This is a commissioned post.
A Scandinavian-influenced coffee cake marbled with a deliciously crunchy mixture of pecan nuts, warm spices and dark brown sugar, and kept soft with chestnut puree. This fairly healthy cake is easily gluten-free. Mums deserve homemade.
I have recently found out that I am a good bit Scandinavian; I rather suspected this. Not only am I blonde-haired and blue-eyed, I also have a love of being cosy, a liking for clean design, and a well-documented fondness for heady, strongly aromatic cardamom. Stereotypes, yes, but pretty true.
Even if you are not a scintilla Swedish or drop of Danish, most of us love the warmly spicy and citrussy flavour of cardamom. In fact it is extensively used in sweet and savoury East European, Southeast Asian and Indian subcontinental cooking. So, even if you haven’t knowingly had cardamom, chances are its been at least a haunting note in a curry you have eaten or a bun you have nibbled.
If you love cardamom, or are curious as to how it tastes, this easily baked cake is a great way to enjoy it. The finely chopped and toasted pecans (or you could use walnuts), as well as the chunky brown sugar make it even more of a treat. The cardamom coffee cake tastes great on its own, but why not softly whip some cream to dollop on the side and serve it up with a spill of juicy blueberries?
Besides a home-baked cake, mums always appreciate flowers. Sure we are capable of buying them for ourselves, but we love it when someone surprises us with a carefully chosen, quality bouquet. Am I right, mums?
According to this article in eParenting, Mother’s Day is the biggest event in the UK’s cut flower and indoor plant industry. In the days leading up to Mothering Sunday (its official UK name) the UK’s sales of cut flowers and indoor plants increase by an average of 40% on a normal day’s trading. I was lucky enough to receive this fabulous, ultra-fresh bouquet of colourful flowers from online Waitrose Florist. Here’s a snap of me arranging them (apologies to florists everywhere; I’m terrible at flower arranging!)
Arranging my #ThanksMum bouquet from WaitroseFlorist.com
Isn’t it stunning? Do you want one too?
Well…
Waitrose is running a competition to celebrate mums everywhere. Snap how you plan to say #ThanksMum and share your moment @waitrose for a chance to win a beautiful Emma Bridgewater bouquet and hamper available from WaitroseFlorist and WaitroseGifts. You might be planning to bake a cake, share afternoon tea together, cook a Sunday lunch, or even help your children surprise mum with breakfast in bed. Or something completely different! Tag your photo posts with #ThanksMum and @Waitrose on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for a chance to win. {UK only}
If you make THIS cake, be sure and also tag me on Twitter or Instagram and I will come by and comment – whether or not you are eligible to enter. 😘😘
Cardamom-Pecan Swirl Coffee Cake
A Scandinavian-influenced coffee cake marbled with a deliciously crunchy mixture of pecan nuts, warm spices and dark brown sugar, and kept soft with chestnut puree. This fairly healthy cake is easily gluten-free. Mums deserve homemade.
150g self-raising wholemeal flour (or use 200g gluten-free flour blend for wholemeal and plain flour)
50g self-raising plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder
125g vanilla sugar or golden caster sugar
½ rounded tsp ground cardamom (or cinnamon)
100ml yogurt
100ml milk
100g chestnut puree (Merchant Gourmet brand is widely available in the UK – half the pouch)
1 medium egg, beaten
75ml rapeseed oil
Topping: 15g brown sugar or coconut palm sugar + ¼ tsp ground cardamom + ¼ tsp ground cinnamon (or all cinnamon) + 15g pecans or walnuts, very finely chopped
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan/180C. Lightly oil a 1 lb loaf tin and line with a long strip of parchment paper so that some hangs over either end.
2. Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl or jug use a hand blender/immersion blender to combine the liquid and soft ingredients. Fold the liquid ingredients into the dry, mixing until the dry ingredients are just absorbed.
3. In a small bowl mix together the topping ingredients.
4. Spoon two-thirds for the cake batter into the lined tin. Sprinkle over half of the topping. Spoon-over the remaining batter. Sprinkle over the remaining topping then use a knife to gently swirl the through the cake.
5. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes, covering the last 10 minutes if needed to prevent the top getting too brown.
6. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 15 minutes before carefully lifting the cake by the paper and placing on a wire cooling rack.
If you like this recipe, why not Pin it? And you can follow me on Pinterest, too. 
This is a post commissioned by Waitrose. As always, all opinions are my own.
Delicious!
This is so appealing!
Yummy! 😊
Wow this looks and sounds delicious!! x
unbelievable!
That looks delicious!
Yummy!
I’m right there with you on the love for cardamom. Especially loving the paring with pecans in this coffee cake. Cold front is coming in later this week, so this might be the perfect baking project next weekend. Thanks Kellie!
You may have noticed a slight addiction to cardamom in the baking section of my index. I am unashamed too! I’m so glad you like this, Katie. I hope your weekend has been filled with spring weather and beautiful flowers.
#yumyumdayum
I adore cardamom, Kellie. A beautiful recipe xx
It is my favourite warm spice, whether in baking or curries. Something irresistible about it. It is lovely to hear from you, Liz. I hope you are well. 🙂
looks like delecious
Ooh, looks lovely and moist and easy to make = double bonus! Beautiful tempting photos too. A definite keepsie x
I don’t think it looks that lovely (so brown!) but it is a delicious cake and, as you mention, very moist. A cake that doesn’t need eating in a hurry.
This is my kind of cake – spiced and delicately nutty… far more appealing than chocolate imo. And I have some chestnut puree that needs using. I’ll be toasting you with a cup of tea Kellie
Oh I’m with you, Sally. I do like a chocolate cake, but this kind of cake would always be my first choice. And cheers to you 🙂 *clink* PS I hope you are enjoying spending time here in the UK. What fab weather for you!
i’d be interested in using “mothering sunday” and seeing how many people (in california, where i live) are confused, lol. anyways, this cake sounds delicious, especially with the chestnut puree!
Ha ha! I am from Florida and never ever heard this term before I lived here, but I prefer it. I think it is exclusively British. Try it out on your friends and family. It sounds very quaint to American ears.
this looks incredible. I’m currently making some cardamom-hazelnut liqueur that I bet would go really well in this…
Oh my goodness, that sounds fantastic! Drop a link for it here if you like 🙂
I found my speculoos spice most easily and so I have just made this cake using that. It was delicious, thank you, and has a lovely balance, not fatty and a great texture. This is a recipe I will make over and over with various flavourings. Hubby loved it too
Yay! I’m so pleased you like it. Thanks for the great feedback. I must get some speculoos spice when I am in the Netherlands next month. 😊😊
Your cake sounds and looks divine Kellie! I’m now wondering where exactly your Scandi roots are from and how you found out! Those Waitrose flowers look fabulous, I’ve just been buying some for my mum and MIL today:-)
I am writing this on 3 April and the flowers are still going. I hope you had a fantastic Mother’s Day yourself. But of course you will have. Oh, I am not sure of the specifics on the Scandi link. My sis did DNA ancestry thingy and it just had a big ring around “Scandinavia” !
Beautiful flowers! And it looks like a beautiful cake too – just the sort of thing to enjoy with a nice cup of tea 🙂
Thanks Becca. Indeed it is nice with a cuppa. Coffee is even better with it 😉
I only recently became a fan of coffee cake, and this looks like a great twist on it. I just love cardamom.
It is just the best warm spice, I think. It is amazing that it goes so well in sweet and savoury foods alike.
Cardamom is ambrosia! 🌸 Been eating cardamom buns/cakes all my life. Mum (from Finland) baked it often..with almonds! 🌸🌸🌸
Ooh almonds and cardamom are a classic combination. I was in Finland years ago (Helsinki and Lahti for work) and I remember the fantastic baking. And lots of massive caper berries with main meals 🙂
Wow, that cake looks so yummy!!! Love cakes+Love coffee=Have to make it!!! Thanks for sharing:)
Such a sweet comment, Jessi. Thank you!
This cake looks delicious! I’m going to make it when I get some free time some time soon!
Thanks for your sharing, It looks so interesting and delicious. I love it
My goodness, I LOVE coffee cake! The spices are just so incredibly aromatic and beautiful. Would you reckon that a chia egg work in this recipe for a vegan substitution?
Yes it would be fine. I’ve done it before. Very well ground first 😊😊