This orange cardamom loaf is somewhere between bread and cake, but full of sweet, floral cardamom and fresh orange. It’s so so good.
I love a good quick bread loaf. Don’t get me wrong, yeasted rolls are probably my one true love – but something that come together quickly and easily be either a snack or dessert is great recipe. My orange cardamom loaf can be ready start to ready to eat in about 2.5 to 3 hours including the time you need to let the loaf cool.
Orange is one of my favorite flavors. As an adult I might like lemon more, but as a kid (and honestly still today) an orange flavored popsicle or and orange cream ANYTHING is always a yes for me. It’s why I made my Orange Cream Pound Cake and Sweet Orange Focaccia.
Cardamom is one of those spices that’s a little hard to describe how it tastes, but also has a very distinct taste. It’s a little bit floral, a little bit earthy, spiced, and citrusy. It’s probably most famously used in Swedish cardamom buns aka kardemummabullar, a Nordic cousin of the cinnamon roll.
I have paired cardamom and orange together before and thought they tasted fantastic together. While I was developing my Everything Pretzel Knots, I made a sweet version with cardamom and orange sugar and wanted to eat all of them myself. While I still may update that recipe with how to make those, I wanted something with the same flavor but a little more substantial. That is how this orange cardamom loaf came to be.
Baking Notes and Tips
I tested this recipe A LOT. From the beginning it had perfect flavor and texture but the center of the loaf kept sinking. I kept playing around with leavening, adding more and less until I finally found a combination that worked. While it’s frustrating when your knowledge seems to be failing you, I did get to eat a LOT of this loaf cake and I can tell you for sure what works.
Make sure you are ready to bake when you start making your orange sugar. It can dry out if it’s made and then sits on the counter for a few hours. Making citrus sugar might be one of my favorite things though, it’s so fragrant and adds so much flavor to your bakes.
I baked my orange cardamom loaf in an 8.5×4.5 inch loaf tin. If you are using a 9×5 your bake time might be slightly less as the loaf will be a little shallower and spread out slightly. If you bake this in smaller loaf tins, you will want to reduce your time by a little (in say an 8×4) or a lot if you make mini loaves. Use a metal tin not glass as glass will take MUCH longer to bake and you will have an over baked exterior.
Orange Cardamom Loaf Key Ingredients
- Orange – I chose not to use orange extract here, but solely orange zest and orange juice. Both add great flavor and the orange definitely comes through. If you really love orange, you could substitute the vanilla for orange extract or maybe even Fiori di Sicilia which has orange (and other citrus) and vanilla.
- Cardamom – There’s no substitute here. I used ground cardamom. If you have pods you can grind them yourself, and remove the pod but it’s much easier to use pre-ground.
- Buttermilk – Not a ton of liquid in this, but I wanted the loaf to have a little tang from the buttermilk to pair with the orange. If you don’t have buttermilk, sub with regular whole or 2% milk.
Ingredients
- 1 md-lg Orange zested
- 150 g Granulated sugar ¾ cup
- 56 g Unsalted butter ¼ cup, softened
- 55 g Neutral oil ¼ cup
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 75 g Buttermilk ⅓ cup, room temperature
- 2 tbsp Orange juice
- 180 g AP flour 1½ cup
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 1½ tsp Ground cardamom
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp Baking powder
- 1 tbsp Confectioner's sugar for dusting – optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pan with parchment, set aside.
- Add your flour, cardamom, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a small bowl and whisk together to mix. Set aside.
- Zest your orange directly into your granulated sugar in a large bowl.
- Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar. The oils of from the zest will be released into the sugar creating a fragrant orange colored sugar.
- Add your softened butter and oil to your orange sugar and mix with a hand mixer, creaming them together for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be light and fluffy.
- Add your eggs one at a time into the sugar mix and beat well before adding the next.
- Add your vanilla, buttermilk, and orange juice into the wet ingredients. Mix well.
- Add your dry ingredients to the wet and using a rubber spatula or spoon, mix together until no dry bits remain.
- Fill your loaf pan with the batter and smooth into an even layer. I personally use a knife to create a cut line down the center to help prevent any cracking but this is optional.
- Bake your loaf on the center rack of your oven for 38-42 minutes.
- When your loaf is done it will have a nice golden crust and smell fragrant. Remove from the oven and let cool in your pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Let cool for at least an hour, but best if waiting until the loaf has come to room temperature.
- Optional – Before serving, lightly dust with powdered sugar.
- Slice and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
