recipe

Orange Cardamom Rolls

Orange Cardamom Rolls recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. Recipe adapted from food52. Simple twists of dough filled with cardamom, orange zest, and cinnamon. These are topped with a cream cheese icing/ frosting / glaze. These can be re warmed and made ahead. These Buns are easy to twist and I'll show you how to roll them on thewoodandspoon.com . Breakfast idea, brunch idea, Christmas breakfast, holiday breakfast, cinnamon rolls buns, recipes using cardamom.

So what’s on your Christmas list? A bike? A record player? New running shoes or a spiralizer? Maybe you’re ready to test the murky waters of mom jeans and lace-up shirts, or perhaps you’re simply looking to expand your collection of baking essentials.

Christmas in our house has changed quite a bit since we’ve had babies. My shopping time this year was spent hunting for water resistant bibs and hooded towels big enough to cover the hind parts of my extra fluffy toddler. Gone are the days where I would shop out my lengthy list of J.Crew sweaters and concert tickets and Kate Spade totes. This year, I didn’t need or ask for anything specific, but for fun, I decided to make up a wish list of random intangibles- my grown up Christmas list. These are items that are in no way achievable, but still super fun to dream about. Don’t judge me, but feel free to make up your own as we go along. 

Orange Cardamom Rolls

MY GROWN UP CHRISTMAS LIST

  1. Sleep.- and not just a night of 8 or 9 solid hours either. I want a week’s worth of sleep completely undisturbed from the baby monitor or my husband tossing about next to me. I want to lay in bed in the morning for an extra hour or two and not think about unloading the dryer or going to work or whether or not I’m going to start leaking milk from every orifice of my body. Basically I want permission to sleep and be lazy.

  2. Bake with Ina Garten and Taylor Swift. Have I talked about this dream too much already? In my wildest fantasies, I’m chilling in the Hamptons, drinking French wine with Jeffery. Taylor is in the corner wearing a cat sweater and playing the “1989” album. She tells me all about what happened with Harry Styles and invites me to spend the next July 4th at her place in Rhode Island. Later, Ina teaches me how to roast chicken and we laugh at the peasants who can’t afford Nielsen-Massey vanilla. Is that obnoxious? Sorry. 
  3. Hair. Did you know that pregnancy hormones do weird things? Did you know sometimes hormones can cause you to lose hair? Did you know that sometimes all of that hair loss is focused in one specific area in your hairline and that it can even make you kinda look like you’re balding? Well, if Santa doesn’t bring me some hair or at least a phone number for Beyonce’s wig person, I’m going to be in serious trouble.
  4. I’m not sure what it’s called, but I want that disease where you can eat a lot and never have to work out. I want to eat chips and drink beer and put extra frosting on my cookies and not worry about that annoying pillow of fat that hangs out where my butt meets the back of my thigh. I don’t want to do another box jump or lunge, but I also want to be considered for Blake Lively’s body double if she ever films a sequel to “The Shallows.” Is that too much to ask?
  5. Adele’s singing skills. I want people to hear her voice on the radio and be like, “Hmm, I’m not sure, but that actually might be Kate Wood.” 
  6. Take a DeLorean time hop back to 1985 and watch a Queen concert. Maybe I could pick up my husband (he would have been in Kindergarten at the time) and he could go with me? That’s a weird item for a wish list, isn’t it? Don’t judge. 
  7. Orange cardamom rolls.

Orange Cardamom RollsOrange Cardamom Rolls

Yeah, yeah, that list is ridiculous and unrealistic. But! You can totally achieve that last item. Because today, I’m sharing this recipe for orange cardamom rolls. 

This recipe was adapted from Posie Harwood who writes a number of terrifically inspired posts both for her blog and on behalf of Food52. Her cardamom rolls have been on my radar for a while, and when I finally had a chance to make them a few weeks ago, I was tremendously pleased with the results. Out of the oven, these orange cardamom rolls are fluffy, fragrant, and perfect with a cup of coffee. I topped them with an orange zest glaze which sweetens up the knots of dough and makes them irresistible to look at. 

