This delicately flavored spaghetti squash cake is lightly scented with cardamom and drizzled with cool orange cream. You’ll love the flavors!
Spaghetti Squash Cake with Orange Cream
Before you decide that I’ve lost my mind by baking spaghetti squash into a light, delicate cake, hear me out.
Spaghetti squash has a beautifully complex flavor, and yet I’ve never been a big fan of eating it as a vegetable, so there’s always spaghetti squash leftovers at my house. And where some people see just leftovers, I see a baking challenge.
I theorized that the taste of spaghetti squash would go well with a touch of cardamom and drizzle of orange. I think I was right. This is one of my new favorite cakes, one that’s well worth taking the time to bake.
Treat yourself, and I think you’ll be surprised by how much you like it.
Tips for Making Spaghetti Squash Cake
- Make sure you prepare the pans so they don’t stick. I swear by Baker’s Joy—it makes releasing a snap. Or you can use softened butter and a dusting of flour.
- If you don’t have cooked spaghetti squash, you can use other kinds of cooked sweet squash, such as acorn or butternut.
- Grind your own green cardamom. It’s way less expensive than pre-ground cardamom, and it tastes better, too. I use Badia Organic Cardamom. It’s under $10, and a jar like this one will last for years.
Spaghetti Squash Cake with Orange Cream
This delicately flavored spaghetti squash cake is lightly scented with cardamom and drizzled with cool orange cream. You'll love the flavors!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 383 kcal
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 half cooked spaghetti squash
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 green cardamom pod
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Orange Cream
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
For the Cake
-
Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a 9 inch cake pan by buttering it and lining the bottom with parchment paper. (Or you may use a baking nonstick spray, like Baker's Joy.)
-
In a medium size bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and whisk thoroughly to combine. Set aside.
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Crack open the cardamom pod by crushing it under the flat of a heavy knife, then discard the green shell and collect the black seeds. Grind the seeds into a powder using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and the cardamom powder. Stir together to make cardamom sugar.
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Scrape the flesh out of the spaghetti squash. Place the squash and 2 tablespoons of cardamom sugar in a food processor, and process until you have a thick but smooth puree. Measure out one cup of the puree and set aside (this one cup is the amount you will use for the recipe- anything left in the food processor is just extra).
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In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter and the remaining cardamom sugar. Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixture until fluffy and light in color.
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Beat in the eggs one at a time until just combined. Stir in the vanilla. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the pureed squash (start with flour and end with squash), beating on low speed each time, until just combined. The batter will be quite thick.
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Scrape into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a rack.
For the Orange Cream
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Combine the sour cream, powdered sugar, and orange juice in a bowl and whisk until smooth. When the cake is completely cool and ready to serve, slice and drizzle with orange cream. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
Spaghetti Squash Cake with Orange Cream
Amount Per Serving
Calories 383
Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Cholesterol 78mg26%
Sodium 141mg6%
Potassium 166mg5%
Carbohydrates 55g18%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 30g33%
Protein 5g10%
Vitamin A 555IU11%
Vitamin C 3.1mg4%
Calcium 60mg6%
Iron 0.6mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Yup, spaghetti squash in a cake does make me take a pause, but when you think of it, we all bake with zucchini a lot so why not? I bet it’s delicious and love the cardamom and orange flavors going on.
Katie
It’s not too different than pumpkin in behavior, but with a more subtle flavor. I love it!
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer
Ahh, how creative!! I know what you mean about some people being freaked out. I have made a cake using fresh spinach, and cookies using avocados and sweet potato. They all turned out so tasty so I know your cake will be divine!
Katie
You have to send me the links for those! 🙂
Nutmeg Nanny
I love that you used spaghetti squash in this cake. I have only ever used it in savory dishes and never thought to use it for sweets. This cake looks so delicious!
Katie
It really is! It’s very delicate and has a wonderful scent and flavor.
Patricia @ Grab a Plate
Wow – love this idea! At first I was like, “huh?” but then I thought about adding zucchini to quick bread! What a great idea! This looks amazing!
Raleigh Magpali
I finally tried spaghetti squash for the first time this week. Now, I m am interested in trying different ways to prepare it. I never even thought about making it into a cake.
Laura
Hi, sounds like a great recipe to try but I don’t have cardamom and I am not familiar on how it tastes. But, I would think with orange perhaps nutmeg, cinnamon, or clove could work too? Thanks!
