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Clementine Pound Cake

Your Best Recipe with Cardamom Contest Winner!

Clementine Pound Cake

Photo 1 of 6
by Sarah Shatz

Clementine Pound Cake

Photo 2 of 6
by Sarah Shatz

Clementine Pound Cake

Photo 3 of 6
by Sarah Shatz

Clementine Pound Cake

Photo 4 of 6
by Sarah Shatz

Clementine Pound Cake

Photo 5 of 6
by SavvyJulie

Clementine Pound Cake

Photo 6 of 6
by SavvyJulie

Slideshow
  • This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Recipe with Cardamom
  • A&M's Testing Notes: SavvyJulie showcases both citrus and cardamom by setting them against the backdrop of a pitch-perfect pound cake: the crumb is tender and melting, while the rich brown crust is paper thin...

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  • Chef

    SavvyJulie's Notes: When you make this cake, you have to let it cool completely. All the way. It will be tough. You’ll want to cut into the rich goodness immediately. You’ll want to taste the citrus on your tongue...

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Serves 10-12

  1. Heat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9x5x3″ loaf pan.

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  2. Cream the butter, olive oil and sugars together until smooth.

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  3. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until completely blended.

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  4. Stir in 1 cup of the flour, followed by the salt, vanilla, cardamom, clementine zest and juice.

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  5. Add the milk and the rest of the flour. Beat until the batter is smooth and consistent, but do not over-beat!

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  6. Scrape the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the edges are browned and just pulling away from the sides of the pan, and a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

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  7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Run a knife or spatula around the edges of the cake to release it from the pan, and flip onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

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67 Comments on Clementine Pound Cake

Kitchenaid Reply

I made this cake over the weekend. Delicious! I followed AntoniaJames advice for traditional poundcake's extra-long creaming method. I also reduced the cardamom by 1/2. The result was a tall, moist cake with a beautiful crumb and a perfect balance of flavors. Thank you so much! Like tinabeans, my cake was done in an hour, so I recommend everyone check the cake early.

Reply

excellent flavors. i skipped the cardamom because we didn't have any, but it still tasted great. very nutty and citrusy. also, i baked this for only 1:05 and it got really hard and crunchy around the edges, which is something i rather like but i realize isn't standard for poundcake :D

thanks for the lovely cake.

Chocolate_peppermint_truffle_cookies_032 Reply

Made this yesterday for a dinner party last night - and just love love loved it. Easy and perfect flavors. Thanks so much for a great recipe!!

Chocolate_peppermint_truffle_cookies_032 Reply

Oh, I meant to add that I made a strawberry conserve to go with it and it was a wonderful combination.

Profilepic Reply

Cake's in the own now. I havent licked this much batter in years - divine! Planning to serve with fresh strawberry compote. Very excited.

Sangak1 Reply

Made this last weekend! It literally disappeared off the plate in minutes. I took your advice and spent a good deal of time on the creaming process and it came out beautifully. Thanks so much SavvyJulie! Will be making this again & again ...

Reply

This bread is delicious. It was hard to wait for it to completely cool, but well worth the wait!!

Sugar Reply

omg - this cake disappeared in like 2 seconds in the office this morning. Delicious!

Sugar Reply

Made this cake this morning and added in a blood orange. The smell was a great way to wake up. Looking forward to having that first slice tonight!

Reply

Awk! I just put the cake in the oven and realized I forgot the olive oil. Wondering how serious a mistake this will turn out to be...

Reply

Pound cake is in the oven, and my apartment couldn't smell better. It's going to be a good night.

Dsc_0028 Reply

I made the cake with McCormick's ground cardamom and did not have that problem. I baked it ahead so it wasn't eaten until it was two days old -- then and even a couple of days later, the clementine flavor was dominant. Funny you should mention a glaze, though -- I was thinking as I ate a piece last night that the cake, while delicious, would be even better with a glaze. Next time!

