Cardamom Pound Cake

I’ll be honest with you. I’m dead tired.

It had luckily been quite awhile since my foe Insomnia has come for a hoedown. Until…

A few days ago, I decided to go to bed a few hours early because I was exhausted. Yet, I spent the entire night tossing and turning. And I haven’t had a full nights sleep since then.

Maybe that’s why I burned myself on my curling wand right before my bridal shots. Twice.

Maybe that’s why I’ve passed out for twenty minutes in the middle of the afternoon, two days in a row. Sorry, couldn’t help it.

Maybe that’s why my brilliant rant I had planned for this Cardamom Pound Cake has drifted away on the breeze. Whoops, oh well.

That last thing could have been because I’ve officially rotted my brain on marathons of David Tutera (have you watched Unveiled?! Omg I love him so much! Why is he not knocking on my door?). You’d think that with all the stumbles I’ve had with my wedding, I’d never want to watch another bridal show again. Guess I’m not burned out yet.

Anyways, this Cardamom Pound Cake. Simply perfection.
And no, it doesn’t have a pound of butter…or sugar…or eggs…or flour…

In fact, it’s just as rich as pound cake, without nearly that much extra fluff. The cardamom bakes into a subtle, fragrant flavor, paired perfectly with the slivered almonds that decorate the top of the cake. I could eat this cake drizzled with almond butter or dolloped with sweet yogurt. Or all on its own. I just want to eat cake.

I made mine gluten-free, but you can use whichever all purpose flour you love the most. Also, don’t skimp on the creaming process of the butter and sugar (and Stevia), because it results in a fluffier more luxurious pound cake. Totally worth it.

This cake will surely give you sweet dreams. It’ll just give me something to snack on as I’m pounding my head against a wall at 3am.

Cardamom Pound Cake (gluten-free)

2013-09-23 09:22:55

A wonderfully flavorful cardamom pound cake, topped with almonds. It's gluten-free too! Makes one 9x5" loaf cake.

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Ingredients

1. ½ cup butter, room temperature (one stick)
2. 1 ½ cups flour (I used a gluten-free flour blend)
3. ½ cup almond meal/flour (or an additional ½ cup gluten-free flour)
4. 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
5. 1 tsp. ground cardamom
6. ¾ tsp. kosher salt
7. ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
8. ¾ cup plain yogurt (I used plain Greek yogurt)
9. ½ cup granulated sugar + ¼ cup granulated Stevia (or 1 cup of sugar)
10. 3 large eggs, room temperature
11. 1 tsp. vanilla extract
12. ¼ tsp. almond extract
13. ¼ cup sliced almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x5” loaf pan with nonstick spray then line the sides and bottom with parchment to make it easier to remove the cake after its cooled.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, almond meal (or more flour), baking powder, cardamom and salt, whisking them together until well combined. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt and almond milk and whisk together; set aside.
4. In the bowl of your mixer (or in a large mixing bowl with your hand-mixer), cream the butter and sugar (and Stevia) together until light and fluffy. This will take around 4 minutes. The timing is important for the resulting texture of the cake, so don’t cut the creaming short. Scrape the sides down with a silicone spatula. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and then continue to mix.
5. Add each egg, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition.
6. Turn the speed down to low, and alternate adding the dry ingredients and yogurt/milk (three additions for the dry ingredients, two for the wet, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients).
7. When the batter is fully mixed together, scrape it into your prepared loaf pan. Use your spatula to smooth out the top. Sprinkle the almonds over the top of the batter.
8. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a test stick comes out clean. If it starts to get too brown before it is done baking, tent a piece of foil over the cake and finish baking time.
9. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Then, remove the cake from the pan (use overhanging parchment to help you carefully remove the cake) and then let finish cool completely before slicing and serving. The cake is lovely on its own or dressed up with whipped cream or sweetened Greek yogurt and some warm, sliced plums. Enjoy!

By Treats With a Twist

Adapted from BonAppetit Magazine, August 2013

Adapted from BonAppetit Magazine, August 2013

Treats With a Twist https://www.treatswithatwist.com/