My first encounter with cardamom was in, I think it was Middle School. My best friend’s mother was Swedish and their favorite cake was ‘Kardemumma’. They had this secret, special Swedish ingredient; seeds from these funny looking pods, to flavor the cake. It was and still is absolutely delicious and for me it was love at first sight. Actually it was love at first whiff and confirmed by first bite. At that time, I did not know that Kardemumma is Swedish for Cardamom and I had the distinct impression that it came all the way from Sweden.
Years and years later, when I was visiting Sweden on a business trip, I asked one of my colleagues, whether they ever heard of kardemumma. They laughed and said ‘you’ll see’. It was close to tea time in the afternoon and they always had their coffee and tea breaks together in their lunch room. Guess what they served – a cake with Cardamom. I was so surprised, because I couldn’t figure out how this coincidence was possible, then I learned that Cardamom is a ‘regular’ ingredient in Swedish baking recipe.
Key Ingredient in This Recipe
You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.
- Bread crumbs
- Ground cloves
- All-purpose flour
- Cinnamon
- Brown sugar
- Baking soda
- Ground cardamom
- Milk
- Butter
- Egg
- Red plums
I am used to make a plain Cardamom Cake, since I got this recipe from a friends mother way back, when I was in high school. The recipe changed slightly over the years and today I added another ingredient – red plums. Readily available and their flavor would not overpower the cardamom. It adds a fruity layer of mushiness to the cake. It is still ‘my cardamom cake’, with just a little extra. I am enjoying a slice of this Cardamom Cake with Red Plums, while I type this post, yumm!!
How to Make Cardamom Cake with Red Plums
- Step 1 – Butter a cake form (9 inches) and dust the inside with bread crumbs.
- Step 2 = Mix all dry ingredients, ground cloves until ground cardamom.
- Step 3 – Melt butter and beat the egg whites stiff.
- Step 4 – Peel red plums and cut the fruits around the pit in quarters and then the quarters in halves.
- Step 5 – Whisk milk and egg yolk and add melted butter.
- Step 6 – Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. Add egg white and fold these into the batter. Don’t overmix, but make sure you have no white clouds of egg white.
- Step 7 – Pour half of batter in the cake form. Place red plum pieces on top and cover with other half of batter. Place cake form in oven (325 degrees F) and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Cardamom Cake with Red Plums
Pin Recipe FacebookIngredients
- 2 tablespoons bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves, ground
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 3/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cardamom, ground
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 egg whites
- 4 red plums
Instructions
- Warm the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a cake form (9x5x3 inches) and dust the inside with bread crumbs.
- Mix all dry ingredients, ground cloves until ground cardamom.
- Melt butter.
- Beat egg whites stiff.
- Peel red plums and cut the fruits around the pit in quarters and then the quarters in halves.
- Whisk milk and egg yolk and add melted butter.
- Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. Add egg white and fold these into the batter. Don’t overmix, but make sure you have no white clouds of egg white.
- Pour half of batter in the cake form. Place red plum pieces on top and cover with other half of batter.
- Place cake form in oven and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.