You get the taste of almond and cardamom in every bite of this soft and delicious cake. Swedish Almond & Cardamom Mini Cakes come in small sizes too, so you can eat as many as you want!
This treat is officially called ‘Cardamom Mums’ in Sweden, which translates to ‘Cardamom Yums’; I thought about it for some time and I reckon calling it ‘Swedish Almond & Cardamom Mini Cakes’ makes more sense. At least to non-Swedes – because it explains it more…? (Feel free to let me know what you think! 🙂 )
Cardamom has got to be the most popular taste in Sweden for pastries and sweet breads. I initially thought it was almonds, specifically almond paste (or marzipan), but I realized that even the regular cinnamon buns here (Kanelbullar) have cardamom. To be honest, I do NOT blame them. I am also starting my love affair with cardamom nowadays. ;-).
The cake, per se, is made of almond paste. The cardamom part is the coating that you sprinkle on the cake, once they’re out of the oven. Sugar and cardamom mixed together to coat each piece of cake – YUM! Muffin tins can also be used for baking them. For this recipe, I opted to use those aluminum molds that I also use for panna cotta. I just felt they’re easier to remove from the tin – no biggie (it’s just me being lazy 😉 ).
As for the form of cardamom, I gotta tell you, there is a HUGE difference in the finished product when you use cardamom pods, compared to cardamom powder. I tried making these with cardamom powder and even with adjusting the ratio of powder to sugar, the taste and smell is just way off.
I encourage you to try this with pods at first, instead of powder – you will appreciate it more. We also use tons of cardamom powder in Sweden, but for this specific treat, it’s got to be pods. 🙂
UPDATE: Since cardamom seeds are more available than pods, I updated the recipe for cardamom seeds and I have used the same thing for the video. Still great results! 🙂
(*This post contains some affiliate links)
MY AMAZON PICKS:
- 200 grams almond meal
- 100 grams sugar
- 50 grams powdered sugar
- 3 to 5 tsp milk
- 135 grams almond paste
- 42 grams butter, room temperature
- 2 drops bitter almond extract
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp cardamom seeds
- 2 tbsp sugar
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Preheat oven to 180-degrees C (350-degrees F). Prepare the baking (or muffin) tins by greasing or spraying them with butter.
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Prepare the almond paste by mixing the almond meal with the regular and powdered sugar. Add the milk slowly to get the proper consistency of the paste (i.e. not too wet). This almond paste recipe yields around 200 grams of paste.
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Combine the butter, egg and bitter almond extract with the right amount of almond paste and mix well.
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Spoon the cake mix into the baking tins. Make sure that you only fill up to a quarter of each tin. This recipe makes 6 medium sized tins. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
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Grind the cardamom seeds in a pestle and mortar or a food processor. Mix the freshly-ground cardamom powder with sugar and set aside.
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Once mini cakes are ready, take them out of the oven; and out of their tins (as soon as they are cool enough to handle). Roll each piece in sugar and cardamom mixture, making sure each one is properly coated. Serve and enjoy!
I tried to send this but it was blocked. I don’t know why.
Your cakes are adorable. I wondered what type of tine you used for these. They make a pretty presentation.
That would be “tin”.
Thanks! Sorry for blocking your comment. It’s a sign for me to revisit my settings, a good reminder. 🙂
As for the tin, I’ve now added the link in the post. 🙂
The egg is not listed in the list of ingredients
Ooopppss! Thank you so much for your correction Marcy! I have updated it now. 🙂
Can you use green cardamom pods for this recipe?
Hej Emme!
Yes, green cardamom pods will be good for this. If you can find cardamom seeds (i.e, without the pods), that is also good. The goal is that you would grind them yourself. The intensity of the aroma and taste is just sublime compared to the powder version.
I am sorry about your attempt to get in touch with me via Pinterest. I will check my settings/notification there, I probably missed it. 🙁
Let me know how it goes and good luck on your book club!
P.S. Just a suggestion, if you like that genre, you can also try the book ‘Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared’. It came out a couple of years before Fredrik Backman’s book. 🙂
How do I calculate this for US measurements. Don’t have a scale to measure grams
If you used stevie in the almond paste and only the sugar with the cardamon, it could possibly be used on a Keto or paleo diet, at least it is worth a try. They look absolutely delicious!!
Would you be able to provide conversion for oz or cups? When converting this it seems like such small amounts and so I would love to make sure I am making this properly. Thank you.
I just made these (with hazelnut meal instead of almond) and they were amazing!! My kids loved them too!! I’m also obsessed with cardamom, had no idea it was so popular in Sweden. Thanks for the recipe!!! 🙂