Cardamom – Sweet Tooth Experiments

Spiced Garden Cake

Posted on June 3, 2017 Posted in Cakes .

Spiced Garden Cake

In the past I have made many cake with veggies; a chocolate zucchini cake, spiced carrot cake, traditional Swedish apple cake, pumpkin and maple cake, pumpkin pie…and the list goes on.

All of these cakes were sooo tasty and are beautifully moist thanks to the vegetables.

I wanted to take baking with veggies to another level, it may sound weird and bland to have a cake based on a selection of common garden vegetables, however the mix of spices, zingy zest and satisfying inclusion of cream make this cake a unique hearty and nourishing treat.

This cake is also a great way to use up left over vegetables and turn them into a scrumptious dessert.

Ingredients:

Cake:

215g flour
230g brown sugar
2 tsn ground cinnamon
1 tsn ground mixed spice
1/4 tsn ground cardamom
1 tsn baking powder
120g grated apple
90g grated carrot
90g grated zucchini
50g grated pumpkin
1/2 tsn orange zest
80ml vegetable oil
80ml milk
2 eggs

Cream icing:

150g cream
2 tbsn icing sugar
1 tsn orange zest
1/2 tsn ground cardamom

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 170c degrees and line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
In a bowl place the flour, sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice, cardamom and baking powder and stir until combine.
Add the grated apple, carrot, zucchini and pumpkin and stir unit into the dry mix until combine.
In a separate bowl mix the zest, milk, oil and eggs.
Add the egg mix into the flour mix and stir until well combine.
Pour the mix into the tin and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, leave aside to cool on a cooling rack.
With electric beaters whisk the cream until soft peaks form.
Add the sugar, zest and cardamom to the cream and whisk until combine.
To assemble cut the cake horizontally in half.
Place 1 cake layer on a plate, top with half the cream icing, top with the 2nd cake layer and then with the remaining icing.
Enjoy!

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Blueberry Cardamom Sponge Pudding

Posted on October 30, 2016 Posted in Cakes .

Blueberry Cardamom Sponge Pudding

I have tried time and time again to make an amazing sweet treat with blueberries. As the flavor is quite subtle in a mix of other flavors it can get lost.

So I decided to come up with a recipe that really heroes the blueberry.

This time around I opted for a sponge cake pudding. The sponge cake element would do a great job of soaking up the juice, amplifying the flavor.

Adding cardamom and lemon complimented the blueberry and intensify the soft blueberry flavor.

This recipe definitely celebrates the blueberry and is ever so tasty!

Ingredients:

Sponge:

3 eggs
110g sugar
1 tbsn corn flour
110g self raising flour
1 tsn butter
80g water

Filling:

75g sugar
125g water
800g blueberries
1 tsn lemon zest
1/4 cardamom
2 tsn corn flour

Method:

Preheat oven to 180c degrees and line a 25cm x 30cm cake tin with baking paper.
Beat the eggs in a bowl with electric beaters until thick and creamy.
Add the sugar slowly while beating until the sugar dissolves.
Triple sift the flours into the egg mix and fold until just combine.
Add the butter to the boiling water and stir to combine.
Once the butter mix has cooled pour into the egg mix and fold until just combine.
Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Allow the cake to cool in the cake tin.
Place the sugar and water into a saucepan on a high heat until boiling, then turn to low.
Add the blueberries and stir until the berries are soft and squishy.
Add the lemon zest and cardamom and stir until combine.
Pour the mix through a sieve and reserve 180ml the syrup separately.
Place the remaining syrup in a bowl with the corn flour and whisk until the mix is smooth and flour incorporated.
Place the flour syrup back in the saucepan with the blueberries and stir on low heat until the syrup thickens.
Line a 5 cup pudding bowl with plastic wrap, ensuring overhang.
Place the pudding tin onto the sponge and cut around the tin the same size as the base. Repeat for the top of the tin.
Place the small circle into the bottom of the tin.
Cut the remaining sponge into strips to cover the sides of the tin.
Pour the berry mix into the cake tin.
Place the larger sponge circle on the top and push down with hands.
Pull the plastic wrap overhanging on the outside of the tin over the top of the cake.
Place a plate with a weight on top of the cake and place in the fridge for 3 hours (or the longer the better).
Turn the pudding out onto a plate, remove the plastic wrap and brush the remaining syrup on the outside and top of the pudding.
Serve with ice-cream.

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Spiced Zucchini Orange Cake

Posted on February 22, 2016 Posted in Cakes .

Spiced Zucchini Orange Cake

I couldn’t pack any more flavours in this cake even if I tried. Not only is this flavour full each flavour complements the other.

To make the cake as moist as possible I have utilized zucchini as this is a great ingredient to add a beautiful cake texture while also making the cake a little healthier than usual.

The cake flavours have come from Indian and Arabic flavour inspirations with the inclusion of beautiful orange, pistachio, cardamom, honey, mixed spice and saffron.

An absolutely addictive cake that’s not too sweet and works amazingly with the cream topping.

Ingredients:

Cake:

160g butter
200g brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsn orange zest
½ tsn mixed spice
20 saffron threads
1 tsn cardamom
360g zucchini (grated and slightly squeezed)
32og self-rising flour
80g pistachio kernels

Topping:

300ml thickened cream
1 tsn orange zest
15 saffron threads
2 + 1/2 tbsn icing sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c degrees and line a 25cm cake tin with baking paper.
Place the pistachio kernels into a food processor and blitz until the mix resembles breadcrumbs.
Cream the butter and sugar with electric beaters until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time beating in between each addition.
Add the mixed spice, cardamom and saffron. Beat until combine.
Grate the zucchini and give it a little squeeze to remove the excess liquid.
Add the flour and the ground pistachios and stir until well combined.
Pour mix into the cake tin and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Place the cake on a cooling rack.
Meanwhile to make the topping whip the cream, saffron, zest and sugar in a bowl with electric beaters until peaks form.
Cut the cake into slices and using a piping bag and star nozzle pipe the cream on the top of the cake.
Sprinkle with a little cinnamon on top and enjoy!

