Cardamom Cream Cake

This is from NYT Cooking.

Ingredients

Ricotta Filling:

• 1½ lb whole-milk ricotta
• ½ C heavy cream
• ¾ C confectioners’ sugar
• 1 T rose water

Milk Syrup:

• 2 C whole milk
• 4 pods cardamom
• 6 T granulated sugar
• 1½ t rose water

Cake:

• 12 T unsalted butter, softened
• 3 C cake flour
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 C whole milk
• ½ t vanilla extract
• ½ t rose water
• 1½ C granulated sugar
• 1 T + 1 t baking powder
• ½ ground cardamom
• ¼ t fine sea salt

Mascarpone Frosting:

• 12 T unsalted butter, softened
• 1 C confectioners’ sugar
• 1 T rose water
• ½ t ground cardamom
• 1 C cold mascarpone
• ¼ C greek yogurt (cold)
• ½ C toasted pistachios, chopped
• candied rose petals

Instructions

Prep:

1. Drain ricotta in a sieve.

Milk syrup:

1. boil milk and cardamom pod and simmer until reduced by half (30-45m)
2. add sugar and simmer another 10m or so
3. cool, strain, add rose water

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F; grease, line with parchment, and dust with flour two 9” cake tins
2. Whisk egg whites, milk, vanilla, and rose water together
3. Mix the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom, and salt
4. Add the wet to the dry in four batches, mixing and scraping down in between
5. Add to the pans and bake until a tester comes out clean - 25-35m and cool

Filling:

1. Using an electric whisk, beat cheese, cream, and sugar until smooth, then add rose water and continue beating until slightly thickened

Milk Syrup:

1. With an electric mixer using the paddle, beat the butter, sugar, rose water, and cardamom until fluffy
2. Beat in the mascarpone and yogurt until combined

Combine

1. Trim the tops of the cakes until flat.
2. Divide cakes into 2 layers
3. Brush cake with milk syrup
4. Combine alternating cake and ricotta filling
5. Frost with mascarpone frosting and top