Before I start all the ingredients were at room temperature.

Soak saffron in milk for 3-4 hours, keep it covered.

Make a coarse powder of cardamom seeds using your mortar-pestle, discard the green pods.

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Grease a 2.4 litre Bundt cake pan (I used my Nordic ware Heritage Bundt pan here) using a pastry brush with melted butter. Or, use a lecithin free baking spray. Make it sure to coat all the nooks in the pan, this ensures an easy release for the cake with the sharp design intact. If you’re not using a Bundt pan, then use a 10” cake pan by greasing with butter and place a piece of baking paper at the bottom of the pan.

In a bowl, sift all-purpose flour and baking powder. Add salt and cardamom powder, mix well and keep aside.

In another bowl, add cream cheese and butter, now start whisking until smooth at low speed using your electronic hand mixer or stand mixer whatever you have, don’t overbeat. 

Add sugar in two batches, whisk on until mixed well. In this add the eggs one by one. Add one at a time and keep whisking. 

Now add flour mixture in 3 batches, whisk well. 

 Add saffron milk and rose water next, keep whisking until smooth batter forms, care should be taken on not to overbeat the batter.

Add on chopped pistachio, mix gently with a spatula.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan (read note). Tap cake pan gently on the kitchen counter couple of times to release the air bubbles. Bake for 60 minutes. 

Insert a sharp knife in the middle of the cake. The cake is ready if the knife comes out clean. If not, bake for some more time, and then check again. 

Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes and then invert the cake gently onto a cooling rack. Let the Saffron Pistachio Pound Cake cooled completely before slicing.