Cardamom Cake

Every morning when I check my email, I skim through my numerous cooking subscriptions. On food52.com, this caught my eye: "The cake Alice Waters can't live without." I had to check it out. The cake is originally of Swedish origin; Chef Niloufer Ichaporia King received the recipe from a friend and tweaked it for her cookbook. It's wonderfully simple.


Here's today's cast (the butter was hanging out in the little pot).


I lined the bottom of a springform pan with parchment paper, then generously buttered the entire pan.


I sprinkled two tablespoons of sugar into the pan and then swirled it around so the sugar coated the bottom and sides. There was a fair amount of sugar hanging around the bottom when I was done. 


Sliced almonds came next.


I haven't used my mortar and pestle since we moved back home. It was nice to see it! Cardamom pods were smashed open to remove their booty.


I needed a tablespoon of the seeds. Once they were loose and I had removed any pod fragments, I smashed them a bit.


The eggs and sugar were beat together for about five minutes.


They should be thick, light yellow and about tripled in size.


I made sure I had all the other ingredients prepared and ready to go. Flour and two pinches of salt were folded into the eggs and sugar.


Then the cardamom and melted butter were added and thoroughly, but gently, combined.


Into the prepared pan and then into the oven at 350F for about 30-35 minutes.


I cooled the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes then ran a knife around the edge to loosen it before I removed the pan.

 
So far, so good.


In inverted the cake onto a rack and removed the pan's bottom and parchment paper.


The entire outside of the cake is beautifully browned and crusty. 


I did undercook the interior just a tad. The crustiness of the outside fooled me. Yes, I did do the skewer test but it seemed ok. Bah.


I meant to just have a taste since I hadn't eaten lunch yet. I ate the whole slice. The interior is light and moist so the crusty outside and the sugary almonds are nice contrasts. The cardamom flavor is hinted at throughout and then you bite into one of the seeds and you get a great crunch and a pop of more intense cardamom. It's a really nice cake and very versatile; it's fancy enough for a company dessert and laid back enough to have for breakfast with a cup of tea. Or before lunch. And after lunch. This could be dangerous.

Here's the promised link:




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