumb Cake and my Orange Cardamom Muffins.
Toasting and grinding cardamom
I toast the green pods (brown cardamom is stronger and used in savory d in a large frying pan over the stove for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Then I use a rolling pin to partially crack open the pods, and released the seeds.
To grind the little black seeds I use a small coffee grinder that I keep just for spices. You could use a mortar and pestle, or just buy the cardamom already ground. But keep in mind that, as I learned from my spice monger at the farmer’s market, cardamom loses flavor and freshness rapidly, so you will get vastly better flavor from freshly ground seeds.
Above you can see the three stages of the spice…the green pods, the seeds, and then the ground powder. All three are used in cooking, and in both sweet and savory foods. I love the ground cardamom because not only does it have a unique, woodsy, amber aroma, but it’s a beautiful soft grey brown speckled color. Between the coffee and the cardamom this pound cake has a nice caramel tone when you cut into it.
This cardamom pound cake is a simple old fashioned type of cake, without a lot of bells and whistles, but it has a very distinctive exotic flavor. The aroma in the kitchen while it’s baking is pretty amazing.
Be sure to let the cake cool completely before adding the glaze, or it will melt into the warm cake. The vanilla bean glaze adds yet another layer of amazing flavor to this pound cake.
The cake will keep for 2-3 days at room temperature, or you can freeze it. I’d freeze without the glaze, and glaze after thawing for best results.
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Roasted Cardamom and Coffee Pound Cake
Equipment
- standard 9×5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp toasted and finely ground cardamom seeds, measured after grinding
- 1/2 cup sour cream or creme fraiche
- 1 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 ounces butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
Vanilla Bean Glaze
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- heavy cream, a few Tablespoons
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325F and spray or butter your loaf pan.
- Whisk the first 5 dry ingredients together and set aside.
- Mix the sour cream, vanilla, and espresso powder together, until the espresso powder completely dissolves. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
- Add the flour to the butter and sugar, alternately with the sour cream. Blend until combined, and then spread in a greased loaf pan.
- Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- For the glaze, mix the sugar and vanilla seeds together, then add the cream, slowly, until you get a thick but spreadable glaze. Glaze the cake when it’s completely cool.
Nutrition
More cardamom recipes
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