Cardamom is long associated with Indian cooking; other than being one of the key ingredients of the famous Garam Masala, its also is known for medicinal values. I simply love its rich aroma and flavor, and usually add a pod to my morning tea.

Adding this  spice into the cake mix gave a wonderful flavor to the cupcakes. I have used around ½ teaspoon of cardamom powder in this recipe, which gave it the right flavor and aroma without making it too overpowering (make it ¾ teaspoon if you need a bit more kick).

You need-

• All purpose flour – 110 grams
• Unsalted butter – 110 grams, softened at room temperature
• Caster sugar – 110 grams
• Baking powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Eggs – 2, lightly beaten
• Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
• Milk – 1 tablespoon
• Cardamom powder – ½ teaspoon

How to –

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake liners. Sift/whisk the flour, baking powder and cardamom powder and set aside

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and pale. Beat in the eggs one at a time and stir in the vanilla extract and milk.

Fold in the flour and mix gently till everything is well combined. Make sure not to over mix the batter else they will not be light and fluffy when you bake.

Fill the liners equally and bake for 20-23 minutes or when toothpick inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Once cooled completely you can frost the cakes as desired. I have used butter cream frosting here.