Vanilla Cardamom Bundt Cake w/ Vanilla Bean Glaze
This deliciously warm, yet bright, Vanilla Cardamom Bundt Cake is bursting with flavor. Vanilla shows up to the party in two different ways – as extract, and in the beautiful vanilla bean paste form. Cardamom plays a main role in the flavor profile of this cake, showing off it’s citrusy floral notes, which are appealing both to the nose and to the mouth. As well, orange zest really highlights the citrus notes of the cardamom, helping to bring that flavor to the forefront, without being too overwhelming.
Cardamom Flavor
Cardamom has to be in my top 3 spices. It is truly so complex in flavor, with it’s ability to add a beautiful warmth and slight spiciness to whatever its added to, while simultaneously adding unexpected bright citrus and floral notes as well! In this vanilla cardamom bundt cake, I wanted all of cardamoms notes to be distinctive, but I really wanted to play up the citrus notes. With the addition of a small amount of orange zest, the cardamom’s citrus profile was really amplified. As such, the vanilla cardamom cake was super fragrant with orange notes, and the first flavor on your tongue is distinctively orange, however this is immediately followed by the complimentary vanilla, floral, and warm notes that are also featured.
Rubbing the Orange Zest
You may notice in the instructions that it says to rub the orange zest with some sugar. The reason for doing this is because it maximizes the orange zest flavor! The flavor and fragrance of any citrus zest is in it’s essential oils, and we can release those oils through an abrasive action, such as rubbing. Sugar’s grainy, uneven texture is perfect for this! After zesting the orange, add ½ cup of the sugar to it, and then using your hands, rub the zest with the sugar. When it is properly rubbed, the sugar should be orange in color, and very very fragrant!
Substituting for Vanilla Bean Paste
This recipe calls for vanilla bean paste, as I personally love to see the beautiful little black specks of vanilla throughout the vanilla cardamom cake and the glaze. However, if you do not have vanilla bean paste, you can substitute it with vanilla beans, or just more extract. The extract-to-paste conversion is a 1:1 ratio. If using beans, 3 teaspoons of paste = 1 bean. So for the cake you would use ½ of a vanilla bean, and for the glaze you would use 1/3 of a bean.
How to Glaze The Bundt Cake
If you’re looking for a glaze that is similar to mine – opaque and thick, then you want to use a minimal amount of liquid in making the glaze. I’m talking just enough liquid so that the glaze is no longer powdery. The consistency of this glaze will not be pour-able and it’s consistency will be even thicker than buttercream. You will need to pipe this glaze onto the bundt cake. All that being said, this glaze will also be quite sweet. If you’re okay with a thinner glaze that maybe doesn’t hold it’s shape as well, then simply add more water.
Get the Recipe: Vanilla Cardamom Bundt Cake w/ Vanilla Bean Glaze
Ingredients
Vanilla Cardamom Bundt Cake
- 2 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour,, measured correctly †
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 1/2 tsp Cardamom
- 1/2 tsp Table Salt
- 1 1/2 cups Sugar,, divided
- Zest of 1 Orange
- 3 Whole Eggs
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- 3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Full Fat Buttermilk
Vanilla Glaze
- 3 cups Confectioners Sugar
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 4-8 tbsp Boiling Water
- 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
Vanilla Cardamom Bundt Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F, and prepare a bundt pan by coating with butter and a dusting of flour. In a medium to large sized mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt, then whisk together to combine. In a separate bowl, add ½ cup of sugar and orange zest, then rub together the sugar and zest until the sugar is all colored orange and very fragrant, set aside.
- In a standmixer fitted with the flat beater attachment, add whole eggs, egg yolk, sugar, orange-zest-sugar, vanilla, and vanilla bean paste. Beat on high for around 5 minutes, the mixture should look thick, fluffy, and be tripled in volume. Then, slowly drizzle in the oil. After all the oil has been added, beat for an additional minute.
- On low, add the dry mixture to the stand mixer in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in between. Beat only until the batter becomes smooth. Add the batter to the prepared bundt pan, then bake in the oven for around 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely before glazing.
Vanilla Bean Glaze
- Add all the ingredients into a bowl, and whisk well to combine. Pour or pipe over the cooled cake to glaze.
