Cardamom Simple Syrup

Cardamom Simple Syrup is great for using in drinks like coffee, tea, cocktails, mocktails, and over desserts. It’s made with brown sugar and infused with the delicious floral spicy flavor of cardamom.

I’ve been going to all these coffee shops lately, and some of the creative shops have a luscious cardamom latte. I love that warm cardamom fragrance and that lingering almost lemony flavor in that you get in some of these drinks. Coffee is the perfect partner to cardamom.

So, I decided to try my hand at making my own. I wanted to use dark brown sugar for a deeper richer flavor, and man I’m so happy with the results of this syrup. When I first smelled this Cardamom Syrup, I knew I had something special.

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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

What Is Cardamom?

Cardamom is a spice made from the seed pods of various plants in the ginger family. So you have a hint as to the spicy nature of its flavor.

The pods contain little black seeds. But you don’t have to separate out the seeds from the hull of the pod; the entire cardamom pod can be used, whole or ground.

What does it taste like?

Cardamom is strong and pungent both in flavor and fragrance. It’s reminiscent of lemon or mint with complex, earthy, and bittersweet tones. It pairs well with autumn spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

It can be used in both sweet and savory dishes, and is common in Indian, Middle Eastern, Arabic, and Swedish cuisines.

The most common way most Americans have tried it is masala chai, Turkish coffee, or garam masala spice.

It’s really amazing! If you haven’t tried, it, please do yourself a favor and give it a go! I love it!

Other cardamom recipes

I absolutely love the flavor, and have some incredible ways to use it. Try these fragrant recipes:

Green cardamom

My recipe for syrup calls for green cardamom pods that you’ll crush to open the pod and release the seeds inside.

Green cardamom is the most common variety you’ll see sold in supermarkets. The pods are picked while they’re still green and then dried to make them brown. So, if you see a jar of brown pods at the store, that’s the one you want to get. You can also buy them on Amazon with my affiliate link.

How to Store Cardamom

It’s best to store cardamom as whole pods in a sealed container like a glass jar, in a cool, dry place. When stored properly, pods can last up to 2 to 3 years.

Ground cardamom should also be stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place, but will lose potency more quickly than whole, and should be used as soon as possible, up to eight to nine months.

Can I use ground cardamom?

Ideally, you want whole cardamom pods for this recipe.

Ground cardamom or cardamom powder won’t be as flavorful because the essential oils lose their flavor relatively quickly after the seeds are ground.

In addition, the whole pods make it easy to strain them out after steeping.

If you want to try using pre-ground, you’ll want about 1 & ½ teaspoons ground, and you may need to filter the simple syrup through a coffee filter or cheesecloth after making it to get all the powder out.

How to make

The full printable recipe ingredients and instructions are available in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Be sure to scroll down for that.

Place the cardamom pods of a piece of parchment paper, and break them open crushing them using the flat of a large chef’s knife or the bottom of a flat measuring cup.

Toast the crushed pods and seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes, shaking pan occasionally; immediately remove seeds from skillet to cool by pouring them back onto the parchment paper.

Place the water and sugar in a small saucepan on medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the toasted cardamom pods and little black seeds.

Continue to heat and stir the syrup until it starts to boil. Remove it from heat, cover, and let steep for about half an hour.

Pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer to remove the pods and seeds. Pour into a container or glass jar, and refrigerate.

Keep the jar tightly covered and store in the fridge for up to a month.

I find that the flavor deepens as it sits in the fridge overnight, so make it a day before if you can.

Can I use white granulated sugar?

Yes, feel free to swap the sugar in this recipe for granulated white sugar. The syrup will be more straightforward, have less color, and not be quite as rich and flavorful.

Maybe even try honey, raw sugar, demerara, turbinado, or your favorite sugar alternative.

Changes to the recipe

This syrup is fabulous nice and simple but there are some changes I can come up with. Besides changing the sweetener like we already talked about, here are some more ideas:

Mix in a teaspoon of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to the syrup after taking it off the heat.

Add in some citrus peel like orange or lemon while steeping.

Cinnamon stick or whole cloves would also be lovely, toss these in with the cardamom pods and steep and strain as directed.

Cardamom syrup uses

There are so many ways to use simple syrups, especially this cardamom one.

• Coffee: I developed this recipe to use in cardamom lattes. Use cardamom syrup for coffee to sweeten a cup of coffee. Find the amount you like, but anywhere from 2 tablespoons to 4 tablespoons of syrup to 12 ounces of coffee. Don’t forget to top it with cold foam.
• Tea: Make a simple masala chai by brewing black tea or a chai mix variety and adding some syrup.
• Cocktails: Make a cardamom simple syrup cocktail with bourbon, ginger, and peach juice. The flavors will go well with gin, orange (like Grand Marnier or Cointreau), clove, or honey.
• Other drinks: Try adding some to sweeten lemonade. Or make a simple mocktail with sparkling water and syrup. Try mixing cardamom Syrup, fresh blood orange juice, and orange sparkling water for a great mocktail.
• Desserts: add some as a glaze to baked goods like cakes, doughnuts, muffins, or cupcakes. Add a bit to cream before whipping it to make a fantastic dollop! It’s fantastic on top of a hot cocoa. Drizzle some over ice cream or sorbet (or mix it in before freezing the sorbet).
• Gifts: simple syrups make great gifts! Pour it into a pretty little glass jar and tie a nice ribbon around it.

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