Apple Cardamom Cake

Name: Apple Cardamom Cake
Prep time: 2 hours

Take coffee cake to a whole new level with this recipe that combines the warm, earthy spice of cardamom with succulent caramelized apples. Note that while we suggest Granny Smith apples here, a mix of sweet and tart apples makes for a nice balance of flavors, too.

Walnut Streusel

⅔ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon fine salt
½ cup finely chopped, toasted walnuts
4 Tablespoons Danish Unsalted Butter, melted

Caramelized Apples

2 Tablespoons Danish Unsalted Butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
pinch of cinnamon
2 cups peeled and finely diced Granny Smith apples (about 3 medium apples)

Apple Cardamom Cake

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
10 Tablespoons Danish Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

Cream Cheese Glaze

2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 Tablespoon Danish Unsalted Butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons heavy cream, plus more if needed for a glaze consistency

Walnut Streusel

In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and walnuts until combined. Add melted butter and stir until evenly moistened and crumbly. Chill while you make the caramelized apples and cake batter.

Caramelized Apples

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sugar, cinnamon and apples and cook for about 10 minutes, or until juice cooks off and apples are soft and caramelized. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Apple Cardamom Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter sides and bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with a parchment paper round and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom and cinnamon. Whisk until combined; set aside.
Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs and yolk, one at a time. Mix in vanilla.
With the mixer running on slow speed, add the dry ingredients to the batter in three parts alternately with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the surface. Spoon apples evenly over the surface then crumble the chilled streusel over the top. Bake for 65-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Place pan on a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes. Carefully remove sides from pan and cool completely.
Drizzle with cream cheese glaze and serve.

Cream Cheese Glaze

Combine cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl. Beat with a handheld mixer until very smooth. Mix in powdered sugar until combined. Stir in vanilla and 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream. Add more cream, as needed, to get the desired consistency for drizzling.