These orange cardamom rolls start out similar to cinnamon rolls– a yeast dough sweetened with sugar and moistened up with eggs and butter. The dough rises for a short time before a cinnamon sugar schmear is slathered all over and folded inside the rolled out sheets of dough. A few loops and twists transforms thin slices of dough into pillowed swirls of soft and chewy bread that tastes as delicious straight from the oven as they do heated up the next morning.

Orange cardamom rolls look elegant, and feel special- a perfect treat to wrap up for someone you love or to serve to family and guests on Christmas morning. I photographed these rolls on a cake stand because they were so beautiful and what is a birthday without a cake of some sort! So HBD, Jesus! This one’s for you!

Orange Cardamom Rolls

I hope you all have a merry week celebrating Christmas or just spending time with your family and friends. Make these orange cardamom rolls for Christmas breakfast and maybe even take time to come up with your own grown up Christmas list. I hope you all won’t completely judge me for mine, but if you happen to have any resources to make my wishes come true, you know who to call. Kidding…. but really. 

 

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Orange Cardamom Rolls

These orange cardamom rolls are fluffy knots of sweetened dough, lightly spiced with cardamom and a cinnamon sugar filling, and topped with a zesty orange glaze.

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 90
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: 24

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 1cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 12 ounces evaporated milk
  • 2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons (2 packages) active dry yeast
  • 7 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened but not melted
  • 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sugar

For the glaze

  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cream or whole milk
  • Zest of 1 medium orange

Instructions

To prepare the dough

  1. Combine the sugar, cardamom, butter, evaporated milk, and salt in a medium sized saucepan, and, stirring occasionally, heat over medium heat until the butter has just barely melted. Remove from the burner and allow to cool to warm.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and allow to dissolve. You can gently stir it after a few minutes if not all of the yeast has been dissolved. Once dissolved, add 3 cups of flour, the sour cream, eggs, and warm butter mixture to the yeast. Stir until well combined and then begin to the remaining flour while mixing on low speed. You may only need about 6-1/2 cups of flour total, or as much as 7-1/2 cups, but add it until the dough is able to pull away from the walls of the stand mixer. It will still be quite sticky, even sticking to unfloured fingers quite easily, but be sure to not add too much flour as this can make the rolls tough. Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough for 4 minutes on medium speed.
  3. Grease a large bowl with cooking spray, butter, or oil, and place the dough in there, covered tightly with plastic wrap. Allow it to rest for about 1-1/2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size. If the dough is not growing after about an hour, be sure your bowl is in a warm, draft-free spot in your kitchen.
  4. Once doubled in size, prepare the cinnamon filling by combining the butter, cinnamon, and sugar in a small bowl by smooshing it into a paste with the back of a fork or a rubber spatula. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 sheet pans lined with parchment paper.
  5. Sprinkling a good bit of flour on your work surface for rolling the dough and then remove half of the dough from the bowl. Roll it out into a rectangle approximately 9″x20″, adding small bits of flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to the surface or the pin. Spread half of the filling evenly on the dough leaving a 1″ border around the perimeter of the rectangle. Fold the dough in half lengthwise to form a 9″x10″ square and roll or pat it out to thin the folded dough a bit. Using a sharp knife, cut 1/2″ strips of dough (approximately 12 total). Take one strip of dough and wrap it around your index and middle finger twice. Remove the double loop from your fingers and tuck both ends of the dough back through the center loop to form a bit of a twisted knot. Place each knot on the prepared sheet about two inches apart, being sure to keep the loose ends on the underside of the bun. Repeat this entire process with the second half of dough and then cover both sheet pans with plastic wrap to rest for about 15 minutes. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool while you prepare the glaze.

To prepare the glaze

  1. Using a whisk, combine all ingredients in a medium sides bowl, stirring until it is uniform in consistency. You can warm it for about 10 seconds in the microwave to make a more pourable glaze, or add a teaspoon or two of cream to thin it out. Drizzle the glaze over your warm or cooled rolls and enjoy!

