Most know Cardamom is my very favorite
thing. Ever since I found an extra pepper
grinder and brought some pods home a few
years back, I’ve been putting it in everything.

Cardamom is native to India and is used
extensively throughout the Middle East and
China. It is one of the main spices of Garam
Masala and the thing that makes Turkish
coffee so strangely tasty and addictive.

Related to ginger, the bush grows low to the
ground and produces pods, each of which
contain over a dozen seeds, which are then ground, like pepper. It is one of the world’s most expensive spices. So, naturally, the best way to buy it is in pod form because…

…Ground cardamom is often cut with nutmeg, cinnamon, or cajuput. And cardamom seeds often are mixed with a kind of pepper that looks like and is related to cardamom. So lightly roasting the pods yourself and removing the seeds is the best way to know that you’re getting grade-A pure. (This is not as la di da as it sounds, just put the toaster oven on 250 degrees and get some tin foil. 20 minutes is worth it.)

Cardamom LB Cake
cuz it ain’t pound cake, without the pound-a-buttah

16    oz   Butter
16    oz   A-P Flour (sorry granolas, but it’s best)
Dozen     Eggs
2.5  cup   Sugar (mix brown & white if you want)
1.5  tsp   Ground Cinnamon
1.5  tsp   FRESH ground Cardamom**
0.5  tsp   salt, good salt no Morton’s shite
1.5  cup   Whole milk (not sure if that comes to a pound)
Extra butter and flour to prep pans/molds/etc.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In your electric mixer:
Cream butter and sugar til smooth.
On low, add eggs one by one, wait for each to just incorporate.
Pre mix flour with spice and salt.
Add a cup of the flour mixture to mixing bowl.
Wait lil bit, then add about 0.5 cup of milk.
Repeat until done.

Butter, then flour, two Pyrex bread dishs, a 9-12" bundt mold, or cupcake tin–batter makes about 12. (I use my large ramikens cuz they look sweet.) Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes if you’re going big, 15 to 20 minutes less for cupcakes. Start checking earlier, though–oven temps vary.
Test with toothpick. You want a firm but very moist looking top–it shouldn’t be hard like a muffin top, more like the top of a cake.

Optional swirl:

2/3  cup  light brown sugar
2     tsp   cocoa (for color)
2/3  cup  ground nuts (walnuts or pecans are best)
1     tsp   Cinnamon
1     tsp   Cardamom

Layer in the middle of the batter.