Cardamom, Orange & Honey Coffee Cake

A few months back, I went to a cabin with a group of friends.  Matt and I arrived a couple of days ahead of the gang, so we were put in charge of packing kitchen necessities.  You know, the basics: butter, oil, salt, pepper, flour, sugar…

“Uh, Sarah, did you really need to bring 3 different sources of cardamom for a long weekend?”

What can I say?  It’s true; I love it and I like to be prepared.  You never know which day you might find yourself needing a quick fix of cardamom.

Today was one of those days.  It was a cold, snowy, really-need-something-sweet-with-your-sixth-cup-of-Earl-Grey kind of day.  This is just the cake for those days.  It’s fast and easy and won’t make you feel too guilty.  Sure there’s a stick of butter in it, but there’s also yogurt. Yogurt is good for you.  The cake is full of the sweet, spicy cardamom you’ve been craving and you’ll have it around for breakfast all weekend. Do it.  Make it.  Just make the cake.  You’ll be back to whatever you’re supposed to be doing in no time.

Okay, what do we need?  5 minutes and a preheated oven.  Butter, honey, eggs, and yogurt.  Flour, soda, powder, salt.  Orange zest and, of course, the star: plenty of ground cardamom.  Batter up and bake.

Let the cake cool briefly, while you put on the kettle.  Dust with powdered sugar and grab a fork.

Dreary weather?  Who cares?  I’ve got my cardamom and carb fix, a pot of tea, and days worth of dessert for breakfast.  Life is good.

Cardamom, Orange & Honey Coffee Cake

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

This cake is perfect with an afternoon cup of tea or coffee. Feel free to embellish this cake; it is written to be a just lightly sweet afternoon or breakfast treat. If you want more of a showstopper brunch coffee cake, consider adding a crumb or streusel topping and peaches to the batter. Serving it for dessert? Perhaps some honey-whipped cream and orange segments would be nice. If you like your cakes a little sweeter, you could make an orange and honey syrup to pour over the cake when it comes out of the oven. Roasted pears? Ice cream? Oh, the possibilities!

Author: Sarah

Recipe type: Breakfast, Brunch, Baked Good, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 2 c. All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
• ½ tsp. Baking Soda
• ¼ tsp. Salt
• 1½ tsp. Ground Cardamom
• 8 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter, softened
• ½ c. Honey
• ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
• zest of 1 Orange
• 2 Eggs
• ¾ c. Plain Full-Fat Greek Yogurt
• Powdered Sugar for dusting, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9 in. cake pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom.
3. With an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add honey and beat until well incorporated, 1 minute. Add the orange zest and vanilla and the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing until well-incorporated. Add half of the dry ingredients, stir until just combined. Add the yogurt, stir. Add the remaining dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes and dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

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