This Blood Orange Bundt Cardamom Cake is packed with bright citrus flavor and the cozy warmth of freshly ground cardamom, all wrapped in a buttery soft crumb. The citrus juice and powdered sugar soak makes the cake extra moist. Perfect to serve at a brunch or impress your co-workers and friends!
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❤️Why you will love this recipe
- Moist Texture: Thanks to the syrup-soaked finish, the cake is incredibly moist and stays fresh for days.
- Low Effort: The cake can be made with just one bowl and you won't need any decorating skills! Just soak and serve, the bundt cake tin will make it look fabolous every time.
- Perfect for winter citrus season: This is my go-to when blood oranges are in season. They’re too pretty not to bake with.
- It smells incredible: The cardamom and orange fill the kitchen with the dreamiest scent while it bakes.
- Works in a bundt or loaf pan: If you don’t have a bundt cake tin, a loaf pan works too (just adjust the amount or baking time).
- Crowd-pleaser: Great for brunch, dessert, or treat for celebrations.
This cake is my go to cake to bring to the office on my birthday. It has been devoured like it's hot fresh buns in every company I've worked at so far.
If you love this cake then you should also try my blood orange soda fermented with ginger bug.
🥣Equipment
You don’t need fancy gear to make this cake, just a few basics:
- Bundt Cake or Loaf Pan: That iconic shape gives the cake a classic look. A loaf pan works too but will require to adjust the amount or baking time according to it's size. Sally's Baking Addiction has a good post on cake pan sizes and conversions.
- Mixer: A hand or stand mixer works.
- Fine grater or Microplane: Needed to zest the orange.
- Mortar & Pestle or Spice Grinder: Needed if fresh cardamom has to be grinded.
- Long Skewer or Toothpick: For poking holes to help the syrup soak in.
📝The Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this cake:
- Butter: Use room temperature, good-quality butter.
- Sugar: Use regular granulated sugar.
- Eggs: Opt for large, room temp eggs.
- Blood Oranges: Look for ones with deep red flesh for a dramatic presentation. You’ll need both zest and juice. Alternatively oranges or other sweet citrus fruits can work.
- Cardamom: Choose pre-ground (if you can find it) for the easy way. If you can't find any then buy the fresh pods and remove the seeds to grind them. Do not use the shell.
- All-purpose flour: Standard flour all-purpose flour is what this cake has been tested with.
- Baking powder: Make sure it is not expired to achieve the correct rise.
- Salt: Just a touch to balance the sweetness.
- Powdered Sugar: Make sure to sift it first to avoid clumps.
👩🏻🍳How to make a Blood Orange Cardamom Bundt cake
Here is a quick overview of the recipe steps. Please read the recipe card for the full instructions.
- Prep the oven and cake pan.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and salt until fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one by one.
- Add orange zest and ground cardamom.
- Mix in flour and baking powder.
- Pour batter into pan and bake.
- Juice oranges and mix with powdered sugar for the glaze.
- Cool cake, trim the top, and remove from pan.
- Soak the cake with glaze (top and bottom) and let it absorb.
- Let cool fully before serving.
🎂Tips for a Successful Bundt Cake
We’ve all been there. You bake a bundt cake, it smells amazing, you let it cool, try to flip it out, and then half of it stays behind in the pan. It’s a real letdown, especially after all the effort you put into it. Here are a few tips I always follow to help the cake come out clean, keep its shape, and taste as good as it smells.
- Grease the pan really well: Use soft butter and take your time to get into every corner of the pan. Then dust it with flour and tap out the excess. I find that butter and flour work better than non-stick spray.
- Use room temperature ingredients: This helps the batter mix evenly and gives the cake a smoother crumb.
- Don’t fill the pan too much: Fill the batter about three quarters of the way up so it has enough space to rise without spilling over. Always keep a baking tray under the cake pan just in case the batter spills!
- Let it cool before flipping: The cake should be warm, not hot. Letting it rest helps it firm up a bit so it releases more easily.
- Use a skewer for the syrup: Poke small holes into the cake before pouring the glaze so it can soak in properly.
- Trim the top if needed: If the cake has a domed top, you can trim it slightly so it sits flat once you turn it out.
🍴Serving suggestions
This cake works well for many occasions and doesn't need much to shine. Here are a few simple ways I like to serve it:
- As is with coffee or tea: As is with coffee or tea: The citrus and cardamom go beautifully with coffee or a more bitter tea. I love an Earl Grey, Rooibos, or homemade Masala Chai with the cake.
- With a spoonful of whipped cream: The cake can be quiet heavy, so a dollop of light, whipped cream goes wonderfully with the cake. A litttle extra zest on top of the whipped cream is phenomenal too.
