I haven't posted in a long while, as I've mostly been posting on my South Asia focused blog but I had to quickly share this recipe for a cake I experimented with last night for a friend's birthday, which was an unexpected success! The cake is moist inside but crunchy on the top and not too sweet, and it has some Middle Eastern flavors I cherish since my time in Jordan, such as cardamom, pomegranate seeds, and pistachios. It works great on these cold December days when you need some extra spice in your life - and extra sugar of course! I hope you enjoy it!
Cardamom Yogurt Cake
with Pomegranate Pistachio Crunch Topping
Adapted from the
Spiced Life and Once
upon a chef
 |
| I couldn't get a nice picture of my cake, but it looked sort of like this. Photo credits go to the Spiced Life. |
INGREDIENTS
For the Topping
·
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
·
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
·
1/4 cup demerara sugar (raw cane sugar,
also called turbinado)
·
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
·
1/2 cup
pomegranate seeds
·
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
For the
Cake
·
2 cups (152 g) self-rising flour
·
1¼ cups granulated sugar
·
¼ tsp baking soda
·
2 tsp ground cardamom
·
1 cup low fat Greek yogurt
·
⅓ cup vegetable oil
·
2 large eggs
·
2 tsp vanilla
·
A dash of freshly squeezed lemon juice
INSTRUCTIONS
1.
Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C. Grease and flour a 9 inch round
cake pan (or use sugar instead of flour – it gives the cake a sweet lightly crunchy edge and bottom). Set aside.
2.
Begin with the
topping: Combine the flour, butter, demerara sugar, chopped pecans and cinnamon
in a small bowl. Set aside.
3.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and cardamom. Set aside.
4.
Whisk together the yogurt, oil, eggs, vanilla, and lemon. Pour over the
flour mixture and gently mix until just evenly moistened.
5.
Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Crumble
the topping over the cake. Bake until the top of the cake is golden and lightly
crisp and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or
with only a few crumbs attached, approximately 45 mins.
6.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Serve with whipped cream and a steaming cup of cardamom tea (if that isn't too much of a cardamom overdose for you - it certainly isnt for me!).