New_years_kitchen_hlc_only Reply

Wondering if anyone else has made this, and then eaten it after three days. I made it on Friday for a dinner party on Saturday. (Glazed it with a light blueberry syrup from raw pack blueberries I'd put up last summer, which I reduced then brightened with some Meyer lemon zest). I put aside two slices for our dessert last night. The cardamom was overwhelming in those last two pieces. You could not taste the clementines, and you could not taste the cake. All you could taste was the cardamom. I understand that the author of this recipe used ground cardamom (i.e., already-ground when purchased), and I used cardamom seeds that I had removed from pods, then crushed fairly fine using my mortar and pestle (but didn't grind them in an electric mill). Could that be the difference? Is there something about cardamom that makes it intensify over time? I'll post this to foodpickle as well. I'm interested in knowing whether the food52 testers had the same issue. I suppose it could also be the type of cardamom I bought (at an Indian grocer, which looked exactly like all of the other green cardamom pods I've ever bought). Also, I only used 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom, measuring after I crushed it, because I kow from other uses that a little goes a long way. Help!! ;o)

Junepr05 Reply

I have not made this cake yet, but I do use quite a bit of cardamom in baking. Since I always grind mine from fresh, I reduce the amount I add to baked goods by about one-half. The freshly ground is much more potent than the stuff that comes already ground. I can only imagine that the freshly crushed would be also.

Kitchenaid Reply

This same thing happened to me when I made aargesi's cardamom cranberry coffee cake. The flavors were well-balanced on the first two days, but by day 4, the cardamom was very strong. I think this is a spice that intensifies over time.

Reply

I made this on Sunday, but added more clementine juice for added zing. Unfortunately, I had to used sweetened ground vanilla as it's all I could find locally here in Spain but the vanilla flavour still came through nicely. I love vanilla so I used 2 teaspoons. I bought what little was left into the office and everybody enjoyed it.

Reply

Thanks, Julie!. I will beat more between eggs to incorporate more air. The cake is still wonderful, albeit very low to the ground!

100_2379 Reply

I've tried and tried to make poundcake with no luck. However!!!! This is the perfect recipe because it turned out beautifully! I only had whole wheat flour and it has this beautiful color to it. I also had a smaller size pan so I had to cook it a bit longer but overall it is EXCELLENT!!! Thanks for the recipe and congrats on the W I N!!

Reply

I just made the cake and it is delicious. However, it is only a couple of inches high. I notice all my other poundcakes call for baking powder, but this one did not. Not an omission, is it? Did I do something wrong since the cake is so "low". The picture of your cake looks much higher. I did use the right size pan. Thanks!

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

No, there is no baking powder or baking soda in the cake. Did you cream the butter, oil and sugar together before adding the rest of the ingredients?

New_years_kitchen_hlc_only Reply

The key to making any pound cake turn out, regardless of whether it has a chemical leavener, is to beat the butter and sugar for a good long time, until they are practically white and almost look like frosting, at the outset. Then add the eggs one at a time, and beat very, very well between each egg addition. (I almost never use an electric mixer when making cakes and cookies. I do for pound cakes for this reason.) A well-made pound cake takes a long time to prepare, before putting it in the oven. Olive oil also makes baked goods much more dense. ;o)

Junepr05 Reply

@AntoniaJames: I call the consistency needed for the creamed butter and sugar "fluffy as a shampooed cat!"

Kitchenaid Reply

Love that tip, Antonia!

Wedding_pictures_162 Reply

Me, too, AJ! I wish there were a "like" button on people's answers!

New_years_kitchen_hlc_only Reply

Awww shucks, you guys, you're way too nice. ChefJune, that's hilarious! (Not sure I've ever met a cat who'd allow you to shampoo it, but I love the image!!) ;o)

Img_2379 Reply

This sounds great and I'm looking forward to trying it - when you say a stick and half of butter, how many tablespoons is that? I'm also assuming you mean sweet butter

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

12 tablespoons!

Junepr05 Reply

I LOVE pound cke. Will be making this one while Clementines are still in the market.

Congrats on the win.

Reply

Sounds terrific! I have some wonderful Cara Cara oranges I want to try here. Can't wait!

Reply

Congrats! on your win! I've made this twice so far to rave reviews. Absolutely delicious, so moist and such a great aroma. Thanks again for sharing your recipe

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

I'm so glad you like it!

About_image Reply

We just made this but substituted lemons and grated nutmeg for the clementines and cardamom. It turned out great - thanks so much for the recipe, and CONGRATS!

Mrs Reply

congrats, SavvyJulie! this looks really great.

Reply

Just made this and it is delicious! So much for losing those winter pounds this week haha. Hope you win!

Newliztoqueicon-2 Reply

Congratulations! I'm going to try this with Meyer lemons...

Lobster_001 Reply

Congratulations! I hope to make this soon!

Shamrock-medal Reply

Congrats! This recipe definitely deserves a place in the book. Cheers!

