Almond Cake With Cardamom and Pistachio Recipe (2024)

No don't understand what I'm supposed to do with that 1 tablespoon of almond flour. Does it go in the batter with the 4-1/2 cups, is it scattered on top of the finished cake? If it's part of the batter, why the alternative of only 1 tablespoon of matzo meal? I'm confused...

This is a great cake but a couple of cautions: be prepared for a very stiff batter which makes for some heavy folding of the whites; in addition to oiling the pan, cut a circle of parchment paper or waxed paper to line the bottom and oil that too. Otherwise it can be difficult to get the cake out of the pan.

Yes! We have edited the recipe to reflect that change.

I added a tsp of Rose Water, next time I will add 2. I used the full 2 tsps of cardamon and recommend not reducing it. I added 2 tsp of orange zest. This gave another layer of flavor to the cake. I really recommend the orange. It complements the cardamom well as well as the rose water. The tbls of almond gives it a strong almond flavor, if you want less, try 2 tsp.When adding the egg whites, add 1 cup first to moisten the very thick batter, then add 1/3 and balance.Serve with berries

The receipt must have been converted from metric to standard. In fact all you need is two cups of almond flour--not the four and half the receipt calls for.

I have made this twice. I replace 1 & 1/2 cup of the total almond flour with same amount of coarsely ground pistachios. I cut the sugar to 1/2 cup and the oil to 1/3 cup (I use EV olive oil). 2 tsp almond extract and 2 tsp vanilla.Mixing in the egg whites is a workout. Big spoon for the first third. Lighter touch for the second third. Fold in the last third. Nice and airy.Really excellent cake.

It goes with the rest of the flour. 4 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon is the American equivalent of 420 grams.

This is a great cake and the recipe is easy to follow. Important note: as others have mentioned, before folding in the egg whites you’ll have more a heavy dough than batter. It’s very dense. Don’t worry though, you just need to fold the egg whites in until they’re nicely incorporated. In the end it will resemble a batter and you can’t really overwork — there’s no gluten in almond flour. As long as you preserve the aeration the cake will turn out great.

Lovely cake. Not too sweet, and very elegant looking. Made it as written, with the addition of a teaspoon of kosher salt. Seeing the notes about the difficulty of incorporating the egg whites, I did the whole thing in the bowl of my stand mixer. I first whipped the whites, then removed them to another bowl and replaced with the egg yolks, sugar, almond flour, etc. Switched from the whisk to the paddle attachment to incorporate the whites. Poured into cake pan. Easy peasy.

This is an awesome recipe--have made it twice, once for Lutheran potluck! Got many requests for the recipe. It's paleo too, so put this at the top of the recipe box when you are looking for a dessert that will make everyone swoon. Use all the cardamom. I too attracted teenagers from their rooms smelling the baking aromas...

I clipped the original recipe that was in the paper several years ago. That version had 1 tablespoon matzo meal, and called for 3 cups whole almonds, which you food processed into almond flour (this was before almond flour was common in grocery stores) which resulted in about 2.5 cups of flour once you ground it down. It looks like there may have been some edit mistakes for the update.

I can confirm that this recipe works with the full 4.5 cups almond flour. It's to be expected that the batter gets so stiff: after all you are basically making glue between the egg yolks and flour! While it is a bit tough to fold in the egg whites, keep going! and incorporate slowly. Afterwards, the batter has the appropriate texture and weight for a spongey cake, and comes out light and not too sweet. I thought it was great. Served with whipped cream and raspberries.

To make this 100% gluten free, I substituted 1 tablespoon organic coconut flour for the 1 tablespoon matzo meal.
This cake was out of this world and a hit with everyone at my seder!

Subbed canola oil for vegetable. Used about 1/4 tsp less cardamom. Used a parchment round in my springform. Made a glaze with 1.5 cups confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon rosewater and enough whole milk for a thickish glaze...10 sec in microwave to thin, poured atop cake, then sprinkled w chopped pistachio and crushed freeze dried raspberries. Result was a gorgeous cake that was a big hit with my friends, their 2 year old and my sweets-averse husband.