Katie
Cardamom is delightful, and in this recipe, so little is used that it’s very subtle- not going to overwhelm you even if you’re not used to it. But, if you don’t want to buy any, you can certainly add a touch of another spice. Just use a tiny pinch- any spice in this cake has to be very, very subtle or it will overwhelm the other flavors of the cake. Cardamom in pod form is relatively inexpensive (usually about $4 for a whole jar), and I’ve found it at my local Walmart, so if you do pick some up, it’s well worth adding to your baking spice collection. It makes great chai, and is wonderful in vanilla ice cream, too. Let me know how it goes either way! 🙂
Cindy
I’m a little confused, The recipe says to measure 1 cup of the spaghetti squash puree and set it off to the side. Then later in the instructions to alternate the dry ingredients with the pureed squash. Is it the 1 cup set off to the side, or what is left in the food processor? Could you please clarify. Thanks!
Katie
Hi Cindy! Sorry for the confusion. You use the 1 cup set off to the side alternated with the dry ingredients. What is left in the food processor is just leftovers, not used for this recipe. I will go in shortly and add some wording to the recipe to make this clear. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Cindy
Thank you for sending a rapid reply! I’m not sure where to find green cardamom pods, but I have a few places that might carry it. Should I not locate it, can ground cardamom be used, and if so, how much?
Katie
My pleasure! I love to help out.
My Walmart has them. Also Publix, and sometimes World Market (aka Cost Plus Market). Whole Foods is probably a good bet, too. I buy the pods because it’s so much cheaper to buy pods and grind up the seeds than to buy the preground powder. Plus the taste is fresher. But if you get powder, you just need a little pinch.
Kathy
This is great! My spaghetti squash is just now coming in – and yes! Why not spaghetti squash?
Katie
I was just thinking about this cake yesterday! Time to make one, I think. 🙂
MSUEH
Recipe directions state to use a 9″ cake pan, but the cake in the photo appears to have been made using a bundt pan. Is that so, or does it just rise that much? What might be the difference in baking time/temp when using a bundt pan? I can figure it out, but it might be nice for beginner bakers to have clearer directions. 🙂
(PS: the cardamom has me drooling already, and I have a spaghetti squash I need to use before the dog eats it! ;-p )
Katie Moseman
It’s a 9 inch cake pan. The cake just rises a lot, and makes a rather tall, domed top. If it were me, and I decided to try a bundt pan, I would stick with the same temperature, and start checking with a toothpick/cake tester after 45 minutes. I haven’t made it in a bundt pan before, so I can’t say for sure, but I would just keep on checking every 5 minutes or so after the 45 minute mark. Hope that helps! I will see if I can clarify the instructions a bit about the rise. Good luck!
MSUEH
Wow- Speedy Gonzales you are! Thanks. It’s just about getting cool enough to turn on the oven 🙂
Robin
How much cup wise is half a spaghetti squash?
Katie Moseman
Good question. I’ve never measured that, because half a spaghetti squash always yields more than the 1 cup of pureed squash needed for the recipe. So, technically speaking, you don’t need to measure out the un-pureed squash. I just throw all of it in and then scoop out 1 cup of puree once it’s blended. (This recipe originated with me trying to use up leftovers.)
However, I would guess that half of an average-sized cooked spaghetti squash yields at least 2 cups of “spaghetti” strands, maybe 2 1/2. And of course, you probably need less than that to blend down to just 1 cup. Next time I make one of these cakes, I’ll measure the input of squash and add it to the recipe.
T. Taylor
How would you suggest baking this if I want to make cupcakes instead?
Katie Moseman
Line a cupcake pan with liners, and fill each about 2/3 full. Follow same temperature instructions, but start checking them after 15 minutes. Cupcakes usually take 15-25 minutes, depending on size, but I haven’t baked this cake as cupcakes before, so I can’t be precisely sure how long or how many cupcakes it will yield. At least a dozen, probably more.
Sat
Loved it! Thank you for a great recipe! My kids won’t even know it’s got healthy stuff inside!
Katie Moseman
So glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorites.
Rachel
How much already ground cardamon would you use?
Katie Moseman
A little less than 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom. (Technically it’s about 1/6 teaspoon.)
Cristina
It sounds really good, and I’m definitely going to make it, but I have one question before I do. How much is “one half cooked spaghetti squash” by weight or volume? Not all squashes are the same, and the one I have right now is smaller than average. Thank you!
Katie Moseman
Hi Cristina! I wish I had an exact answer for you, but the truth is I’ve made this with several different squashes over the years and I just used half of the cooked squash regardless of the size. I suspect that a bit of variation in the amount of squash will not affect the recipe too much. Next time I make this, I’ll keep a record of how many cups I use so the amount can be standardized.