Reply

Last summer, we were in Sweden and a friend gave us a wonderful cardamom cake that I've been trying to duplicate. Hers did not have the citrus, but your description, "It is that rich," makes me think that your recipe might be a good replacement for what I've been looking for. But still, do you mind saying--what do you think is the role of the citrus in your recipe? Did you always have it there? Do you think it's what makes the cake, or are there other versions you like as well?

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

I developed this cake recipe specifically with the clementine flavors in mind. However, I think you could easily replace it with some vanilla and additional cardamom if you want to focus purely on the spice. Let me know if you try it!

Reply

Wow! I had just printed out your recipe to start to experiment with when I saw that congratulations are in order! A great win.

Icon Reply

I am always looking for uses for Clementines and this sounds like a perfect way to use them.

Claire Reply

Congrats on being chosen as a finalist :) I'll be checking out the blog!

Tomatew Reply

Just out of the oven and delicious. This one is a keeper!

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

So glad to hear you enjoyed it! You just made my morning!

L1010593 Reply

Congrats on your beautiful pound cake!! Looks so delish!

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

I hope you like it -- let me know what you think!

Reply

This sounds so good! that I'm making it right now! Congrats on being a finalist, this turned into such a big category contest!

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

How did it turn out??

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

Thank you so much for your congratulations. It is such an honor to be chosen as a finalist!

Ab_sum Reply

Congrats on being a finalist. Your recipe sounds delicious. I missed it before.

Mrs Reply

What a great cake! Congrats on the EP and on being a finalist!

Reply

This looks like a wonderful recipe! Could you make it with Meyer Lemons, do you think? Instead of clementines?

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

I don't see why not!

Reply

the meyer lemons sound like a great addition/substitution!! YUM!

Shamrock-medal Reply

Congrats! This cake sounds really, really good. I would probably need to leave the house to not give into temptation while waiting for it to cool!

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

I took the dog out for a walk to keep from cutting into the cake too soon :)

Shamrock-medal Reply

Good idea - work off some of the calories you'll be enjoying later & not ruin the beautiful cake!

Kitchenaid Reply

Congratulations on your nomination! As a side note, I just visited your blog, and as a quinoa lover myself, I was excited to see so many grain recipes. I'll be trying many of them, as well as this delicious-looking cake.

Camp-blogaway-2 Reply

Quinoa is one of my all-time favorites. Thanks for visiting my blog!

My_love-1 Reply

I never saw this one! So excited about it...truly love pound cake! Cannot wait to try it. The crust looks divine.

Jc_profilepic Reply

Mmmmm this sounds fantastic, congratulations!

Wedding_pictures_162 Reply

How did I miss this? I LOVE everything about it! Congratulations on being a finalist!

Profile Reply

Congrats!

Img_1958 Reply

Congrats on being a finalist! This sounds lovely and I bet it smells wonderful.

Chocolate_peppermint_truffle_cookies_032 Reply

This sounds so good! Congrats on being a finalist!

Dsc_0382 Reply

congrats, savvyjulie!

Lobster_001 Reply

This sounds delicious! I missed it the first time around. Congrats!

Wondering if anyone else has made the Clementine Pound Cake, and then eaten it after three days. I made it on Friday for a dinner party on Saturday. (Glazed it with a light blueberry syrup from raw pack blueberries I'd put up last summer, which I reduced then brightened with some Meyer lemon zest). I put aside two slices for our dessert last night. The cardamom was overwhelming in those last two pieces. You could not taste the clementines, and you could not taste the cake. All you could taste was the cardamom. I understand that the author of this recipe used ground cardamom (i.e., already-ground when purchased). I used cardamom seeds that I had removed from pods, then crushed fairly fine using my mortar and pestle (but didn't grind them in an electric mill). Could that be the difference? Is there something about cardamom that makes it intensify over time? I'm interested in knowing whether the food52 testers had the same issue. I suppose it could also be the type of cardamom I bought (at an Indian grocer, which looked exactly like all of the other green cardamom pods I've ever bought). Also, I only used 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom, measuring after I crushed it, because I kow from other uses that a little goes a long way. Even with the reduced amount, the flavor was overpowering. This is important because one of the beauties of a pound cake is that it holds well, and can be made a few days in advance of a party and still taste great when served. If that is not the case with cakes made with cardamom, a cautionary note is in order. ;o)

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