Swedish cardamom cake

This Swedish cardamom cake (kardemummakaka) is light and fluffy with a delicate cardamom flavor. It's easy to make and perfect to enjoy alongside a cup of tea or coffee. 

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I don't really make cakes all that often, as we can struggle to get through them, in all honesty, unless we have a bit of help. But since we had visitors coming, it felt like the perfect excuse, and this one was just what we needed. 

I have long been a fan of cardamom, and cardamom buns are definitely a favorite treat. This puts that wonderful flavor in cake form, and it works so well. It's easy to make, perfect for a crowd and has a lovely lightness, too.

Cardamom in Scandinavian cooking

Swedish cardamom buns are well known around the world these days as a classic treat alongside coffee and cake, aka fika. But these are far from the only thing you will find cardamom used in, as it's a well loved spice in the region. 

Quite how this came to be is a little unclear, though it's certainly far from new. Cardamom originates in the region of India and certainly made it's way through the old spice routes to marketplaces in Constantinople, modern day Istanbul, in medieval times.

It's a little debated whether the Swedish connection is from Viking travels there or via the Moors when they were in the Iberian peninsula. Either way, cardamom is in recipes in Scandinavian cookbooks from the 1450s. International trade through the Swedish East India Company kept the flow of spices into the Nordic countries in later years.

Nowadays, cardamom is loved for it's sense of coziness and warmth, much as cinnamon is in North America. So you find it in a few baked goods, which I for one am all in favor of.

Cardamom cake ingredients

This cake recipe uses simple ingredients that you likely have already, with the only exception being the cardamom itself, potentially. 

You'll need:

• Flour - regular all purpose/plain flour is best here.
• Butter - use unsalted so you can control the amount of salt you add. The butter should be room temperature, or at least not straight out the fridge.
• Eggs - use large eggs.
• Milk - I use and recommend whole milk for this.
• Sugar - regular sugar in the US is fine; in the UK you will probably want to use caster sugar so it creams with the butter a little more easily.
• Baking powder - to help it rise.
• Salt - also helps with rising and for flavor.
• Cardamom - the star of the cake! This gives the cake the lovely aromatic flavor. 

While you can use ready ground cardamom, I highly recommend grinding your own as the flavor will be much stronger and fresher. Use green cardamom pods, gently crush them to pop them open then take out the black cardamom seeds. Crush those seeds either with a pestle and mortar or use a spice grinder. 

If you like, you can also include some vanilla which will add to the flavor, but I also feel it has a great flavor without it.

Making this easy coffee cake

In terms of process, this cardamom cake recipe could hardly be easier. Start by preparing your baking pan/tin - I recommend a springform pan with a removable base to be easiest for removing and serving. Line or grease the tin to help it come out easily and set aside.

Then, combine the dry ingredients - flour, salt and cardamom - in a bowl. Separately, cream together the butter and sugar until glossy and light. Add the eggs one at a time then mix in the milk. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined but take care not to overmix.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake until golden on top and a skewer tested in the middle comes out clean. Make sure you don't leave in too long as you don't want to overbake or it will dry out. 

Serving and storing leftovers

Let the cake cool a few minutes before removing from the tin. This cake works perfectly as a coffee cake simply with powdered sugar dusted over the top. But if you want to make it a little fancier, you could add a drizzle of icing. 

If you have leftover cake, you can store it at room temperature in a sealed container for a couple days. Just make sure it has cooled completely before storing.

You can also freeze the cake by again letting it cool completely first then wrapping with cling wrap/film and placing in a freezer bag. If you will only need part at a time, freeze it in chunks.

This Swedish cardamom cake is light, flavorful as well as wonderfully moist and tender. It's easy to make and the perfect accompaniment to a warm drink. So get baking and enjoy the cozy flavors.

Try these other cakes perfect for coffee time:

• Dutch spice cake, ontbijtkoek - sometimes called a breakfast cake, but perfect any time, this loaf is sweet and full of spice flavors.
• French pear cake - another easy cake, it's light, not too sweet and with lovely chunks of pear throughout.
• Apple snack cake - packed with chunks of apples and warm spices.
• German plum cake, Pflaumenkuchen - somewhere between a cake and a tart/bar, this cake has a yeasted base, a layer of soft plums and a crumble topping.
• Raspberry banana bread - maybe not technically cake but so tasty, easy and perfect with tea or coffee too.
• Plus get more snacks, both sweet and savory, and Nordic recipes in the archives.

I'd recommend an 8in non-stick springform pan for this for easy removal (affiliate link, the 8in in this set is what I use).

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

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