Lemon Rose Cardamom Cookie Cake

With a soft, chewy texture and bright flavor, this lemon rose cardamom cookie cake might be your new favorite springtime dessert. It's lightly sweet and aromatic, easily gluten-free adaptable with a tangy honey cream cheese frosting that brings it all together.

This easy, one-layer dessert is perfect for Easter, brunch, showers, Mother's Day, or anytime want something simple that feels special. Try it topped withhoney candied lemon slices, it feels a little fancy but so easy to love.

What Does Rose, Lemon, and Cardamom Taste Like Together?

The combination of citrus, warming spice, and aroma of rose provides a calming spa-like experience with each bite. Don't worry, the rose aroma and essence are very light, not like perfume! With the pink color hues, it's certainly a girly cookie cake. However, all the male testers loved the rose, lemon and cardamom flavors with the chewy texture!

Have you ever tried our 15 minute Lemon Rose Cheesecake Mousse? Refreshing lemon, rose and cardamom flavors are very common flavors in Middle Eastern and Indian Cuisines. According to a review by Athrinandan, et al, Ayurvedic medicine use rose and cardamom to aid digestion, alleviate stress, cool the body, and keep the body in balance. You have got to love a cookie cake dessert with hidden health benefits!

Ingredients You'll Need

Cookie Cake

• Flour - gluten free /regular all-purpose flour. We used King Arthur gluten free measure for measure flour.
• Butter - unsalted
• Granulated Sugar - just ¾ cup for the whole lemony cookie cake
• Brown Sugar -¼ to help with the chewy texture of the cookie cake. Light or dark - use what you have on hand.
• Rose water - You can find this ingredient at Middle Eastern markets, Indian markets or even online. We made ours from scratch by steeping organic rose tea buds and distilled water until the water turned pink with a delightful aroma. Try any leftovers in our delight Frambroise rose vinaigrette.
• Crushed Rose Tea Petals - Optional
• Cardamon - dried ground
• Lemon zest - gives that gorgeous citrus fresh flavor
• Salt - to balance the flavors
• Baking powder - to help the cookie rise. Be certain to use a gluten free brand, if you have a gluten intolerance.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Cream Cheese - regular full fat in a brick. Spreadable, whipped or reduced fat cream cheese will not work because it does not have the same texture. The frosting will be too loose to pipe.
• Honey - we used raw organic honey
• Rose water - to give the frosting a light floral aroma
• Lemon zest - gives it a pop of freshness
• Natural Coloring (optional) - We used powdered matcha green tea for the pale green piped leaves and a dried Pitaya red dragon fruit powder for a light pink base. You can use natural food gels or colorings as desired or just leave plain. It's all up to you.

Supplies

• 9-inch springform pan - is preferred because it is so easy to remove the cookie cake from the pan and a great way to transport and/or store the cookie cake after it is decorated. You can also use a cake pan lined with parchment paper that is a bit longer so you can grab the edges and pull the cookie out of the pan.
• Optional Pastry bag with tips for decorating.

Cookie Cake Garnishes (optional)

• Lemon zest and lemon peel curls
• Honey candied lemon slices
• Crushed rose petals and whole tea buds
• Piped rose lemon cream cheese frosting designs as desired.

How to Make a Soft & Chewy Cookie Cake

• Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cardamom (dry ingredients) together in a large bowl.
• Cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Then add egg, rose water, lemon zest and crushed rose petals and mix until combined. (wet ingredients)

• Carefully add a little of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time and mix. Don't over mix as this can make the lemon cookie cake tough.

• Press cookie dough into the bottom of the springform pan or lined cake dish.
• Bake at 350°F (176°C) for about 18 to 22 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown and center should be slightly soft. Don't overbake!
• Cool and decorate as desired.

