Cardamom: Seed Cake

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Makes 8 to 12 slices, ¾ to 1 inch thick
Seed cakes were popular in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England. This simple version takes only 10 minutes to prepare in a food processor.

• ¾ cup butter
• ¾ cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• ^_1/3 cup sherry or milk
• 1½ tablespoons caraway seeds
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1^_7/8 cups sifted flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a large loaf pan.
2. Put the all-purpose chopping blade in the food processor and add the butter and sugar. Process for 1 minute, or until well creamed. Add the eggs one at a time, processing each addition for 15 seconds. Add the sherry and spices and process for 10 seconds.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder together and pour them on top of the liquid ingredients in the food processor. Process 30 to 60 seconds, or until well blended. (If you don’t have a food processor, cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until they are light, beat in the eggs one at a time, and stir in the sherry and spices and finally the flour mixture.)
4. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 50 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool slightly before slicing.

Cornelia Carlson exercises her passion for growing tropical spices in her San Diego–area home. She has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and is the author of The Practically Meatless Gourmet (Prima, 1996).

Click here for the original article, Cardamom.

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