Orange Cardamom Cake

A beautiful flavor combination, orange and cardamom. I like to bake with cardamom when I can, it reminds me of my grandmother. I have great memories of being in her kitchen on a summer morning eating sourdough pancakes and aebleskivers.

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp salt
1½ tsp cardamom
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup milk
1 cup butter, room temp
1½ cups sugar
1 Tbl orange zest
4 eggs, room temp
1 Tbl vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. Liberally spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray and dust with flour. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom, set aside. In measuring cup, stir together orange juice and milk, set aside.

In large bowl of mixer, cream butter, sugar, and orange zest. Mix in eggs, one at a time, add vanilla and mix until all is well incorporated. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with the orange juice & milk. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour cake batter into prepared bundt pan, spread evenly. Bake 40-45 minutes, until pick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan on cooling rack for 15 minutes. Invert and cool completely on cooling rack. Drizzle with orange glaze (recipe below).

1½ cups powdered sugar
3-4 Tbl orange juice
Whisk together to desired consistency and drizzle over cake.

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Drizzled Soft Ginger Cookies

It’s cookie time! Time to make all kinds of cookies, make up beautiful plates to give to others, and bring smiles! These soft ginger cookies have great flavor right out of the oven or drizzle with a little white chocolate or white chips. In the picture, that is one of my favorite Christmas decorations, my Santa candy dish made for me by my sister Candace. It just wouldn’t be Christmas at our house without Santa on the kitchen counter filled with red and green peanut and peanut butter M&Ms!

2¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp cardamom
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 Tbl water
1/4 cup molasses
sugar (for rolling)

1/3-1/2 cup white melting wafers or white chips

In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon cloves, and cardamom; set aside. In large bowl with electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add egg, water, and molasses; mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°. Remove dough from fridge. Scoop into small balls (approx 1″, can make bigger), roll in sugar, and place on baking sheet about 2″ apart. Bake 8-9 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes then remove to cooling rack. Makes approx 4 dozen (a few more than that, I ate some and lost track).

The cookies are delicious as is but to make them a little more special, drizzle with white chocolate or white melting wafers. Melt 1/3 – 1/2 cup chips in microwave with a little shortening on 50% power at 15 second intervals stirring in between. Pour into plastic baggie, snip small hole in one corner and drizzle, let set up. Store in airtight container.

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Swedish Cardamom Braid

Back to my roots! I am mainly of English and Danish decent, but I have a great-grandmother who is Swedish. Every once in awhile it is fun to explore recipes from your past, ones that you can imagine your great grandmother making so long ago in her kitchen. This is in memory of Adela Olsson Seely (who probably didn’t bake a loaf like this then promptly eat a third of it for lunch like her great-granddaughter did!).

    

    

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 pkt (2¼ tsp) dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, room temp, beaten
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2-3/4 cup raisins

Warm milk and butter to 110-120° and pour into bowl of mixer. Sprinkle dry yeast over milk and butter, sprinkle sugar over yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes for yeast to proof. Add egg and mix. Add flour, salt, cardamom, and raisins; knead. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Divide dough into three even pieces (no need to use flour while dividing and rolling dough, all the butter in it makes it easy to work with). Roll each piece into 20″ long rope, position three ropes next to each other on Silpat lined baking tray. Braid tightly, pinching ends together, cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Brush braid with egg white and sprinkle with sugar crystals (optional) Bake for 30 minutes, or until internal temperature is 200°. Cover with tent of foil during baking if necessary to prevent from over-browning.

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If you are interested in Demarle bakeware and kitchen tools such as Silpat & Perforated Baking Sheet please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.

 

Apple Walnut Cardamom Muffins

Cardamom has a strong, unique taste, it is a member of the ginger family of spices.  Here in the U.S. it is very expensive.  Once you have a bottle of cardamom it is fun to find recipes to use it.  I grew up with it being used in baked goods, but need to try it in main dishes.  This is a quick bread recipe from food.com that I used for muffins, yummy.

                       

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
2½ cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1½ tsp ground cardamom
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups finely chopped apple

Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray muffin pans with non-stick spray, put in papers, or use Demarle muffin pans (no prep necessary).  This recipe makes about 18 small muffins or 12 large muffins, the muffins pictured are the small.

With electric mixer, cream butter, oil, sugar, and brown sugar.  Add eggs, vanilla and sour cream.  Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom.  Mix dry ingredients into creamed mixture, just until incorporated, do not overmix.  Stir in walnuts and apple.  Scoop batter evenly into prepared muffin cups (I sprinkle the tops with sugar).  Bake 20 to 30 minutes (depending on size), or until a toothpick in centers comes out clean.

If you are interested in Demarle bakeware such as the Muffin Tray and Perforated Sheet please visit mydemarleathome.com/kristenparker or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.

Banana Cardamom Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Cardamom reminds me of my Grandma. Her mother was from Denmark and she used to make Danish aebleskivers with cardamom, a unique flavor. I have been wanting to use cardamom in something and saw some very ripe bananas on my counter, ta dah!

Banana Cardamom Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (I used 3 bananas)
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, bananas and buttermilk. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom and salt; add to banana mixture. Fill 18 paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Frosting:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup shortening
1 ¼ cups powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla
milk

Cream butter, shortening and vanilla. Add powder sugar and milk to make a thick frosting consistency. Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts and add a dried banana if desired.

If you are interested in Demarle bakeware such as the Muffin Tray please visit my Demarle at Home Personal Website at kristen.demarleathome.com or simply click on the Demarle at Home logo below.