Ingredients:

  • 1.5 tablespoons green cardamom pods
  • 1 cup granulated white sugar
  • 1 pinch saffron threads
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 0.5 cup almond flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 0.5 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 0.75 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 0.5 cup whole milk

Instructions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease your 9 inch cake pan thoroughly. <small>Note: Proper greasing prevents the delicate edges from sticking.</small>
  2. Pulse the 1.5 tablespoons of cardamom pods in the food processor until the husks break, then pick out the husks and keep the black seeds.
  3. Add the 1 cup of sugar and the pinch of saffron to the cardamom seeds. Pulse until the mixture looks like fine, pale yellow sand.
  4. In a bowl, combine the 1.5 cups AP flour, 0.5 cup almond flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 0.5 teaspoon salt.
  5. Add the 0.75 cup of cold, cubed butter to the flour mix. Pulse in the processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with no large chunks.
  6. In a separate jar, whisk the 3 eggs and 0.5 cup milk. Pour this into the processor.
  7. Pulse 5-6 times until the batter just comes together and looks velvety. <small>Note: Over mixing will make the cake tough!</small>
  8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
  9. Bake the cake. Bake for 50 minutes until the top is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping it onto a wire rack.