Cupcake 11 - Cardamom Plum Cupcakes with Cardamom Cream

I have a slight obsession with cardamom. Primarily cakes and cookies with cardamom catch my eye. I regularly bake a holiday cookie with cardamom. And I always make sure my cardamom stash is fresh. But I don't actually like it. I mean, its okay, a little goes a long way, both in a recipe and for my consumption. I was reading an article recently on kitchen design, "design your kitchen for who you are, not for who you want to be." I want to like cardamom, maybe because its exotic, but I don't really. I doubt I will ever develop more than a passing taste for it. But I digress.... these cupcakes are exactly what I planned, moist, fragrant, spicy. The flavor is out in front, no subtle punches, no middle ground.

Cupcakes
I added 2 T of ground cardamom to my standard yellow cake recipe, and added 1 c of pureed plums to the mix.

Frosting
1 stick butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3 t cardamom
pinch of salt
3 1/2 c confectioners sugar
2 T cream

Cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, add cardamom, mix well. Add confectioners sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides. Add cream and beat 3-4 minutes.