Orange Cardamom Bread is a warmly spiced loaf cake for fall that is packed full of citrus flavor! My well-known orange sugar is the key!
– 1 orange – 1 cup granulated sugar – 1 cup salted butter, at room temperature – 3 large eggs, at room temperature – 1 tsp vanilla extract – 1 ½ cups flour – ¼ cup cornstarch – 1 ½ tsp baking powder – 1 ½ tsp ground cardamom – 1 pinch salt – ½ cup buttermilk GLAZE – 1 ½ cups powdered sugar – 3 Tbsp orange juice to thin, start with 2 tablespoons and add more as necessary
HEAT oven to 350F. Before glazing and slicing, lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan and line it with parchment paper with long ends. Dry the orange. Used a vegetable peeler.
Serrated peelers work well. Remove the orange peel and little of the bitter white pith. Use a food processor to fully integrate orange peelings with sugar.
Process and pulse to break down any peel bits. The pale orange sugar is aromatic and moist like brown sugar. Avoid making orange sugar ahead of time.
In a stand mixer, blend orange sugar and butter for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. One egg at a time, beat until fully incorporated. Mix in vanilla and scrape bowl edges.
First add flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and cardamom to the mixer, then buttermilk. Don't overbeat when finishing by hand.
Evenly distribute the batter in the pan and bake on the middle rack for 55-60 minutes, or until fully risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Bread bakes differently in ovens and pans, so check early. After cooling for 10 minutes, take the bread from the pan using the parchment paper handles and place on a cooling rack.
Meanwhile, mix sugar and orange juice to produce a thick glaze. Glaze slightly warm or cold bread. Let the glaze set before slicing.