Moist, delicious cardamom-orange coffee cake topped with an almond cinnamon sugar topping, baked in cute mini loaf pans so they’re easy to share and sturdy enough to mail to far away friends.
The Flying Brownie by Shirley Fan is an adorable cookbook with 100 recipes for homemade treats that are perfect for packing and shipping to friends and family. Each recipe includes tips on shipping and there’s a Care Packages 101 section to help you get your treats to your loved ones in just baked condition.
The publisher sent me a free copy of the cookbook to review and it came just in time. I was baking Snickerdoodle bread to take to the Big Traveling Potluck and had to carry the bread on the airplane. I used the tips in the book, double wrapped it in plastic wrap, cushioned it with styrofoam peanuts, and put it in a sturdy box, and my bread arrived in perfect condition.
The first time I tried cardamom was when it was used in a Daring Bakers challenge, and I immediately fell in love with it. It has a very unique, spicy, almost citrusy flavor and pairs really well with citrus in baking. It’s native to India but is now used throughout the world in sweet and savory dishes.
Since I love cardamom in baked goods, the Cardamom-Orange Coffee Cake recipe jumped out at me. I loved that I could make it with ingredients I always have on hand. The recipe didn’t disappoint. It was moist and tender with a great spicy, citrus flavor and the crunchy, sweet almond topping was the perfect way to dress it up.
If you’re looking for recipes and tips on shipping treats to your friends and family, I highly recommend this book.
Cardamom-Orange Coffee Cake Loaf
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
Topping
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease and flour a 5×9-inch loaf pan or line with parchment paper; set aside. I used two mini loaf pans (5 ¾ x 3 ¼ x 2 ¼)
- In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Add the sour cream and orange zest and mix for another minute or two, until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients. Scatter the topping over the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes. (Bake mini loaves for 35 minutes.)
- Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a large zipper top plastic bag.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
That’s such a great idea to mail to someone! And you packed it up so perfectly too mum! 😀 xxx
My Inner Chick
Oh, yes!
this looks SUPERB :)) Xx
Foodiewife
I just don’t bake enough with cardamon. These look lovely and would be perfect with my morning coffee.
Lauren @ Dallas Duo Bakes
Just kidding, I mean coffee cake….it looks like quick bread 🙂
Barbara Schieving
Hi Lauren – you could easily call this a quick bread. I’m not sure there’s very much difference. Maybe just the streusel topping?
Lauren @ Dallas Duo Bakes
Yum! I’ve never made a quick bread with orange in it. Can’t wait to try this one!!!
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker
Love the flavor profile of this cake loaf and I LOVE coffee cake! Will be putting this on my to-bake list. Pinning! Lovely post. 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes
These loaves are so PRETTY!
Amanda
Wow Barb these are beautiful!
Kat
Barb, those mini loaves look great. I especially like the almond cinnamon topping. Have a great weekend.
Katrina
Those look great! Love cardamom. And love shipping goodies. I’ll have to look for that book.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
What a clever book, Barb and that cake looks gorgeous. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked a cake with cardamom before. I’ll have to try. I’ve got some pods begging to go in a cake that pretty.
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Maureen! I’ve never used the pods, only the ground cardamom. Do you use them the same?
Carol
I love making mini loaves-and those look terrific. What a delicious combination.
I’ll definitely keep my eyes open for Shirley’s book.
Thanks so much Barbara. Happy Mother’s Day to you.
Carol
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Carol! I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day as well.
sandie
I love cardamom! these look so good, Barbara…
Averie @ Averie Cooks
Barbara I bet the flavors on this are just stunning and so good!
And I see that Strawberry Cheesecake of yours everywhere in the ‘sphere!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Averie! Fortunately, the strawberry cheesecake is just a delicious as it looks.
Katrina @ WVS
This sounds so lovely! I love adding a bit of citrus to coffee cake!
Judy
This bread is calling to me, I’m a big fan of cardamom.
Traci
We love having a hot loaf of bread waiting for us on Sunday. I think this will go on the Sunday morning list. It looks delicious!
kristy
What a lovely baked ! Wish that package is for me. haha….
Happy weekend dear.
Kristy
Rosa
Beautiful! I’d love to receive such a package.
Cheers,
Rosa
Maria
Such pretty loaves! I want one for breakfast!