Sticky Cardamon Cake

Some of the best discoveries happen by accident. I'm not claiming that this cake is anywhere near as life-changing as penicillin, but it is still pretty great! 

I was planning to make cardamon and rose water cakes, but I couldn't find my rose water anywhere so I resorted to using orange flower water instead. Cardamon has a lightly citrus scent anyway, so the orange flower water just enhances that, giving you a gently fragrant cake. The sticky bit happened because the Husband wanted to take the cake on a weekend road trip, so it had to stay moist for a few days. In the same way that lemon drizzle cake stays moist because of the lemon-y syrup poured over it, the honey meant that this cake was still good to eat four days after I baked it! 

Sticky Cardamon Cake

10 green cardamon pods

a pinch of salt

175g butter, softened

175g granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 tbsp orange flower water

175g gluten free self raising flour mix

100ml runny honey

• Remove the seeds from all but 2 of the cardamon pods. Grind the cardamon seeds and salt together with a mortar and pestle. (You don't need the salt, it just makes it easier to finely grind the cardamon seeds)
• Beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat.
• Pour in the orange flower water and combine. Sift in the flour mix and fold in, until smooth.
• Pour into a 20cm x 20cm cake tin and bake in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes, at 180°C.
• Meanwhile, bruise the remaining cardamon pods and add them to the honey and warm gently. I find the best way to do this is to put the honey in a heat proof bowl and rest it in a pan of boiling water.
• When the cake is lightly golden and springy to the touch, remove from the oven and prick all over with a fork. Drizzle the warm (now cardamon infused) honey all over the cake, allowing it to soak in.
• Leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into about 20-25 squares.