This easy lemon cardamom cake is delicate, light, moist, intensely citrusy and not overly sweet. Ground cardamom adds a subtle floral flavor and a sprinkle of chopped pistachios provides just the right amount of crunch.
If you like this cake, be sure to check out more of our delicious cardamom desserts!
Jump to:
- What does cardamom taste like?
- Cake batter ingredients:
- Glaze ingredients:
- Recipe and ingredient notes & tips:
- What kind of yogurt should I use?
- How to make the cake:
- How long is the baking time?
- How to store the cake:
- How to freeze the cake:
- Can I make the cake without the glaze?
- More delicious cardamom desserts:
- Full Printable Recipe
- Comments
What does cardamom taste like?
Cardamom has a fresh, floral, minty and lemony flavor that works great with citrus in baked goods, such as this cake.
Cake batter ingredients:
Glaze ingredients:
Recipe and ingredient notes & tips:
- 1 teaspoon cardamom will give the cake a subtle cardamom flavor. If you prefer a stronger flavor, add 2 teaspoons ground cardamom.
- The pistachios add both visual appeal but also to add some crunch and a great texture contrast to the delicate, light and airy cake.
- To grease the loaf pan, I find it easiest to grab a paper towel, fold it up, then scoop up the vegetable shortening with it and rub it around the insides of the pan.
What kind of yogurt should I use?
You can use either plain, whole milk Greek yogurt or plain, whole milk regular yogurt for this cake (use the same amounts). Both kinds will make a delicious cake but they will produce slightly different textures. Greek yogurt will produce a fine crumb while regular yogurt will produce a slightly coarser crumb.
I photographed a slice of each version of the cake and you can see the difference in the photos below.
How to make the cake:
See full ingredients & instructions in the recipe card below!
Step 1. Cut a piece of parchment paper and fit it into the bottom of a 9" x 5" x 2 ½" loaf pan. Grease the pan (including the surface of the parchment bottom) well with vegetable shortening, sprinkle flour into the pan and shake out the excess. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom to a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
Step 3. With an electric mixer or standing mixer, whip butter and sugar until fluffy.
Step 4. Whip in eggs followed by lemon zest. Set aside for a moment.
Step 5. In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together lemon juice, yogurt, milk and vanilla extract.
Step 6. With the mixer running, gradually whip the dry and wet ingredients into the batter, alternating between the two and starting with the dry ingredients. Whip the batter for a few minutes until it turns lighter in color and becomes firmer and smoother.
Step 7. Fill the batter into the loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out completely clean. Check in several spots along the center length of the cake to make sure the cake is fully baked.
Let the cake cool a bit in the pan on a wire rack, then run a knife around the edges of the pan, turn the cake out and let it cool completely.
Step 8. Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice. (If the glaze is too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar; if it is too thick, add more lemon juice.) Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake, then sprinkle chopped pistachios on.
How long is the baking time?
The baking time will be between about 45 and 60 minutes and depends in part on the kind of yogurt you use. If you're using Greek yogurt, it will be toward the shorter end of the range, for regular yogurt it will be toward the longer end.
How to store the cake:
You can let the cake sit out at room temperature, covered loosely with aluminum foil, for 1 day.
How to freeze the cake:
You can also transfer the glazed cake into a freezer bag and freeze it. To thaw, let the cake sit on the kitchen counter for about 2 hours.
Can I make the cake without the glaze?
Yes, you can do that. It won't look as pretty as with the glaze and the pistachios but it will still taste great and very lemony.
More delicious cardamom desserts:
- Baked Cinnamon Cardamom Donuts25 Minutes
- Cardamom Meringue Cookies1 Hours 55 Minutes
- Seedless Blackberry Sauce with Cardamom (for Cheesecake and Waffles)15 Minutes
- Apple Frangipane Tart with Cranberries, Orange and Cardamom1 Hours 20 Minutes
See all cardamom recipes →
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating or comment! Thanks!
Full Printable Recipe
Lemon Cardamom Cake
Equipment:
- measuring cups and spoons
- citrus zester
- citrus juicer
- knife and cutting board
- parchment paper
- 9" x 5" x 2.5" loaf pan
- mixing bowls
- whisk
- standing mixer or handheld mixer
- liquid measuring cup (optional)
- rubber spatula
- toothpick
- knife
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- vegetable shortening to grease the loaf pan
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, more for dusting the pan
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1-2 teaspoons ground cardamom (1 teaspoon will give the cake a subtle cardamom flavor. If you prefer a stronger flavor, use 2 teaspoons)
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest (you need 3 large or 4 – 5 small lemons for that)
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup + 2 teaspoons plain, whole milk yogurt**
- 4 teaspoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 5 teaspoons lemon juice, or more, depending on the humidity in your kitchen
- chopped pistachios
Instructions:
For the cake:
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper and fit into the bottom of a 9 inch x 5 inch x 2 ½ inch loaf pan. Secure it to the bottom of the pan with a few dabs of vegetable shortening.
- Grease the pan well with vegetable shortening (including the surface of the parchment bottom),* sprinkle flour into the pan and then shake out the excess.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and soda, salt and cardamom. Set aside.
