I’d been meaning to make this for a while. We have a neighbor who’s been unwell and once upon a time he told me how much he loved cardamom. I love cardamom, too, so when I finally got around to making this, I made a double batch. I took the leftovers to the office, and it was a hit! So, for my colleagues and everyone else, here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Cardamom Coffee Cake

adapted from The Joy of Vegan Baking

ingredients- cake

• 1 cup nondairy milk
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

ingredients- crumble

• 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar or granulated sugar
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts and/or hazelnuts
• 1/3 cup nondairy butter, melted or canola oil

method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish/cake pan.
2. For cake, combine the milk, oil, and vinegar in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, ginger, and salt. Add the milk mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into the baking dish.
3. To make the crumble, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cardamom, ginger, salt, and nuts. Add the butter or oil, and use your hands to thoroughly combine it with the dry ingredients. Spoon it on top of the batter in the cake pan, covering the entire area.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let cool slightly, serve warm or at room temperature.

Some notes:

• For a stronger cardamom flavor, I grind up cardamom seeds in a coffee grinder right before adding to the recipe. I was tempted to add a drop of cardamom essential oil, but wasn’t sure if it would be too much. Let me know if you try!
• The original recipe is for a cinnamon coffee cake, so just replace the cardamom with cinnamon if that’s your preference.
• The Joy of Vegan Baking was just put out in a new edition for its 10th anniversary! Everything in it is delicious.