Cardamom Cake with Mulled Wine Jam #TheCakeSliceBakers

Here we are the February edition of the Cake Slice Bakers. For 2020, we'll be baking from The New Way to Cake: Simple Recipes with Exceptional Flavor by Benjamina Ebuehi.*

In this group, we are given a selection of three cake recipes. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.

For the January post, I made her Spiced Sweet Potato Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting. And, yes, it was simple and delicious. This month, I first tried ...

Before I get to my recipe, here's the line-up of #TheCakeSliceBakers' February offerings...

Hidden Pear Cake

• Camille Cooks
• Making Miracles
• Sweet Sensations

Cardamom Cake with Mulled Wine Jam

• Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Karen's Kitchen Stories
• A Little Bit of All Right

Flourless Chocolate-Chili Cake

• All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• My Recipe Reviews

Cardamom Cake with Mulled Wine Jam 

makes one 9" layer cake / very slightly adapted from Benjamina Ebuehi

Mulled wine is always a favorite., especially during the holiday season and the winter months. I like making Gløgg, a Danish Mulled Wine. So, given the choices, I knew I wanted to try this cake. I made some minor adjustments to the ingredients, including reducing the sugar, adding cardamom to the frosting, and using a combination of dried fruits instead of just dried plums.

And apologies for the lack of process photos. I was making this for dessert while some of R's AP Physics II classmates were over working on a project in one part of the house and D was working on his IB MYP (International Baccalaureate MiddleYears Programme) Personal Project in the backyard. It was a hectic morning.

Ingredients

Cake

• 1/2 C milk
• 10 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 t pure vanilla extract or paste
• 2-1/4 C flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 C butter
• 3/4 C organic granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• Also needed: two 9" cake pans, parchment paper

Jam

• 1 C red wine (I used a leftover Rioja)
• 1 C dried figs, destemmed and quartered
• 1 C dried plums, pitted and quartered
• 1/2 C dried currants
• 2 C organic black seedless grapes
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 star anise pod
• 1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 C organic granulated sugar
• 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used a Meyer lemon)

Frosting

• 1 C mascarpone
• 1 C organic powdered sugar
• 1/3 C heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 t ground cardamom
• 1/2 t pure vanilla extract or paste

Procedure

Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and line baking pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

Blend together flour and baking powder in a small mixing bowl.

Place milk and cardamom pods in a small saucepan. Heat the milk until it is steaming, but not bubbling. Remove pan from heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain out the cardamom pods and whisk in the vanilla paste.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until lightened and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Alternate between adding half of the flour mixture and half of the milk mixture until combined. Repeat, then divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.

Place pans on a baking sheet and in oven. Bake for 38 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes before inverting to cool completely on a wire rack.

Jam

Add red wine, dried fruits, grapes, cinnamon sticks, and star anise pod to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the dried fruits are softened. Add in the sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the jam coats the back of a spoon. Stir in grated nutmeg and remove cinnamon sticks and star anise. Let cool completely before using.

Frosting
Beat the mascarpone and sugar together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Fold in the cream, cardamom, and vanilla. Then refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

Finishing
Place one cake layers on your serving platter and scoop a generous layer of frosting on the top. Add a dollop or two of jam. Spread to the edges and place the second cake layer on top.

Frost the sides and top, then refrigerate the cake so the frosting will set. Remove from the fridge about an hour before you plan to serve. Add extra dollops of jam before serving.

That's a wrap for February's #TheCakeSliceBakers. I'm looking forward to March's choices though I haven't decided which one I am going to try. Stay tuned.

*This blog currently has a partnership with Amazon.com in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. It doesn't cost you anything more. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the item of your choice.