Raspberry Semolina Cake with Cardamom

A super moist raspberry semolina cake in Bundt form with warm cardamom, a pink raspberry marble swirl and topping of raspberry cardamom glaze.

This raspberry semolina cake flavored with cardamom is made with fine semolina flour and heavy cream which makes for a very moist and rich cake crumb. It's like a raspberries and cream cake.

It also looks beautiful. The raspberry glaze is like a cascade of petals. When you cut into it you see a beautiful pink raspberry marble swirl that is full of fresh and moist raspberry flavor.

To really amp up the raspberry flavor you can also make the glaze with homemade raspberry preserves which are delicious for a lot of other uses besides cake glaze.

Personally I love the tartness of raspberries in sweet baking recipes. I've previously shared my Raspberry Almond Tart which also highlights the beautiful flavor of raspberries.

The beauty of the flavor profile in this raspberry semolina cake is the contrast - raspberries are slightly tart while cardamom is warming. Likewise, the raspberries in the cake are juicy, whereas the raspberry cake glaze on top adds a sugary textural contrast.

Quick Summary

• Cream together eggs and sugar, then mix in the heavy cream;
• Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cardamom) to the wet ingredients. You don't need to premix them in another bowl - just add them and try to give them a bit of a mix before mixing everything up;
• Pour 85% of the cake batter into the prepared cake pan;
• Mix the raspberries into the remaining batter, then pour it in the cake pan in swirls;
• Bake the cake, make the glaze, cool the cake and glaze it up!

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• Quick Summary
• Ingredients
• Equipment
• Instructions
• Serving Suggestion
• Storing
• Related
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Ingredients

raspberry semolina cake

• Fine semolina flour: Semolina flour is usually used for pasta so you can find it often in Italian specialty shops. There are different varieties - be sure to use finely ground semolina flour for baking.
• White sugar: White sugar is best for this cake since brown can impact the color and density.
• Heavy cream: Heavy cream does the job of both milk and butter in this recipe, bringing lots of moisture and richness.
• Eggs: Eggs bring structure and moisture.
• Baking powder and baking soda: Chemical leavening agents bring air and lift to the cake.
• Flavor - ground cardamom: Cardamom pairs beautifully with raspberry. You can also substitute vanilla, cinnamon, or make it lemon raspberry or orange raspberry by adding a few drops of lemon/orange extract and the zest of one lemon or orange.
• Salt: Salt to balance the flavors.
• Raspberries: Plump and ripe whole raspberries add moisture, a beautiful pink swirl and so much flavor! Both fresh and frozen raspberries will work.

raspberry glaze

This raspberry cake glaze brings pops of raspberry flavor and a beautiful appearance like a wave of pink petals cascading over the cake. Flavor it with cardamom for an aromatic experience or other flavoring like vanilla, cinnamon or citrus.

• Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar is the base of cake glaze. You really need fine powdered sugar for this and can't substitute regular granulated sugar as it doesn't absorb the liquid the same and will result in a gloopy and grainy mixture.
• Milk: Milk is the moisture element that turns the powdered sugar into a glaze.
• Raspberry jam: Raspberry jam adds raspberry flavor and a beautiful look to the glaze.
• Ground cardamom: The cardamom in the glaze plays up the cardamom flavor in the cake. You can also substitute extracts of vanilla, lemon, orange if you prefer.

Equipment

I used the NordicWare Platinum Collection Anniversary Bundt Pan, which is quite large, easy to unmold and gives cake a lovely sugared crust.

You can substitute any other 2 - 2.5 liter / 10-12 cup cake pan.

Instructions

Mix wet ingredients

Start by whisking together the eggs and sugar until pale in color. Then mix in the heavy cream.

If you're substituting any other wet ingredient (like vanilla extract or citrus zest) then that should also be added at this stage.

Mix in dry ingredients

Once the wet ingredients are fully mixed, add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cardamom) to the wet ingredients.

You don't need to premix them in another bowl. You can simply add all the dry ingredients on top of the wet. Use a whisk or fork to first give the dry ingredients on the surface a little mix so they're roughly incorporated, then mix the dry into the wet.

As always with cake, only mix until everything is just incorporated (i.e. no more big floury pockets or clumps). Overmixing can make the cake too dense.

Prepare the cake pan

Once the batter is mixed, prepare your cake pan if needed.

I always prepare cake pans by rubbing with butter and then sprinkling with flour. This method makes the pan no-stick every time, regardless of the material of the pan.

If you're using a non-stick pan that you trust, you can skip this step. I've found that preparing pans this way (even if they're already non-stick like silicone) makes for a really nice crust. So I would still recommend doing this pan prep method for texture and aesthetics if not strictly out of necessity.

Pour in the batter

You're going to pour most of it (about 85%) into the prepared cake pan. You can definitely just eyeball this step - no need to precisely measure.

The small amount of batter remaining in the bowl is mixed well with the raspberries to make a beautiful pink batter that goes into the cake to make a pink raspberry swirl.

Just keep in mind you're better erring on the side of leaving less batter for the raspberry swirl because you only need a small amount to make very defined pink swirls.

If you make too much pink batter, you can easily end up with a two-tone cake instead of a pink swirled cake.

Once the pink swirl is in, then simply bake the cake.

The glaze comes together in less than 5 minutes and is really best when used right after mixing (or is can form a crystalized skin that adds clumps).

I recommend only mixing the glaze once the cake is fully cool and ready to glaze.

Be sure to allow the cake to cool before glazing. If you glaze too soon, the glaze will just run off.

You want to glaze once the cake is fully cool for maximum adherence of the glaze to the cake. Cooling on a wire rack can speed up the process.

When you do glaze, I recommend doing so on a wire rack over a parchment lined baking sheet.

This not only makes cleanup easier, it also helps the glaze flow off the cake instead of pooling at the bottom and creating sharp edges.

Allow the glaze to fully cool and harden, then use a large flat spatula (or even better, a pizza peel if you have one) to move the glazed cake from the wire rack to a plate. If you move the cake too soon the glaze can crack.

Serving Suggestion

This raspberry semolina cake is lovely as either coffee cake or full on dessert.

Storing

To store it, keep it either whole or sliced in a container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

If you want to keep for longer, you can wrap it up tightly and freeze for up to 3-4 weeks.

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