Cardamom: an amazingly delicious spice that too many people are unaware of.
If you are one of those people, you may have had it in chai without knowing. In fact, I have a recipe for Chai Snickerdoodles coming up that puts such a lovely, refreshing new twist on a classic.
I’ve been familiar with chai for much longer than I’ve been familiar with cardamom, itself. I often wanted to get some cardamom goodness in the form of gelato, but every time I go, my local gelato joint doesn’t have it in stock. At the grocery store, it’s a whopping $15 for a regular-sized spice jar of it. There’s no way I can justify that!
Finally, last Saturday while dining out at Tapas Teatro in Baltimore, I got the hit of cardamom that has eluded me. On the dessert menu was cardamom ice cream. It turned out to be vanilla bean ice cream with ground cardamom sprinkled on top. That was slightly disappointing to see, but after one bite, I was in heaven. This. Was. Delicious.
The following day, I immediately looked online for a way to get my paws on this spice without going broke. I bought a 3.5-oz bag of ground cardamom on Amazon for around $7. Now it was time to incorporate it into all kinds of things.
Again, first up was biscotti. I decided to go with Martha Stewart’s recipe for Cardamom Biscotti, which involved a good bit of elbow grease to blanch a cup of almonds to grind, but for cardamom biscotti, I was willing.
Unfortunately, Martha’s biscotti turned out to be, in my opinion, quite bland.
Now what?
Well, back to the tried and true, I figured. I decided to use my Almond Biscotti recipe and simply add in cardamom. The question was… how much cardamom?? Martha’s recipe called for a 1/2 tsp ground cardamom, and it made one loaf. Since that was bland, I thought I should double it and then double it again since my recipe makes two loaves.
With finger’s crossed, I added 2 tsp cardamom, prepared the dough, baked away, and took my first bite. Oh yes, the cardamom came through. I loved it! Whew!
I urge you to try it!
Almond Cardamom Biscotti:
- Follow the recipe for My Grandmother’s Almond Biscotti.
- Mix in 2 tsp ground cardamom with the dry ingredients.
- That’s it!
My Food-Infused Life 
Cardamom is indeed a lovely spice, well worth the cost, IMO. I’ve had it in sweet breads before (one called Easter Bread, with golden raisins) and it really makes a big difference!
Oooo, that sounds great!
I’m planning on making some breads soon, so I’ll have to keep that one in mind.
Yum sounds great
Love the site and wonderful food pics! How is it you don’t have your own published cook book is beyond me! You’re easily far more talented than most these people you see on the Food Network, I think.
Aww, thanks!
That’s very kind of you. I don’t think I have nearly enough to fill a cookbook yet, but I’m glad you enjoy the site and pics!