Orange and Cardamom Cake

It is cool here. I wanted to enjoy my coffee with a simple cake. There were oranges waiting to be used in my pantry. Hmmm... my mind raced ahead and ..the image of a cake with the bright color of oranges and infused with the warm and sweet smell of cardamom. Soft, moist, sweet and a wee bit spicy..oh, it made me smile la..la..la..

With the talk of coconut oil being healthy, I thought of using it today in my cake..just a little.. was not bad.

As my cake baked..the aroma of the oranges mixed with cardamom spread all around ..it had me hooked on to dear life... and so it will for you! Come on then.. what are you waiting for? Start baking right away!

Ingredients :

All purpose flour   : 2 cups
Coconut oil            : 1/4 cup

Baking powder      : 2 tsp.
Baking soda           : 1/2 tsp.
Salt                        : 1/2 tsp.
Cardamom             : 2 tsp.
Sugar                     : 1 cup 
Eggs                      : 3

Orange juice          : 1/4 cup
Yogurt                    : 1/2 cup
Orange zest            : 1 1/2 tbsps.
Vanilla extract        : 1/2 tsp.

Method :

Grease and flour a loaf pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom powder in a medium bowl.

Rub in the orange zest into the sugar until it is moist.

In a big bowl, whisk in the sugar, coconut oil, orange juice, yogurt,eggs and the vanilla extract.

Fold in the dry ingredients till they are well combined. Pour the batter in the prepared tin. Smooth the top.

Bake at 350 F.  for 50 minutes until the top of the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert it on to a rack to cool completely.

A simple cake. The cake gets better in taste after a day as the flavors mix in to give out their best. Mmmm .. ..