This glazed orange cardamom cake is a wonderfully simple dessert bursting with winter citrus and spice. It’s moist, hearty texture and sticky glaze make it perfect with a cup of tea.

Car-da-mom! Can I get a ‘heck yeah!’ for the most amazing spice out there?

Honestly, if I had to pick only one spice to bake with from now on, it’d be the amazingly aromatic cardamom, no contest.

*This glazed orange cardamom cake recipe is sponsored by #JuiceCentral and the Healthy Aperture Blogger Network.This glazed orange cardamom cake is a wonderfully simple dessert bursting with winter citrus and spice. It's moist, hearty texture and sticky glaze make it perfect with a cup of tea.

When I was a kid, we’d make the trek down to White Plains (about 30 minutes outside NYC) to this Indian restaurant called the Bengal Tiger maybe 3-4 times a year.

Somehow my dad discovered this hole in the wall years earlier, made quick friends with the maitre d’, Samson, an eerily tall and large Indian man who he’d practice his declining Hindi pleasantries with and refused to go anywhere else to eat Indian food no matter how highly recommended the place came.

He insisted Bengal Tiger was the best, most authentic Indian cuisine around (even though there were many much closer to where we lived than this one) and once inside, we’d start with all the appetizers he grew up eating as each bite of samosa would bring him back to his childhood in Calcutta.

This simple winter cake is bursting with orange flavor and cardamom spice. Brushed with a sweet sticky glaze, it's simplistic yet delicious.
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While the poori bread was a close runner up, Bengal Tiger night’s were all about one thing for me, the orange kulfi dessert.

They served it in an orange peel itself and I thought that creamy, ice cream-like deliciousness was the best thing in the entire world.

While most 10 year olds would probably tell you some Duncan Hines cake mix in cupcake form, brownies, Rice Krispie treats studded with sprinkles or something equally as Americana (aka: processed crap) was their favorite dessert, here I was all about the sweetened condensed milk with rose water, cardamom, saffron and pistachios.

The sweet orange glaze on this orange cardamom cake takes it from tea worthy to holiday dessert worthy.
This glazed orange cardamom cake is a wonderfully simple dessert bursting with winter citrus and spice, perfect for your holiday table.

At 10 though, I had no idea what it was that gave kulfi that very distinct and unique flavor profile.

I just knew I liked it and any time I tasted something with cardamom for years to come, I’d immediately liken it to kulfi, still not recognizing it was the spice tying things together.

I have no idea when I finally wised up to cardamom being the common denominator but ever since, it’s been a spice I can’t live without.

I’ve been adding a tiiinnny bit more of it to the coconut bourbon coffee nog I’ve been sipping all season and loving it!

And despite its rather shell shocking price at the grocery store, it will always have a spot in my spice drawer as queen of the baking spices.

Don't let the simple appearance of this cake fool you, it's bursting with flavor and spice. Moist, tender and begging to be made this holiday season.

So it should come as no surprise that cardamom was the ingredient in which this cardamom orange cake was built around.

I wanted a simple cake.

Something that could easily pair with a cup of tea.

Something moist, and textured but also something so aromatic and flavorful like those orange kulfi desserts of my childhood that it could easily be put on a holiday dessert table.

This orange cake studded with cardamom flavor is all those things and more.

I bring a lot of food we can’t possibly finish to the gym or pawn off on Ulysses’ coworkers but sometimes, even though the last thing I want to do 3 weeks before a beach vacation in Mexico is eat an entire cake, I just can’t part with a recipe because it’s so perfect.

This cardamom cake is one of those times.

The sweetness from the orange, the aromatic cardamom, the incredibly moist yet textured (thanks to almond and cornmeal) crumb, the sticky glaze…it’s all just magical.

This orange cardamom cake with a sweet orange glaze is guaranteed to be enjoyed by all.

Using orange juice as well as the zest makes the orange flavor just pop baked goods like orange muffins and this orange cake.

100% juice contains all the same vitamins and nutrients (like potassium, vitamin C, folate and magnesium) as the whole fruit and no added sugar.

Its natural sweetness also helped cut down on the overall need for sugar in the cake and the glaze.

In fact, the glaze is made by reducing just the juice itself until thick and sticky, no need for additional sugar which is always a bonus.

If you want a festive garnish besides the orange glaze to finish this cake off, check out my recipe for making candied lemon slices and just use orange slices instead! Sugared cranberries would be another option for a seasonal pop of color on top!

This honey cake recipe also includes orange juice in the batter for another lovely seasonal dessert option.

Love this glazed orange cardamom cake recipe?

Try Orange Infused Cranberry Almond Chocolate Chip CookiesCranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookie Bites and Dark Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Dutch Oven Bread.

This almond flour lemon cake is a lovely gluten-free citrus forward recipe too.

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4.63 from 8 votes

Glazed Orange Cardamom Cake

Servings: 8 servings
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 1 hour
This moist, hearty orange cardamom cake is the perfect with a hot mug of your favorite winter drink is the best way to celebrate this holiday season.
This glazed orange cardamom cake is a wonderfully simple dessert bursting with winter citrus and spice. It’s moist, hearty texture and sticky glaze make it perfect with a cup of tea.

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup caster sugar, (*see note on how to make your own)
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 eggs
  • 5 ounces plain Greek yogurt
  • 3/4 cup orange juice, divided
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 1 1/4 cups whole wheat white flour
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch cake pan with butter and line it with parchment paper (the butter helps the parchment stick to it, making it easier to pour the batter in evenly).
  • Beat sugar and butter in a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 7-10 minutes.
  • Add the eggs one at a time, beating well beaten each one.
  • Add the yogurt, 1/4 cup of the orange juice and orange zest and continue beating until well combined.
  • Combine the flours, cornmeal, cardamom and baking powder in a medium bowl.
  • With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and beat until just combined.
  • Transfer the batter to the lined cake pan and spread evenly, smoothing the top with a spatula.
  • Bake for about 45 minutes or until center is set and edges are just starting to turn golden brown and pull away from the sides of the pan.
  • During the last 5-10 minutes of baking time, add the orange juice for the glaze to a small sauce pot. Bring to a boil then simmer on low until thickened.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack in the pan. Brush the glaze on the top of the warm cake. Let it cool for about 15-20 minutes before removing from the pan and letting cool further directly on the rack.
  • Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Notes

Make your own caster sugar by placing granulated sugar in a food processor and processing for 1-2 minutes until very fine but not quite powdered.

Nutrition

Serving: 1SERVINGCalories: 506kcalCarbohydrates: 71gProtein: 13gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 131mgFiber: 6gSugar: 30g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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While I usually make this apricot brandy cake (an absolute flavor stunner) for our family Christmas celebrations, or more recently, this cranberry curd tart (a showstopper in looks!) this year things are changing and glazed cardamom orange cake will be on the table.

I’m excited for the fam to taste it!

This moist, hearty orange cardamom cake is the perfect with a hot mug of your favorite winter drink is the best way to celebrate this holiday season.
Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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20 Comments

  1. Mmmmmh! I recently became a fan of cardamom. Must be so good together with the oranges and almond flour. Thanks for sharing. <3

  2. Cardamom definitely needs to get more love! This orange cake sounds amazing – definitely a must try!