Notes

 

  • Rolls are best eaten on the day they’re made but will keep up to three days. Rolls are best eaten slightly warm.
  • The glaze prepared as the recipe has written will set up to be slightly firm at room temperature. If you add more liquid to it it is likely the glaze will remain sticky and wet even after sitting for some time.

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Recipe Adapted From: Posie Harwood

Lemon Almond Poppyseed Bundt Cake

Lemon Almond Poppyseed Bundt Cake Recipe Recipe by the wood and spoon blog by kate wood. This is a simple, fluffy, golden and white almond cake speckled with poppyseed and lemon zest and juice. The cake is spongy and perfect for breakfast or dessert. The whole thing is topped with a simple sugar glaze icing and slivered almonds. Find this springtime bundt cake recipe on thewoodandspoon.com.

We have officially survived one whole week at home with two children under two. I’m thrilled to announce that last Saturday, after a very long feeling 10 days, we were able to bring baby George home from the NICU. Pulling into the driveway with our little guy in the backseat felt surreal, and I was relieved to have my baby home, healthy, and unplugged from all the machines and wires he was connected to during his stay in the hospital.

Once home, our first order of business was to introduce George to his big sister, Aimee. I’ll be sure to share photos of that exchange later because it was really just so sweet. Aimee has been a dream with George, and while she sometimes has the tendency to love him a little too hard (read: squish/ smother/ trample him in every way possible), her affection for him is an answer to prayer and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Lemon Almond Poppyseed Bundt Cake Recipe
Can I tell you one of my favorite parts about bringing a baby home… and please don’t judge me?
I really like the food. Yes, the food.
I’m not sure if bringing a meal is a thing people do everywhere or if it’s just another one of the awesome ways that Southerners dominate in the field of hospitality, but where we live, if you have a baby people will bring you meals. It’s an excellent deal for us, if you ask me.
Let me be clear: I would not survive without the carbs and generosity from our friends here in Selma. What’s that saying about, “Man cannot live on bread alone?” Well, we probably wouldn’t even have bread in the house by now if it weren’t for all the croissants and Sister Shubert rolls that people have been dropping by our house. It’s magical.
Since this is our second go-around with the having a baby thing, I’m starting to develop a mental list of recipes I’d like to keep in my arsenal to potentially share with friends when they have babies. The recipe for this lemon almond poppyseed bundt cake is definitely one that I am mentally bookmarking. Bundt cakes, in my opinion, are terrific because they easily pass as a dessert, but also make a convincing argument in the breakfast department too. This lemon almond poppyseed bundt is no exception. It’s sweet, light, and fluffy like you would expect of any respectable cake, but its fragrant lemon and almond aromas and the little speckles of poppyseeds somehow remind me of a breakfast loaf that you might enjoy with a strong cup of coffee early in the morning. And because we all know that new parents operate on adrenaline and caffeine, this cake is a shoo-in gift for new parents.
Lemon Almond Poppyseed Bundt Cake Recipe
A while back, my friend Lauren asked me to work on a lemon poppyseed cake recipe and after several tries and errors, this cake was the ultimate product. I have baked this batter in round cake pans and I’m pleased to announce that it works just as splendidly. While I haven’t tried this recipe in a 9″x13″ pan, I feel confident that it would bake up well and would be terrific  with the almondy glaze poured right over top of the warm cake.
If you don’t know any new parents that you can share this lemon almond poppyseed bundt cake with, let me recommend weekend brunch, housewarming parties, bridal luncheons, church picnics, and whatever other events your social calendar has to boast as the perfect opportunity to test out this recipe. Bundt cakes are versatile and almost always appropriate to bring as a special treat for sharing.
Lemon Almond Poppyseed Bundt Cake Recipe
So give this lemon almond poppyseed bundt cake a try and bless someone this week with the gift of food. Everyone loves a thoughtful friend, and friends who bring food are always invited back. And to all of our friends and family who have dropped by to share a meal: YOU ARE ANGELS. My thighs won’t thank you later, but our family is grateful for your love and generosity.
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Lemon Almond Poppyseed Bundt Cake

A light, sweet, and fluffy bundt cake scented with almonds, lemon, and little speckles of poppyseeds. This is the perfect cake to share or gift your friends and family!