Loved the recipe and added a splash of white wine as I live in a very dry climate.

I made this for Thanksgiving and came downstairs each morning to my Iranian father in law sneaking a few slices for breakfast. Now I have a happy memory every time I make this fabulous cake!

Substitute orange extract (double) and the zest of a large orange

In the past, while enjoying a bite of cake, I have accidentally inhaled powdered sugar leading to a coughing fit. To avoid this mishap, I chose to add a spoonful of milk to the powdered sugar to make a glaze. The upside is that the pistachios stay put as well. It’s a keeper - delicious!

This was a delight. Throughout the whole making process, I was skeptical, the batter looked weird, and my cake came out looking nothing like the display picture, but dang this was GOOD. I topped mine with orange curd and cardamom whipped cream.The alterations/notes I did for the recipe:-Added a tsp of orange blossom water-Added orange zest-Used parchment on the bottom as well as greasing the pan-Used half almond and half vanilla

Nice cake. Had a distinct eggy flavor at first that faded as it cooled - that’s a lot of eggs after all. I didn’t have almond extract but I would try a bit next time to accentuate the almond flavor of the flour. I’d also add some vanilla extract and orange zest. Might try cutting down the sugar by a bit. Dusted with cinnamon in addition to caster sugar. Would try baking for an additional 5 min but obviously oven temps vary.

Great cake! I would definitely use a mixer for the “batter.” I’d also use a mixer to introduce the initial egg whites. It’s very dense. I made the cake twice. This time I ran out of almond flour so I ground up a comparable weight of hazelnuts to supplement. It was also delicious.

Can this cake be made in advance and frozen? If so, any tips?

Like other bakers who have commented, I cut the cardamom to just 1 tsp. I also added the zest of a large orange, and was quite pleased with the result

I only had a bit of freshly muddled cardamom, so I used 1 drop of essential oil of cardamom doterra brand! Just one drop was enough. After baking, cutting and transferring to a plate , the cardamom was strong enough that my hand smelled like cardamom!Like others, i weighed out the ingredients rather than measuring them.

The answer is sugar! I’ve made this cake 2x before and while I appreciated the taste, the cake always turned out a bit dense though I was careful with folding in egg whites. This time however, I recalled that in chiffon cakes, which also rely on egg whites, you have to add 1/3 of your sugar into the egg whites as it mixes, which helps the egg whites keep structure during baking. I ended up with a 2.5 in tall cake which has never happened before

How is this a five-star recipe? What am I missing? As other bakers have noted, the batter starts out as a brick of almond flour, making it impossible to "fold" in the egg whites. I used brute force and in the end the batter was still not very well-mixed. The cake came out tasting like a cardamom omelet -- yes, that's as bad as it sounds.

Technically, this recipe is a disaster! When you add 420 gr of almond flour to the batter, it becomes solid! Period! Then, there can be no “folding” happenning and all the foam in egg whites is going to be deflated. What you’re left with is a marzipan-like paste. It wouldn’t make a good cake. If I want to remake this cake, I would probably cut the almond flour all the way down to 1 cup or (~100 gr). Or just eyeball it, such that the batter becomes ribbony, and egg whites can be folded in.

I made cupcakes with this recipe and they were fantastic. I used paper liners so did not need to oil the pan. As I scooped the batter into the liners, I dropped in a few frozen blueberries. Baked for about 20 minutes at 350. I also mixed in 1/2 t. cardamom with the powdered sugar before dusting. I sent some home with guests after dinner yesterday and I'm getting requests for the recipe today. It's a keeper!

This was delicious and moist. Used 1/2 T vanilla 1/2 T almond extract and 1t orange oil. Zested 2 oranges, mixed with sugar and set aside while preparing everything else. Will try with warm fall spices and orange.