Cardamom and Coffee Cake

Normally cake is one of my least favorite dessert options, now if the word ice cream or cookie is in front of the word cake, that’s a different story, but otherwise, it’s one of the rare desserts I can easily say no to.

So when October rolled around and cake was our challenge, I hate to admit it, I was a little underwhelmed.

So in search of inspiration, aka cute photos, I found a blog called “My Name is Yey. The baker is Molly Yey, is basically a millennial version of the Pioneer Woman, boasting a similar backstory; Where she is plucked from her native NYC and dropped somewhere midwestern and rural where she now has to cook for an idyllic looking farm family, adorable blog follows.

However, I must say I am now a cake convert now having made one from scratch. Not only was it incredibly satisfying to make, but it also tasted better then any store bought cake I have ever had.

cake:

1 3/4 c sugar

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cardamom

2 large eggs

1 c buttermilk

1/2 c flavorless oil, like canola

1 tb vanilla extract

3/4 c strong coffee, cold or at room temp

frosting: (I doubled her recipe, she may live in the Midwest now, but her cake to frosting ratio tells me she is not from around here)

1 c unsalted butter, softened

3 c powdered sugar

1 tb instant espresso dissolved in 2 tb water

1 tb vanilla extract

a pinch of kosher salt

a pinch of cardamom

sprinkles, coffee beans, and cardamom pods (optional, for decorating)

directions:

preheat oven to 350.

grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment.

in a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. in a medium bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients. whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. pour into cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. begin checking for doneness at 28 minutes.

let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, and then turn the cakes onto a lightly greased cooling rack.

frosting:

use an electric mixer to beat all ingredients together until smooth.

assembly:

once your cakes are fully cooled, level them. place one layer on a cake board, spread a thick layer of frosting on top, and then place the other layer on top of that. use an offset spatula to frost the cake smoothly all over. top with sprinkles, coffee beans and cardamom pods.

Recipe credit: Molly Yey http://mynameisyeh.com/