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 21/4 cups cake flour
  • 13/4 cups sugar
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 11/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, but not warm
  • 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons lemon extract
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 3 egg whites, room temperature
  • 2 whole eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
  • 2 tablespoons poppyseeds

For the glaze

  • Juice and zest of two lemons
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of melted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 3 tablespoons of milk milk

Instructions

To prepare cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray or grease lightly.
  2. Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed for one minute until thoroughly mixed. While stirring on low speed, add small cubes of butter, one at a time, until all 1-1/2 sticks have been added. Continue to mix on low speed for another 1-2 minutes until butter is uniformly dispersed in the dry ingredients.
  3. Meanwhile, combine the buttermilk, extracts, and lemon juice in a measuring cup and pour this into the stand mixer bowl, reserving 1/3 cup of the mixture. Beat on medium speed for two minutes until smooth and uniform. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the remaining milk mixture while mixing on low speed. Slowly pour in the egg whites and eggs, increasing the speed back to medium. Beat for another two minutes, scraping the bowl as needed to ensure that all of the batter is uniform. Add the lemon zest and poppyseeds and mix on low until combined, about thirty seconds.
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until the center of the cake is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan on a cooling rack.

To prepare the glaze

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk. If the consistency is too thin, allow to set out briefly or add additional powdered sugar. Add additional milk if the glaze is too thick. Drizzle over the top of the cooled cake.

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Honey Oat Bread

Honey Oat Bread Recipe by The Wood and Spoon Blog by Kate Wood. This is a simple, delicious, and healthy homemade sandwich bread that is sweetened with honey and has old fashioned or quick oats in there. It's a soft, white, chewy bread that makes two loaves. Find the recipe for this simple yeast bread on thewoodandspoon.com

This time last week, I was very pregnant. 37 weeks, large and in charge, swollen feet, hot flashy… pregnant.

This time last week, I had plans to get a mani/pedi, finish the baby’s nursery, and type up a few blog posts before my maternity leave.

This time last week, unbeknownst to me, I was very much so in labor.

Birth Photography Dreamtown Co

I am overjoyed to announce that last Wednesday, May 11th, at 1:52 pm, Brett and I welcomed a baby boy into the world. At 6 pounds and 10 ounces, 19 inches, and a shade that would be best defined as mauve, our son, a few weeks early, took his first breaths of this world’s air.

Birth Photography Dreamtown Co

Birth Photography Dreamtown Co

I don’t know if I believe in love at first site, but I will tell you that there is nothing quite like holding your newborn child for the first time. The sight of a tiny person made up of your own flesh and blood provides a rush of emotional adrenaline that is the perfect mix of exhaustion, joy, and heart explosion. We still hadn’t picked a name, but after he was taken away to be cleaned up, Brett and I settled on George Ellis Wood. George, a nod to Brett’s grandfather and uncle, and Ellis, which means “mouthpiece of God” and “the Lord is my God”, was chosen after a few minutes of deliberation, and week into his golden little life, I will tell you I couldn’t be more excited about our choice.

Birth Photography Dreamtown Co

George experienced some difficulty breathing almost immediately, and after a few hours of observation by our pediatrician, it was decided that he would require treatment at a facility about an hour away. After being held by his mama only once, George was whisked away by ambulance and I was left to recover in my original hospital room, completely overwhelmed by the day’s events.

Fast forward to today.

George is still in the NICU, but he’s doing splendidly and getting closer and closer to breathing on his own. I’ve held him three times since then (4 if you count holding hands), and every time feels like the first.

