Blood Orange Cardamom Bundt Cake
You guys, I have no words.
This Blood Orange Cardamom Bundt Cake is my newest (most favorite) bundt cake recipe! You are going to LOVE it! The cake is so fluffy, soft, and moist. You can taste the hint of orange zest and the soft tones of cardamom in every bite.
This would be the perfect cake for brunch, Sundays, Easter, or just whenever you’re wanting a citrus infused cake! Plus, the beautiful (and naturally colored) blood orange glaze makes this bundt cake extra fancy.
So I actually made this cake a week ago when my parents came to town. We sat down to enjoy a slice of it around noon… come the end of the day there was only 1 slice left. This is a large Bundt Cake! So we were secretly snacking on it throughout the day. I was so sad to see it gone in such a short time. But super happy to know that everyone loved it!
I probably told my husband a minimum of 3 times how much I liked this blood orange bundt cake.
Like, it’s perfect.
You know what else is perfect? Cake.
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Lemon Poppy Seed Cake from Cake Mix
Good news is this blood orange & cardamom cake is really easy to make. Let me show you…
Ingredients needed
- Flour – use all purpose flour for this recipe.
- Baking powder – a leavening agent. Note, this recipe was made at sea level. If you live at a high altitude you can try the suggestions for adjusting leavening agents here.
- Baking soda – another leavening agent. Baking soda reacts with acids to produce carbon dioxide which gets trapped in the batter and helps the cake rise. If you like baking soda science, I’ve found this article to be informative.
- Cardamom – I use 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom in this recipe. It’s not overpowering, but I can taste it, especially towards the end of the bite. Feel free to bump the spice up to 3/4 teaspoon for a bigger punch.
- Cinnamon – another spice to give flavor.
- Salt – for flavor.
- Butter – I use unsalted, but salted would be fine as well.
- Granulated sugar – adds sweetness and tenderness to the cake.
- Brown sugar – slight flavor from the molasses. Brown sugar helps the cake retain more moisture.
- Blood orange zest – I add 3 tablespoons, but you can add another tablespoon if you want a greater orange-y type flavor.
- Blood orange juice – for flavor.
- Eggs – provide structure, richness, and flavor. Don’t leave out the eggs!
- Vanilla extract – for flavor.
- Sour cream – I use full fat sour cream. Sour cream is used in cakes to add moisture, fat for creaminess, and reacts with the baking soda to produce a light and fluffy cake.
How to make a Blood Orange Bundt Cake
Begin by greasing and flouring a 10 cup Bundt Cake. I always grease and flour, THEN spray with Baker’s cooking spray. Baker’s spray has flour in it. Whenever I’ve used this method to grease my bundt cakes, I’ve never had a crumb stay in the pan. It’s magical!
Step 1: Make the cake batter
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl (you want to make sure the batter is evenly incorporated).
Mix in the orange zest, vanilla, and orange juice.
With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and sour cream, starting and ending with the flour. (Flour, sour cream, flour, sour cream, flour).
Mix until just combined, don’t over mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. Mine baked for 47 minutes. However, remember that all ovens are different. The cake will be done when you insert a toothpick in the middle of the batter and it comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, remove from the pan and cool until just warm to the touch.
Pro tip: once the cake is just warm to the touch, I like to cover the cake with plastic wrap. This little trick keeps the cake from drying out. 🙌🏼
Step 2: Make the Blood Orange Glaze
Whisk the blood orange juice, vanilla, cardamom, and powdered sugar until combined.
The consistency should be pourable but thick. Add more powdered sugar or blood orange juice to reach your desired consistency.
Once the cake is cool, drizzle the blood orange glaze overtop. Slice and serve!
To store the cake, cover it with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Cake is best served within the first 2 days.
I really hope you make this cake because it’s THE BEST! Seriously so so good.
Will you do me a favor? If you make this recipe, or any recipe on Salt & Baker, can you come back and leave a review? I would love that so much! Your comments help other readers who are making the recipes too.
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Blood Orange Cardamom Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar - packed
- 3 tablespoons blood orange zest
- 1/4 cup blood orange juice
- 3 large eggs - at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream - I always use full fat
Blood Orange Glaze
- 1/3 cup blood orange juice - might need more depending on your desired consistency
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch cardamom
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar - might need more depending on your desired consistency
Equipment
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the oven rack in the center position of the oven. Grease and flour a 10 cup bundt cake (see note #1). Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy about 2-3 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Beating well after each addition. Mix in the orange zest, vanilla, and orange juice until thoroughly combined.
- With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour and sour cream, starting and ending with the flour. (Flour, sour cream, flour, sour cream, flour). Mix until JUST combined. Don’t overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it. (Mine baked for 47 minutes).
- Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes in the bundt pan. Then, remove from the pan and cool until just warm to the touch. See note #2.
- Glaze with the blood orange glaze.
Blood Orange Glaze
- Whisk all of the ingredients together until smooth. The consistency should be pourable but thick. Add more powdered sugar, or more blood orange juice to make it the right consistency.
Notes
- I ALWAYS grease and flour, THEN spray with Baker's cooking spray. (It's a particular spray that has flour in it. You can find it at any grocery store).
- Once it's cool, but still slightly warm, I like to cover it with plastic wrap to keep the cake from drying out.
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5 Comments on “Blood Orange Cardamom Bundt Cake”
Made this cake over the weekend, it was absolutely fabulous! Replaced the sour cream with greek yogurt and it turned out perfectly. Will be making again!
This cake is literal heaven!!! It is such a showstopper, as well as being delicious. I make it non dairy using vegan butter, and sour cream and it still tastes dairy! A real go to recipe whenever blood oranges are in season, and you want to show off 🙂.
Fantastic recipe. I made one alteration because I was worried it could get a little dry: I did 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup vegetable oil. Everything else I followed to a T. Flavor is great and crumb is perfect. Would definitely make again.
How do you feel about using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream? I’m not thrilled about my local sour cream options.
You can use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream! (I think I talk about this in the body of the blog post, if not, I’ll go back and add it).