Yogurt cake with cardamom and pomegranate recipe

Our yogurt cake is spiced with cardamom and decorated with beautiful, bright pomegranate seeds. The contrast of the pink fruit and green pistachios makes this cake a real showstopper. We used a vanilla and baobab flavoured Greek yogurt for our yogurt cake batter but you could use plain and add some vanilla essence if preferred. One of the best things about yogurt cake is that is stays super moist, making it perfect if you want to bake ahead. Serve with an extra dollop of extra-thick Greek yogurt and you’ve got yourself the perfect afternoon treat.

Ingredients

• 180g butter, plus a little for greasing
• 120g sugar
• zest of 1 lemon (reserve the juice)
• 80ml honey
• 4 eggs, separated
• 250g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½tsp salt
• 150g thick Greek yogurt (we used Yeo Valley Baobab & Vanilla)
• ½tsp ground cardamom

For the syrup:

• juice of 1 orange (and reserved lemon juice)
• 4tbsp caster sugar
• 2 cardamom pods
• 4tbsp sesame seeds and pistachios

To serve:

• handful pomegranate seeds
• extra-thick Greek yogurt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Grease and line a 23cm cake tin with baking paper. Cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in lemon zest, honey and egg yolks.
2. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt together, then fold into the batter, alternating with the yogurt. Fold in the ground cardamom.
3. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the mixture. Pour into the tin and bake in the oven for 50-55 mins until cooked through. (Cover the top if it starts to go too dark).
4. Simmer together the orange juice, lemon juice, caster sugar and cardamom pods. Cook for a few mins to reduce. Remove from the heat. Stir in the sesame seeds and pistachios, then drizzle over the cake. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, cut and serve with yogurt.