Birth Photography Dreamtown Co

Birth Photography Dreamtown Co

When unexpected things happen, it’s easy for me to become overwhelmed, ask “why?”, and to question God’s sovereignty in my life. This past week, however, has been a uniquely different experience.  While overwhelming at times, we have been supported and covered in prayer in a way unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. We’ve been on the receiving end of hundreds of calls, texts, and hugs, and I feel so at ease and peace with leaving our son in the care of his medical team. I’ve seen answers to prayers and evidence of God’s action over the course of this week, and instead of “why?”, I’m just really grateful to have a little baby’s hand to hold. We’re not home yet, but baby George is doing well and that’s all I could hope for at this point. If you have been joining us in prayer- thank you. You have given us the greatest gift you have to give. 

Birth Photography Dreamtown Co

Also, can we take about these photos? My best friend, Jesse, of Dreamtown Co. flew to Alabama the morning I went into labor. Friends that will cancel their entire week of plans to hold your sweaty hand while you push a baby out are a rare commodity. She’s a terrific lady with photography skills to boot, so check out her site here. Also, as you can see, she’s a babe. 

Birth Photography Dreamtown Co

And ok, I know what you’re thinking: “Um, hello, where’s the food? Where’s the recipes” 

I couldn’t agree more.

Honey Oat Bread Recipe

Today I’m sharing with you my recipe for honey oat bread. As luck would have it, I baked several loaves to store in our deep freezer just three days before baby George decided to wiggle in to the world. It’s a good thing too because we would all be lost without this bread. Jesse, who stayed at my house while I was in overseeing George at the hospital, texted me asking, “WHERE IS THIS BREAD FROM, I’VE EATEN THREE SLICES ALREADY?!”

I was proud to tell her that I was the one responsible.

Honey Oat Bread Recipe

In creating honey oat bread, I started with my no fail whole wheat sandwich bread recipe and then modified it a bit to include oats and honey. It’s not 100% whole wheat, but the extra gluten from the all purpose flour makes it soft and chewy which is perfect at breakfast time under a shmear of peanut butter or jam. I highly recommend this bread toasted with salted butter and honey or a little cinnamon and sugar. I also highly recommend making multiple loaves at a time and cramming them in your freezer in case you happen to go into labor unexpectedly. 

Honey Oat Bread Recipe

Please continue to love on little George. It makes my mama heart glow. And happy bread baking!

 

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Honey Oat Bread

This honey oat bread is light, fluffy, and slightly chewy. I recommend toasting and serving warm!

  • Author: Kate Wood
  • Prep Time: 90
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup warm (but not too hot) water
  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 1/4 cup milk (I use 2%), room temperature
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil
  • 1 cup quick cook oats, plus more for sprinkling on top of loaf
  • 5 (or more) cups of all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons cream

Instructions

  1. Pour water in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer,and sprinkle the yeast over top of it. Allow to sit for 5 minutes while yeast dissolves and activates.
  2. Meanwhile, combine milk, honey, and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the activated yeast water and stir until combined.
  3. Add the oats, 1 cup of the flour, and the salt and stir until loosely combined. Add the remaining 4 cups of flour and mix until combined.
  4. Using the dough hook attachment on the stand mixer, or by hand, knead the shaggy dough together until a soft ball of dough is formed. Add additional flour 2 tablespoons at a time if it remains too wet, however, keep in mind, this is a fairly moist bread dough. When finished, it should feel tacky to the touch and won’t be completely smooth because of the oats. I knead for 3-4 minutes on low speed on my stand mixer.
  5. Place dough ball into a large, lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise in a slightly warm environment for about 1-1/2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
  6. Once doubled, dump dough out on to a floured surface and separate in to two equal pieces. Form dough into a loaf shape and place each piece in its own lightly greased bread pan (8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ x 2 3/4″).
  7. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cover bread pans with dough inside with plastic wrap and allow to rise for a second time, about 1- 1-1/2 hours, or just until the dome of the bread has risen one inch above the lip of the pan.
  8. Lightly brush the top of bread with cream and sprinkle with remaining oats. Place in the oven and immediately lower heat to 375 degrees. Bake in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until the top is a light golden brown.
  9. Allow to cool for ten minutes inside the pan on a cooling rack, then remove from pan and cool completely before packaging.

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