Rose & Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (with Honey)

Unlike a traditional cream cheese frosting that is sweetened with icing sugar, this quick rose and lemon frosting is sweetened with raw honey. It's pipeable, spreadable and slightly sweet and tart. The frosting complements the lightly sweet and floral cookie cake. You can whip up the frosting in less than 5 minutes, and it lasts up to a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

It's totally optional but we tinted the rose and lemon cream cheese frosting pink with a little natural dried powdered red pitaya for the base. We used such a small amount that it did not add flavor, just a hint of pink.  You could also use a tiny bit of natural red food dye or gel.  We also took a small portion and tinted with powdered matcha green tea for the decorative piped leaves.

How to Decorate a Cookie Cake (Simple Spring Design)

This is where you get to have a little fun and create your own work of art. Your cookie cake is a blank canvas ready for your inner artist to shine through. Depending on your celebration, you may want to decorate it differently or pipe on birthday or congratulations on top of the rose cardamom dessert.

To celebrate the first week of spring, here is how we decorated our cookie cake.

• Add a thin layer of pink lemon and rose cream cheese frosting to the top of the cookie cake.
• Create a crescent layout by layering on the candied lemon slices, rose buds, crushed rose petals, lemon twirls, lemon zest.
• Decorate using a 224 pastry bag tip for small drop flowers and a 68 or small v tip for the leaves.

If you are not into that whole baking and decorating thing just skip it. Dust your frosted spring cookie cake with a few rose petals and a grating of lemon zest and call it a day.

Tips for the Perfect Cookie Cake Texture

• Use a 9-inch springform pan or lined round cake pan. This is the correct diameter to achieve the perfect thickness to the cookie cake. If the diameter is small, then the cookie will be too thick and not bake up properly. On the other hand, if the diameter is too large then the cookie cake will be too thin and cook unevenly.
• Don't overbake! Bake time is 18 to 22 minutes. Start checking on it at the 15-minute point. The secret to a chewy cookie cake is to underbake slightly and leave the heat of the pan cook it the rest of the way.
• Bake uncovered on the middle rack of the oven.
• The best guage for a proper bake is to remove from the oven when the edges of the cookie cake start to become golden brown, but the middle is still a little bit soft.
• Lower baking temperature and a shorter baking time are the secrets to that addictive chewy texture.
• Leave the cookie cake in the pan to cool completely.

Flavor Variations & Substitutions

• No Store-bought rose water? Make your own soe water by simmering organic dried rose buds in distilled water until the water is deeply pink and the aroma is floral. It's easy and ready in about 15 minutes. That is what we did and your house is going to smell amazing! You can also try exchanging with orange blossoms water, vanilla or even almond extract.
• No Cardamom? Mix equal amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg together. If you make the purchase of cardamom, you are going to love our honey cardamom melon sorbet this summer.
• Make it more lemon-forward by adding more lemon zest.
• Crushed almonds or crushed pistachios would be a fun addition to this lemon rose cardamom cookie cake.
• Gluten free option - substitute measure for measure or cup for cup gluten free flour for the all-purpose flour.
• Vegan - exchange the egg with one tablespoon of ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons of water. Substitute the cream cheese frosting with a lemon glaze frosting like we used in our blackberry lemon drop biscuits.

How to Store & Make Ahead

• The cookie cake dough can be made and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before baking.
• Rose & Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting with honey can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator in a covered container.
• Use a springform pan to bake, store and transport your cookie cake in. Replace the sides back to the springform pan after it is decorated. Cover with cling wrap and then aluminum foil (just because cling wrap sometimes does not seal well) to store and transport cake.
• Baked and frosted cookie cakes can be stored in the refrigerator covered up to 5 days or in the freezer in a sealed container for up to 2 months.

When to Serve

• Easter
• Mother's Day
• Spring Brunch
• Afternoon tea
• Baby and Bridal showers
• Birthday parties, graduation parties and more.

How to Serve

• Enjoy with coffee, tea, mimosas or even black sesame latte
• Serve with fresh fruits like strawberries, grapes or fresh pineapple.
• Add a dollop of coconut whipped cream or ice cream to take this dessert to the next level.