orange cardamom sour cream cake

Have been dying to try this recipe from the new Malouf cookbook. Ticked all my boxes, spices, zest and cream, and here it is in the kitchen still warm from the oven, moist with syrup and served with a dollop of creme fraiche ooh la la!

ORANGE CARDAMOM SOUR CREAM CAKE
CAKE
130g soft unsalted butter
200g caster sugar
zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
225g plain flour
1 tsp cardamom seeds, finely ground and sieved
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
200mls sour cream
SYRUP
juice of 1 orange and 1/2 lemon
3 tbsps Cointreau
3 tbsps caster sugar
6 cardamom pods, cracked
1 cinnamon stick
Preheat oven to 170C.  Butter and line a 23cm springform cake tin.
Cream the butter and sugar until pale, then add zest and vanilla extract.
Beat in eggs one at a time until well incorporated.
Sift flour, cardamom, baking powder and salt and add to the batter, alternating with the sour cream, mixing well after each addition.
Pour into baking tin and bake for 45-60 minutes until the cake is springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
While the cake is cooking make the syrup. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently so that the sugar dissoves and then simmer for a few minutes. Strain and discard the cardamom and cinnamon.
As soon as the cake is out of the oven, pierce the top all over with the skewer and pour over the syrup. Try to ensure it is soaked up evenly. Place the tin on a wire rack and leave it to cool completely before releasing from the tin.

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon, or not at all. Harriet van Horn.