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This eggless almond cardamom cake is a simple, unfrosted tea cake I could happily eat every afternoon. It’s soft, moist, and buttery, with warm cardamom and sliced almonds on top. If you love cakes that don’t need frosting to shine, this one’s for you.
A cake my mom loves: my eggless almond cardamom cake
Whenever I bake for my mom, the cake has to be frosting-free, or as she likes to call it, a “dry cake.” She flat-out refuses anything “chip chip,” which to her means any cake with frosting. But let me assure you, this almond tea cake isn’t dry. It’s moist, buttery, and fragrant with cardamom.
Over the years, I’ve built up a small collection of cakes that pass her test, like my eggless condensed milk cake and my eggless marble cake. This almond cardamom version pairs perfectly with a cup of kadak masala chai.
I recently served it at one of my low-key chai parties at home, and it disappeared fast. Everyone loved it, and a few guests even took some home.
Bake AN eggless almond cardamom cake with me
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8-inch round baking pan.
- Cream butter and sugar; add wet ingredients.
Cream butter with an electric mixer, then add sugar and mix. Add yogurt and vanilla extract and mix.
- Add dry ingredients, milk, and sliced almonds
Add the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom powder, and salt) in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition. Do not overmix. Add milk and mix, then add sliced almonds and fold them into the batter.
- Transfer batter & bake
Transfer the cake batter and top with a 1/4 cup of sliced almonds. Bake for 35-37 minutes.
NISHA’S TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- Use sliced almonds, not chopped. They’re easy to find at most major grocery stores – I get mine from Trader Joe’s.
- Bring the butter, milk, and yogurt to room temperature. Room-temperature ingredients blend more evenly and give you a lighter, softer crumb.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Stir just until the ingredients come together, or else it will be dense.
Almond Cardamom Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 sugar
- 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt*, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds, inside batter
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, for topping
- dusting of powdered sugar, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees & grease an 8-inch round pan.
- Cream the butter and sugar; add the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture looks light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the room-temperature yogurt and vanilla extract and mix just until smooth and evenly combined.
- Add the dry ingredients, milk, and sliced almonds. In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom powder, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients in 3 batches, mixing on low speed after each addition just until the flour disappears. Don’t overmix, or the cake will turn out tough. Pour in the room-temperature milk and mix briefly until the batter is smooth. Finally, add 1/2 cup of sliced almonds and gently fold them in with a spatula until evenly distributed.
- Transfer the batter and bake. Pour the batter into a greased pan and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon or a spatula. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sliced almonds over the top. Bake for 35 to 37 minutes, until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
This cake was a huge hit with my family and was asked to make it thrice in the last one month. Thank you for this delicious recipe, Nisha! It’s soft, moist, and for a change not super sweet.
This recipe looks wonderful and I look forward to making it. I wanted to point out a couple of things based on the photos you provided. It looks like you are using “sliced” almonds (with skin), not “slivered,” as is written in the recipe and the narrative. Slivered are different – they typically don’t have the skin and are almost strips. Also, the baking vessel is not a tray, it’s a springform pan and that is different.
Thanks for pointing that out. Will fix it.
Thank you! I also wanted to say you do a great job at explaining recipes step-by-step. Getting ready to bake this now. Very excited!
So glad to hear that SB. I hope it works out for you! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Yes. You can cover the cake with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. It’ll last about 5 days.
Thanks for sharing! How far ahead of time can I make it?
HI Vanessa – you can make it the day before.
This looks so good! What a fun dessert to make for brunch with friends!
Love the recipe! So delicious
How many grams would one and a half cup of AP flour be?
Hi Nauka, I would Google this info directly. I googled it and it’s about 204 grams of all-purpose flour. Please double-check.
I haven’t baked yet, but want to know if the cake can be frozen successfully.
It should be okay. Make sure you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap so it doesn’t taste frozen.
Want to try making this for holiday gifts. I was going to make it in 4” cake pans instead of the 8”. What are your thoughts on cooking time?
Hi. The timing should be the same, however to be on the safe side, I would check 10 minutes earlier to make sure. Then check every 5 minutes.
I really disliked the texture of the almonds, but the flavor was great. It’s a personal preference thing, so I’d still say this is a good recipe.
HI Anon. Sorry to hear that. I’m glad you still approved of the recipe. Thank you
Loved this recipe! I used coconut sugar because that’s what I had at home and it worked perfectly. It’s a crowd pleaser served with chai.
Thanks so much Asha. xoxo
This recipe was great! My parents loved it. I replaced the eggs with 2 tablespoons of corn starch and 6-7 tablespoons of water.
It looks like you’re using sliced almonds (not slivered) in your recipe – you may want to edit it! Slivered are almonds that are cut in half then cut into strips. I usually keep some on hand but realized that’s not what you’re using! I’m going to buy some sliced almonds and try your recipe, because it looks phenomenal!
Hi, I will correct it. Thanks so much. Hope you enjoy it. 🙂
This is a great recipe,I tried this whith whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour and the result was amazing.
What flour to use for gluten free ver? Thanks
Hi. You can use white gluten-free flour. I believe Bob’s Red Mill makes one that is gluten-free all-purpose flour. Hope that helps 🙂
I made this today and didn’t have any almonds but added 1t of almond extract and it was delicious! Whole family agrees.
Thanks so much Liz. Glad you liked it 🙂
This is an incredibly refreshing and flavorful cake.
I substituted the egg with 1/2 a cup of yogurt, the sugar with jaggery ( plus the mentioned 2tbsps. sugar) and the butter with 3tbsps. olive oil. Now with all those renovations, I don’t know whether my cake would match up to the original recipe. But, it was divine and most of all super simple🤤.
This was absolutely delicious!! We uses the 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt to substitute the eggs. We also had a heap full of cardamom (personal preference)! Can’t recommend this recipe enough, it was light and fluffy, perfect with my chai.
This recipe really is a treat! We substituted the two eggs with 1/2 cup of whole milk yogurt. Added a lot more cardamom (personal preference) and it turned out wonderfully. Soft, delicious and super tasty with Chai! It’s going to be a repeated recipe for any occasion. Thank you ♥️
What can you substitute for eggs to make it vegan?
HI Mary – I would try 1/2 cup of reduced-fat or whole yogurt, you can try vegan yogurt too. I haven’t tried this so I can’t say how it’ll turn out. Yogurt is generally a good sub for eggs. Hope that helps!