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Semolina Spiced Mini Cakes

Posted on December 21, 2015 Posted in Cakes, Cupcakes .

Semolina Spiced Mini Cakes

Recently I have been playing a lot with syrups for cakes, which has resulted in quite some playing with a variation of spices and essence (some I am familiar with and some not so much).

One of the syrups I made up was so amazing that I decided to create a cake purely based on the key spices and essence.

After thinking about what cake foundations would best hold and complement my new favourite spices and essences I ended up deciding on a semolina (almost polenta) cake.

It did take me 3 tries to get to this final recipe:

Attempt 1 – was to produce a thin syrup, which just overtook the cake and flooded it.

Attempt 2 – was to make the syrup more of a caramel consistency, almost to a praline level. This just didn’t suit the cake, it needed to have an ‘icing’ element that would work with the strong spices and tone down the sickly sweetness.

Attempt 3 –I gave up on the syrup idea and decided that this cake would be best eaten with ice-cream and cream as it would work wonders with the strong moist richness of the cake. Therefore whipped up some cream and success!

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 cup sugar
180g butter
1 tsn vanilla
1 tsn cinnamon
1 tsn cardamom
½ tsn star anise
6 threads of saffron
½ tsn rosewater essence
240g natural yoghurt
1 cup semolina
½ cup self raising flour
½ tsn baking powder

Topping:

300g cream
2 + ½ tbsn icing sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c degrees and fill 2 x 12 cupcake tin trays with cupcake liners/cases.
Using electric beaters beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, rosewater, saffron diced and star anise until light and fluffy.
Add the yoghurt, semolina, flour and baking powder and beat until the mix is just combine.
Spoon the mix into the 24 cupcake patties.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the tin and place on a cooling tray until cold.
Meanwhile to make the topping whip the cream and sugar in a bowl with electric beaters until peaks form.
Using a piping bag and star nozzle pipe the cream on the top of the cold cake.
Remove the cakes from the patty cases and sprinkle with a little cinnamon on top.

Notes:

I have decorated the cakes with a sugar almond on top.

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Chai Latte Cake

Posted on September 8, 2014 Posted in Cakes .

This recipe was inspired by a work colleague who suggested it would be interesting to replicate the flavours of a chai latte in my baking.

After playing around with a few ways of doing this (teabags, powder, a mix of Indian spices) I came up with the most amazing tasting, easy to make and all round satisfying Chai Latte Cake.

Outside on my Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, I have never received so much positive feedback from a cake I have made.

If you want to impress, this cake delivers – 100% guaranteed.

Chai Latte Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
150g instant chai powder
¼ tsn cardamom
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla essence
205g plain flour
2 + ¾ tsn baking powder
1/3 tsn bi carbonate of soda
¼ tsn salt

Frosting:

Ingredients:
135g butter
1 tsn of vanilla essence
165g icing sugar
25g instant chai powder
1 tbsn milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 175 and line a 30cm cake tin with baking paper.
Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer for 3 minutes.
Add the chai powder and Cardamom to the sugar mix and beat until combined.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, the milk, then the vanilla.
In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and the salt until combined.
Slowly add the dry mix to the wet mixture a little at a time, beating in between until a thick creamy batter is formed.
Place the batter in the cake tin, using a spoon to flatten the top and bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is cooked through when you test it with a skewer.
While the cake is cooling you can make the frosting by beating the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the icing sugar, chai pwdrer and milk to the butter mix with electric beaters and beat for 5 minutes until creamy and thick.
Once the cake is cooled spread the frosting over the cake and enjoy.

Notes:

You can turn this mix into cupcakes by filling the patties ¾ full and baking for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

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Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake

Posted on August 11, 2014 Posted in Cakes .

Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake

So I have never cooked with Pomegranate before, nor have eaten it from memory. This fruit has been getting lots and lots of exposure lately so I decided that I wanted to make a cake with this ingredient.

It is quite an interesting fruit that I felt would lead to a good challenge for me as I am so unfamiliar with its flavour and texture.

After doing some research on flavours that may work with this fruit I ended up baking 3 very different cakes. These being:

Chocolate and pomegranate
White chocolate, cranberry and pomegranate
Orange, ginger, pomegranate cardamom (and almost cinnamon but thought that was going too far).

The outcome, as much as I wouldn’t have thought this the Pomegranate Orange Ginger and Cardamom Cake was amazing! It tasted like Christmas Cake without the fruit in it. I’m no fan of Christmas cake but this cake it very very tasty indeed!

Ingredients

1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
100g dark brown sugar
110g golden syrup
3 pomegranates
100 grams butter
1 orange
2 tsn ground ginger
½ tsn ground cardamom
3 cups plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sifted
¾ cup white sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 30cm cake tin with baking paper.
Using electric beaters beat together the buttermilk, eggs, sugar, golden syrup, 2 tbsns pomegranate juice, butter and zest of the orange in a bowl.
Sift in the ginger, cardamom, flour and bicarbonate of soda and beat until just combine.
Pour into the cake tin and bake for 1hour 15 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
Place the remaining pomegranate juice into a pot with the white sugar on the stove and mix to combine, cooking on medium until the syrup starts to slightly thicken.
Pour over the cooling cake until the cake is cool, then you can remove from the tin.
Scatter the pomegranate seeds on top of the the cake and well as a few orange zesting’s.

Notes:

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