Pistachio cardamom cake

This is a dense cake which is reminiscent of Middle Eastern cuisine, but I used it as the sweet end to the Indian inspiration dinner. This cake with its rich buttery pistachio crumb and the underlying warmness of the cardamom is a sure-fire hit. The cake is drizzled with a lemon syrup which makes the flavor nice and light.

If you've never worked with cardamom it tastes a little bit like cinnamon, but with a little more heat. For the longest time, I held off on buying this spice because it's kind of expensive, and I wasn't sure what else I would use it for. Well, the possibilities are many. You can use a 1/2 tsp. or so of cardamom pretty much anywhere you'd use cinnamon: think cinnamon buns, any cake mix, apple pie, pancake/waffle/crepe batter, or even sprinkled on your morning yogurt with fruit.

You can buy cardamom in 2 forms: pod and ground. The ground cardamom is what is used in this recipe it is simply the tiny seeds from the cardamom pod that have been finely ground down. The pods are also handy (though slightly more difficult to find). I usually throw the pods into the rice pot or stew-like dishes to intensify the flavor--4 to 6 are usually plenty.

Pistachio Cardamom Cake (from Moosewood New Classics)

Ingredients
Cake:
1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 c. semolina flour
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. unsalted pistachios, plus 12 whole pistachios
1/2 c. nonfat plain yogurt

Syrup:
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 Tbs. lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 7X11 inch baking dish
2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
4. Add the vanilla
5. Grind 1/2 c. of the pistachios in a spice grinder (or food processor) to the consistency of a coarse meal.
6. In a separate bowl, combine the semolina, cardamom, cinnamon, salt, and pistachios.
7. In alternating batches, add the yogurt and the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition, to form a smooth batter.
8. Spread the batter inot the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. About 5 minutes before the cake is done, combine the syrup ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly for about 2 minutes and then remove from heat and set aside.
10. When the cake is ready, cut it in half lengthwise and then cut it into thirds crosswise to form six square pieces. Cut each square on the diagonal to make 12 triangular pieces.
11. Pour the syrup evenly over the cake and gently press one whole pistachio into the center of each triangle of cake.