Cardamom Sugar Recipe

Cardamom pods

If you aren't familiar with cardamom seed, you're missing out on a tasty sweet and savory spice that's warm and heady without being overpowering. It's the key ingredient in an outlandishly delicious hot toddy I make every holiday season.

You don't have to limit yourself to using it for holiday baking and beverages, though. Cardamom sugar can add punch to a simple midmorning tea or coffee break, morphing it into a guilty pleasure. I'm not exaggerating. This simple sugar is wonderful in drinks, on cookies, in cakes, and even sprinkled on fruit salad or a grilled half-grapefruit. It's awesome -- there's no other word for it.

A staple spice in Middle Eastern cooking and some Scandinavian dishes, cardamom is the seed of a plant in the ginger family. There are a few types utilized in cooking. I use the green or true cardamom Elettaria cardamomum, which is the variety you're likely to run into in most spice shops.

You can make cardamom sugar a couple of ways, and even add additional spices for a fun blend I'll talk about in my next post. I've outlined some options below.

Cardamom Sugar Recipe

1 Cup Castor or Superfine Sugar (I just take granulated sugar and pulse it in my spice/coffee grinder for a few seconds)

1 Tablespoon ground cardamom (or 30 seeds or cracked pods

Cardamom sugar

Cardamom Sugar Directions

I'm going to explain the concept since the ingredient list can be a bit confusing. You can incorporate ground cardamom into sugar for a blend, or suffuse cardamom into the sugar:

Using the first option, you'll end up with sugar that has a strong flavor and aroma and very tiny bits of cardamom in it.

Using the second method, you'll get sugar that has a strong cardamom aroma and mild taste without the cardamom bits. Either method works, but the second may be more visually appealing when flavoring beverages -- oh, and the second method does take a few weeks to cure.

Method 1 - Combine sugar and ground cardamom and shake thoroughly. Store in a jar with a tight fitting lid. You can use the mixture immediately, and it will last for months without refrigeration.

Method 2 - Rough chop cardamom seeds or pods and mix with sugar. Shake thoroughly and seal. Set mixture aside in a warm, dark place for a month or so, shaking every other day. Strain sugar and reserve the seeds. You can use the chopped seeds to make a couple of batches of sugar. If there's a gap between batches, store the seed starter in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.

You can find my Spice Sugar Recipe here: How to Make Spice Sugar