Cardamom Cake with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Tell me about this cake!

• Texture: this cake is extra fluffy and moist, and the cream cheese frosting is very creamy.
• Flavour: the cake is similar to a typical vanilla cake, but its packed with dried cardamom. This gives the cake almost a warming taste and even spicy, I just love that cardamom flavor! This of a spice cake on a cold day. The frosting is made with cream cheese and browned butter, giving a nutty and toasted taste.
• Ease: both the cake and the frosting are really easy to make and require no fancy techniques.
• Time: the cake only takes 15 minutes to prep, and the frosting only take 10 minutes to make. You will have to make the browned butter ahead of time so it can firm up again though, but you can do this the day before if you wish!

Ingredient Notes

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Flour: I've only tested this recipe with all purpose flour, I haven't tried it with gluten free flour.

Buttermilk: buttermilk helps make this cake super moist! If you don't have buttermilk you can use full fat yogurt or sour cream.

Unsalted Butter: I always use European style butter in my cakes and frosting, it is so much richer and creamier thanks to a higher butterfat content!

Confectioners' Sugar: also known as icing sugar or powdered sugar.

Cream Cheese: if your cream cheese comes in tubs instead of packets, you'll have to pat it down with a paper towel to get rid of the excess moisture.

Ground Cardamom: the star of the cake! Ground cardamom is slightly spicy, it reminds me of other warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: I recommend starting off by browning the butter rather than making the cake! The butter needs to chill so make it first and then let it chill while you bake the cake. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Once the butter has melted keep an eye on it and stir using a rubber spatula. After a few minutes it should start to foam and you’ll see white milk solids at the bottom of the saucepan. Continue stirring until those milk solids turn light brown and it smells toasty and nutty. You’ve made brown butter! Pour the brown butter (making sure you scrape out all the brown pieces too!) into a heatproof bowl.

Step 2: Place the butter in the fridge to chill. You want it to be firm enough that it is solid, but when you poke it it should leave an indent. If you did this the night before, just take it out 30 minutes before you want to make the frosting so it can soften up.

Step 3: In a large jug, whisk together all of the wet ingredients for the cake. Whisk until smooth.

Step 4: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together all of your dry ingredients. If you don't have a stand mixer you could also use a large bowl and an electric mixer.

Step 5: with the mixer on low, add the butter a piece at a time. Once you've added all the butter it should look like wet sand.

Step 6: with the mixer on the lowest speed, pour in half of the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer back down to low and pour in the remaining wet ingredients, then beat on medium speed for another 30 seconds. Make sure to stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl so all of the batter is being combined.

Step 7: Pour the batter into 2 eight inch cake pans that have been greased and lined with parchment paper. Tap the cake tins on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles. Bake at 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius for 18-22 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean. Let the cakes cool in their pan for 10 minutes, then take them out and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

Step 8: Place your softened browned butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment along with the cream cheese. Beat for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the salt and vanilla extract, then the confectioners' sugar a half cup at a time on low speed. Once all of the confectioners' sugar is added, beat on medium-high speed until thick and fluffy. If you find your frosting is still too melty, you can place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up!

Once frosted, add sprinkles on top of the cake!

Recipe Tips & Tricks

• Use a weighing scale – I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. It makes a huge difference to your baking and is the most accurate way to bake.
• Use the fluff and sprinkle method to measure your flour – if you aren’t using a scale to measure ingredients then make sure you are measuring your flour correctly! Go to this link here to find out how to do that. If you use too much flour, then you won’t have those delicious moist crumbs!
• Room temperature – Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you start baking.
• Chill the frosting - cream cheese buttercream is notoriously difficult to firm up! If you're making this during a warm day, I recommend placing the bowl of frosting in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.

Frequently Asked Questions