- Whip butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Add the eggs and continue to whip until well incorporated and smooth.
- Whip in the lemon zest, then set aside for a moment.
- In a separate bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk lemon juice, yogurt, milk and vanilla together. Set aside.
- Whip the dry and wet ingredients into the butter mix, little by little, alternating between the two and starting with the dry ingredients. Whip for a few minutes on high speed until you have a very smooth and creamy-looking batter.
- Fill the batter into the loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out completely clean (about 45 to 60 minutes). (Check in several spots along the center length of the cake to make sure that the cake is fully baked.) If you're using Greek yogurt, the baking time will be on the shorter end of the range. If you're using regular yogurt, it will be on the longer end.
- Once the pan is cool enough to handle, run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Unmold the cake and then let it cool completely.
For the glaze:
- Whisk the two ingredients together and keep adding lemon juice until you have a slow-moving icing. (If the icing ends up too runny, whisk in a little more powdered sugar).
- Drizzle the icing on the cake and sprinkle the chopped pistachios on.
Notes:
Nutrition Information (Estimated):
Nutrition values provided on this website are generated from a nutrition database and are estimates only. The accuracy of the nutrition information for any recipe on this website is not guaranteed. Nutrition values can vary quite a lot depending on which brands are used.
Cammie
Looking forward to making this today! Is it best to leave it out overnight before eating, or can this be eaten right after it's done?
Nicole B.
It can definitely be eaten right away. :)
Alex
This cake was extremely lemony. I could not taste the cardamom at all. Once I tried it, it was a huge lemon punch. I literally thought it was soaked in plain lemon juice. And the crumb is so weird: the outer layer was starting to crip a lot and the interior falls apart like it's wet sand. I really had high hopes for this one. ?
Nicole B.
Hi Alex, I'm very sorry that you didn't have a good experience with this recipe! I have made this cake many times and it has always turned out great for me with a nice and tender crumb. I've also had very good feedback from readers about this cake, so unfortunately I'm not sure what happened when you made it.
Laura
Delicious! I baked this in a muffin pan at 350 for 20 minutes. It made 12 cupcakes. Great flavour. My family enjoyed them. I was planning on doing the lemon glaze icing, but they got eaten too quickly. Next time I will double the recipe. Thank you!
Nicole B.
That's wonderful to hear, Laura! What a great idea to make cupcakes! Thank you so much for coming back and leaving feedback, I really appreciate that. :)
Stephanie
This was a delicious, light, refreshing cake. Perfect for mid-day brunch in spring/ summer. Only difficulty I had was with the icing, did not lay correctly across the cake in an "icing" fashion... kind of just sunk in, delicious, just not on top! Thank you for the recipe will definitely be making again!
Nicole B.
Hi Stephanie, thank you so much for the feedback! It sounds like the icing may have just been a little too thin, you might want to try using a little less lemon juice next time to get a less runny consistency. But I'm very glad you like the cake, that's wonderful to hear! :)
Isha Parwani
Can I make this without the icing?
Nicole B.
Yes, definitely. I've made the cake without the icing and it's quite good that way.
P.S.: I've added that info into the post, thanks for the question!
Moray
Have made this cake many, many times. Love the recipe with the touch of cardamom with lemon. Beautiful loaf with a difference. I usually use Greek yogurt. Definitely a favourite recipe,
Nicole B.
That is incredible to hear, Moray! Thank you SO much for leaving such a wonderful comment, I really appreciate it. :)
Nagi@RecipeTinEats
Hey Nic! How crumbly would you rate this on a scale of 1 to 10? As in - is it like banana bread in that it could be toasted, or is it more like cake that needs to be eaten with a fork on a plate?
I'm asking because I was going to make this for a picnic only - food to be eaten with hands only! :)
Nicole B.
Definitely like cake and not like banana bread. Does require fork and plate and would probably be messy at a picnic. :)
Kathleen | HapaNomNom
I love the etherial look of this cake - so light and bright! Cardamon is such a wonderful spice and paired with the lemon, I know this cake is just out of this world!
Nicole B.
Thank you so much, Kathleen. "Light and bright" is the perfect description for this cake. :) Happy 4th of July to you!
Cakespy
What a beautiful flavor combo. Cardamom is one of my favorite flavors in anything.
Nicole B.
Thank you, Jessie! Cardamom is good, isn't it? I have to use it more often, and not just in sweet stuff! :)
Louise | Cygnet Kitchen
This looks such a lovely fresh summer cake, Nicole. I love the cardamon (my latest blog post is a meringue roulade with raspberries, cardamom and rose cream) this is such a nice update on a lemon drizzle cake. x
Nicole B.
Meringue roulade? Rose cream? Oh my, I'm going to have to head over and check that out right now! :)
Linda whitney
What kind of yogurt do you use in the recipe?
Nicole B.
I like to use full-fat, plain Greek yogurt.
Linda whitney
Thank you for your reply.
CakePants
Wow, I love how the photo really shows how soft and fluffy the cake is! The addition of cardamom sounds amazing - I bought some cardamom to bake with a little while ago but haven't gotten around to using any yet. I'm looking forward to trying this!
Nicole B.
Thank you so much, I hope you like it! :)