Cardamom-Orange Coffee Cake Recipe | Barbara Bakes (2024)

Published by Melissa on May 10, 2013 | Updated February 27, 2024 | 56 Comments

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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 Brownieby 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 itcame 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 styrofoampeanuts, 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, theCardamom-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.

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4.48 from 86 votes

Cardamom-Orange Coffee Cake Loaf

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course: Quick Breads

Keyword: baking, Breakfast, food, recipe

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 363kcal

Author: Barbara Schieving

Equipment

Chicago Metallic Commercial II Non-Stick Mini Loaf Pans, Set of 4

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.

Nutrition

About Melissa & Barbara

As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

Reader Interactions

Comments

c vecc
February 04, 2024 at 12:19 pm

What a delightful combination of flavors❤️ A very nice balance. I used a PYREX loaf pan for baking so I should have lowered the temp a bit.
I’ll be making this again for sure. Thanks for the recipe 👍👍
Reply
Cindy
January 08, 2023 at 8:19 am

This had a nice flavor but was very dry. I wonder if anyone has tried an orange glaze/syrup with this?
Reply
Debbie Horrell
September 05, 2022 at 2:15 pm

So delicious! First time baking with Cardamom and it’s wonderful! Thank you!
Reply
- Melissa Griffiths
  September 05, 2022 at 9:09 pm
  
  So glad you liked it Debbie! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
  Reply
Cinnamom in MN
June 02, 2022 at 7:24 pm

Fantastic. Made it tonight. Thanks for the recipe. I’m sure it will make me locally famous.
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  June 02, 2022 at 8:03 pm
  
  Thanks! I hope it does make you locally famous. Let me know 🙂
  Reply
Rebecca
February 15, 2022 at 12:10 pm

LOVED this recipe! I did notice some folks saying it was a bit dry; I found it was a good idea to check for doneness well before the max. 50-minute bake time suggested so it didn’t bake to a dry state. The beautiful whisper of orange with the not-overpowering cardamom, along with not too much sweetness was such a perfect balance of flavors! I do wish there was some nutritional info on this!
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  February 15, 2022 at 1:05 pm
  
  Thank you for the great review Rebecca – beautifully described! I’ll update the post to include the computer-generated nutritional info.
  Reply
Nanci
May 28, 2021 at 3:13 pm

I made the “cake” and we really liked it! I noticed how many mentioned that when they turned it out of the pan that the topping fell off. So I found a way to make it stay on Bon Appetit. I mixed the crumb topping with just a little softened butter and then took about half and egg white and mixed it together before spreading on the loaf. The egg white is the key. It did not fall off!
Reply
See Also
Christmas Shortbread Cookies – Recipe from Yummiest Food Cookbook
- Barbara Schieving
  May 28, 2021 at 3:46 pm
  
  Glad you enjoyed the cake. Thanks for sharing your tip Nanci!
  Reply
Susan
April 10, 2021 at 12:37 pm

Can you tell me what brand your bread pans are.
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  April 11, 2021 at 8:38 am
  
  Hi Susan – here’s a link to the pans in the picture https://www.restaurantsupply.com/vollrath-5431-wear-ever-1-lb-aluminum-loaf-pan-3-3-8-x-5 I also often use these mini pans https://amzn.to/2Rn6cGF Enjoy!
  Reply
Barb
January 31, 2021 at 11:21 am

I made the coffee cake his morning ,and it didn’t disappoint! So delicious!! I made the mini loaves and did have to bake them a little more than 35 minutes, Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Reply
faye Weiner
October 25, 2018 at 10:00 am

Those pans are adorable! Are they on Amazon?
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  October 25, 2018 at 2:50 pm
  
  Hi Faye – I’ve had them for so long, I don’t think they’re available any longer. But Amazon does have these https://amzn.to/2yyw9H0 Mini Loaf Pans that I love.
  Reply
Wass
April 17, 2018 at 8:37 pm

Hi, the streusel topping is missing butter and that’s why the almonds fell off. Good recipe, love orange and cardamoms ??
Reply
Karen
October 05, 2017 at 4:16 pm

For those of you with a bread maker this comes out perfect on “Cake” or “Quick”( not rapid) setting.
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  October 05, 2017 at 4:33 pm
  
  Great tip – thanks for sharing Karen!
  Reply
Melanie
October 21, 2016 at 4:17 pm

I thought this was scrumptious! Next time I make it, I think I’ll add some nuts to the batter, and maybe some candied orange. I loved the streusel mix, but a lot of it fell off when I took it out of the pan (but I probably used too much). Thanks for the great recipe. I put a link to on my site,
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  October 23, 2016 at 6:32 pm
  
  Thanks Melanie! Glad you enjoyed it. Definitely change it up to suit your tastes.
  Reply
augusta
April 02, 2015 at 9:57 am

wheres the coffee in this recipe??
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  April 02, 2015 at 10:10 am
  
  Coffee cake rarely has coffee in it. Rather it is a cake served with coffee, generally for breakfast or a snack rather than dessert.
  Reply
- Melanie
  October 19, 2016 at 12:30 pm
  
  lol
  Reply
Debbie
January 06, 2014 at 11:37 am

Not sure what happened with mine but it came out extremely dry….I was bummed out. Nice flavor but no moisture.
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  January 06, 2014 at 11:44 am
  
  Hi Debbie – That is disappointing. Did you make any changes?
  Reply
Wendy
May 29, 2013 at 1:03 pm

Loaf cakes and quick breads can be great care package goodies! They are so sturdy. The flavors in this one remind me of a cup of tea. 🙂 Barbara, does the cook book mention how long this loaf stays fresh? Some recipes stay yummy for ages and others seem to dry out by the next day. 🙂
Reply
- Barbara Schieving
  May 29, 2013 at 8:50 pm
  
  I’m not at home this week, but as I remember it said these loaves kept well for 5 days. I’ve found quick breads with sour cream in them just get better the next few days after baking. Great question. Thanks!
  Reply
Sue {munchkin munchies}
May 25, 2013 at 11:35 pm

Besides sounding so yummy, the little loaves look adorable. The flavors sound wonderful…a good use for my cardamon:)
Reply
Jenni
May 15, 2013 at 12:53 pm

Gorgeous loaves! I simply love cardamom! These would be so fantastic! 🙂
Reply
jamie @ green beans & grapefruit
May 15, 2013 at 9:40 am

I so dig cardamom in pastries, especially coffee cake. This sounds awesome!
Reply
Medeja
May 15, 2013 at 2:42 am

What a nice soft coffee cake!
Reply
lilian @ chinese grandma
May 13, 2013 at 3:39 am

ooh barbara, i love cardamom. can’t wait to try this recipe! and have it with some chai. =)
Reply

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