Cardamom Cake with Coffee Buttercream
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This cardamom cake with coffee buttercream is a total dream. The cake is spiced, fluffy, simple to make, and topped with the best coffee frosting. It’s one of my favorites for a birthday, dinner party, or any get-together!
I have no idea where the time went, but Marc and I got married a whole two years ago, on April 24. So in honor of our anniversary, I thought I’d finally share the very cake we smashed into each other’s face after we said, “I do.”
When I was brainstorming what cake would officially be ‘our wedding day cake’, it came together pretty quickly, after I spent a long 17 days overthinking it. Obviously you know I’m a cardamom girlie since some of my all-time favorite desserts are cardamom orange crème brûlée and this creamy cardamom rice pudding. And the coffee icing was inspired by our mutual love of caffeine and our weekly coffeeshop dates.
And even though we literally each ate a single bite and then stored the rest in our freezer to eat on our first anniversary (which we still haven’t done oops), I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
Obviously this cake means a lot to me but it’ll soon be one of your favorites too! The recipe is my go-to from when I was in pastry school, and it makes for a lovely, simple, and elegant cake for any get-together. But, I also think it would be an amazing holiday dessert!
Freshly-ground cardamom
For the most intense flavor, I definitely would use freshly-ground cardamom in this recipe! You can just grind it up with a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. But if all you have is pre-ground, it’ll work in a pinch.
For the cake, make sure you also have all purpose flour, baking powder, Kosher salt, unsalted butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream, neutral oil, vanilla extract, and whole milk. Plus some instant coffee and powdered sugar for the buttercream.
Bake the cake
Don’t over-mix the cake or it will come out dense and dry. Mix it just until the batter comes together.
Coffee buttercream
Sometimes, buttercream curdles after adding milk. To prevent broken buttercream, first make sure that your butter is at room temperature. If the buttercream still breaks, don’t worry, you can easily fix it! Just continue beating the frosting for about 5 minutes, and it will eventually come back together.
Assemble & frost
Don’t refrigerate cake!
I definitely don’t recommend refrigerating cake. The moisture in the fridge will dry it out. Instead, place leftover cake on a plate and cover it with a cake dome. Or, store the slices in an airtight container. Let it sit at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freeze & make-ahead tips
To freeze the cake, you have a couple of options!
- Freeze the assembled cake – wrap the cake (or slices) in plastic wrap and pop them in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months and defrost at room temperature for about 1 hour.
- Store the cake layers – wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container or zipper bag for up to 3 months.
You can also make the cake the night before. Just bake and assemble the cake, cover with a cake dome, and store at room temperature overnight. The frosting will protect the cake, keeping it nice and fresh!
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Cardamom Cake with Coffee Buttercream
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk
For the buttercream
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons instant coffee
- 2 Tablespoons whole milk
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of Kosher salt
Equipment
- 3 6-inch cake pans
- Parchment paper
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease with neutral oil or baking spray.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time until thoroughly mixed. Then, mix in the sour cream, oil, and vanilla extract.
- Pour half the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, followed by half of the milk. Mix on low just until combined. Repeat with remaining flour mixture and milk, stirring just until the batter comes together and there are no more dry spots. Don't over-mix! Then, divide the batter evenly between the three cake pans.
- Bake the cakes for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes has a few moist crumbs on it. Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the pan, and then release them from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
For the frosting
- In a small bowl, whisk the instant coffee and milk together until the coffee is dissolved. Set aside.
- Next, beat the butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl until a thick frosting forms.
- Add the coffee mixture, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Beat until the frosting is smooth. Then, turn the mixer on high and whip the frosting until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Assemble and frost
- Using a serrated bread knife, cut the domes off of the tops of the cakes, if necessary.
- Place one cake round on a plate or cake stand. Spread a thick layer of frosting on top. Then, top with another cake round. Add frosting to the second layer and top with the third cake round to make a three layer cake.
- Frost the top and outside of the cake. Decorate as desired. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
– Use 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
– Use 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons whole milk
– Bake the cake at 375°F
Happy anniversary!! <3
I’ve had cardamom coffee but would never think to put those flavors together in cake form, need to give this a try. I might go the cupcake route!
Ahhh thanks, Angela! Yes, the combo is sooo good in cake. This recipe would work great for cupcakes, I just bake them closer to 14-16 minutes. It should make about 18 cupcakes. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Perfect! Thanks, Sarah 🙂
Can this be done as a sheet cake since it’s a smaller layer cake?
Hi Martha! I haven’t tried it myself, but you could try baking it in an 8×8 pan and checking it for doneness around 26-28 minutes. I would probably halve the frosting, you won’t need that much for a sheet cake. I’d love to hear how it goes!
The flavors were amazing! But I don’t think the measurements of ingredients are adequate. I made this recipe twice and it’s just not enough cake. I made two 8 inch cakes and they were very short (even after buying new baking powder to ensure efficacy of rising). I looked at other comparable recipes in relation to cake size and there’s quite a bit more flour and other ingredients than listed for this recipe.
Hi Samantha, glad you like the recipe! I usually make this cake as a 3-layer 6-inch, but have found that it’s not a very tall 8-inch cake. For a taller cake, you can always make another half batch of batter which should help!