- Serve it at brunch: Every brunch needs a dessert component and this cake is perfect with the fresh citrus flavor! A slice of this cake with a dollop of plain or vanilla yogurt would be a great idea.
- Dressed up with fresh citrus slices: If you want to make the cake look extra special for guests, decorate it with blood orange slices or a little extra zest just before serving.
🥄Storage
This cake keeps really well and is one of those bakes that tastes even better the next day. Here’s how to store it:
- At room temperature: Keep the cake at room temperature for up to three days. I usually store mine under a cake dome or wrapped on a plate.
- In the fridge: If your kitchen is warm or you want to keep it longer, you can refrigerate it for up to five days. Just bring it to room temperature before serving.
- In the freezer: You can freeze individual slices or the whole cake. Wrap it well and store it in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to two months. Let it thaw at room temperature before eating.
💭Frequently asked questions
Yes, regular oranges or even other sweet citrus like Cara Cara or pink grapefruit can work. The flavor will be a bit different but still good.
No, you don't have to. I simply can barely every find it in stores. If you can buy ground cardamom please feel free to use that one. It will save you time!
A loaf pan is a good alternative. Just make sure not to fill it too high and keep an eye on it while baking as the baking time may vary.
It’s usually a matter of not greasing and flouring well enough. Make sure to coat every part of the pan, especially if it has lots of detail.
Yes, and it actually tastes even better the next day after the syrup has soaked in. Store it covered at room temperature or in the fridge.
I have not tested any add-ins with this cake. However, additions like pistachios or dark chocolate would probably be really good!
Let it cool in the pan until it’s warm but easy to touch. Usually around 15 to 20 minutes.
I would not recommend skipping the syrup as it is an important component for the cakes flavor and for keeping the cake moist.
More recipes to try
📖 Recipe
Blood Orange Cardamom Cake
Ingredients
- Flour & Butter for dusting the baking pan
- 250 g Butter room temperature
- 250 g Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 4 Eggs room temperature
- 2 Blood Oranges or oranges
- 6 -8 Cardamom Pods (only seeds) or 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 250 g Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
Instructions
Bake the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 180 °C.
- With a paper towel, spread butter in the bundt cake pan to evenly cover everything. Then dust it with flour. This will prevent the bundt cake from getting stuck in the pan. Alternatively use an oil spray for baking.Flour & Butter for dusting the baking pan
- In a medium-sized bowl add the butter, sugar and salt and mix until fluffy.250 g Butter, 250 g Sugar, 1 teaspoon Salt
- Keep mixing the mixture add the eggs one by one until fully incorporated and mass gets lighter in color. The mixture might start to look a bit separated, but this is normal.4 Eggs
- Grate the zest of the oranges and add to the mixture and incorporate.2 Blood Oranges
- Open your cardamom pods and add the seeds to a pestel and mortar. Grind the seeds as fine as you can..6 -8 Cardamom Pods
- In a separat bowl add the ground cardamom, flour and baking powder. Mix and then add to the cake batter. Mix everything until well incorporated and you have a thick dough.250 g Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- Fill your bundt cake pan with the cake batter until it is about ¾ filled. Any extra batter can be added to a separate cake pan.
- Bake the cake for 50 - 60 minutes, until golden brown and an inserted toothpick or cake stick comes out clean.
Make the Blood Orange Soak
- While the cake bakes, make the glaze to soak the cake with. Juice the blood oranges until you get at least 100ml (for base recipe) orange juice.
- Mix the powdered sugar with the juice. It will be a rather liquid mixture.
Soak the cake
- Once baked, let the cake cool until it can be touched with your bare hand. Then slowly turn the pan onto a flat plate, cutting board or cooling rack to remove the cake from the baking dish.
- While still warm, poke a lot of holes into the top of the cake and then pour the glaze on top, making sure it goes into the holes to soak the cake. Then let cool completely and serve..
- For an extra soak, only use about half the liquid to soak the top of the cake in. Then put the cake back in the cold baking dish, cut off the top layer of the bottom of the cake and pour the rest of the liquid al over to fully soak the entire cake.
Notes
- Room temperature ingredients: Help the batter mix smoothly and create a stable texture.
- Properly prepare the pan: Grease and flour every corner of the pan carefully, then tap out any extra flour.
- Filling the pan: Do only fill the pan up to ¾ of it. Any more will cause the batter to spill out while baking.
- Cooling time: Let the cake cool until just warm to avoid it sticking or breaking apart when unmolding.
- Smooth glaze: Always sift powdered sugar before mixing it with citrus juice for a lump-free glaze.
- Store the cake at room temperature in an airtight container or covered for up to three days. It can also be frozen if wrapped well and thawed at room temperature before serving.
US Customary conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
Your Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
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