Scandinavian Almond Cake Recipe
Christy, Sinkology’s food-loving recipe blogger, is here to share some recipes she has created for the Sinkology blog that reflect our view of a copper sink: simple, timeless, affordable, and beautifully rustic.
It has been an incredibly busy summer as my family and I travelled over 7,000 miles by car in two months. First, we did a 4 week long road trip all over the Southwest of USA. We went to many National Parks such as Arches, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Mesa Verde to name a few. We actually did a Northwest road trip a couple years ago. Just when we thought we wouldn’t do any more road trips upon our return, my husband decided we hadn’t seen enough of Maryland (where we live) so we did day long road trips. We recently returned from a 4 day road trip down to Tennessee in part to see my parents but also to visit a few more state parks. I highly recommend everyone to get out and see our great country!
Needless to say, for someone who loves to bake and cook from scratch, eating out for 4 weeks straight made us miss home cooked food terribly. I definitely missed my kitchen and was anxious to start cooking upon our return. Except to my family’s surprise, that didn’t happen for another week. I was exhausted from all the traveling and didn’t have any desire to cook anything more than simple and quick recipes.
I bake often enough that my neighbors get something from me almost weekly to their delight. This summer, it’s safe to say they missed out on their baked treats. I immediately knew I would make the Scandinavian almond cake to give them since it is my go to recipe when I need a dessert in a pinch. Of course, it helps when I’m usually stocked on all the ingredients so no special trip to grocery store.
This simple yet rustic Scandinavian almond cake is perfect for any occasion. It is dense and moist with a hint of lemon and almond flavor. This is the kind of cake you can make at the last minute and practically requires no effort or crazy ingredients. It can be kept simple as is or dressed up with fresh fruit, ice cream or homemade whipped cream. And the best thing is that it is done in one bowl and less than 30 minutes.
Before I start cooking or baking, I always have my mise en place ready. Mise en place means to have all your ingredients prepared and ready to go before you start. This helps you streamline your process so it goes smoothly and efficiently. Preheat the oven 350 degrees.
Melt 1 stick of butter first (I use my microwave) and while it cools, grease and flour your pan. I used a 9″ tart pan with removable tray.
Add 1 cup of sugar in mixing bowl. I have both mixer stand and hand held mixer. I love using my hand held mixer for quicker jobs instead of hauling out my heavy professional Kitchenaide mixer.
Zest one lemon over the sugar in the bowl and stir to combine. Beat on medium speed, one egg at a time for a minute each. Add 1/4 salt, 1/2 tsp each both vanilla and almond extracts – beat to combine.
Add cooled melted butter and 1 cup of flour, beat on low speed to combine. Then scrape the sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula a few times to make sure the batter is mixed throughly.
Scrape the batter into prepared pan.
Smooth out the batter and sprinkle 1/2 cup sliced almonds evenly over the top of the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes in preheated oven until the cake is golden and toothpick inserted in the middle comes clean.
Serve as is or adorn with fresh fruit. I usually serve it plain with a dusting of powdered sugar along with fresh raspberries or strawberries. It is also delicious with ice cream or fresh homemade whipping cream.
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9" inch cake pan or tart pan, lightly shake out excess flour. Set aside.
- In mixer bowl, add sugar and zest of one lemon. Beat in eggs one at a time on medium speed for 2 minutes. Then add salt and both vanilla and almond extracts and beat till combined.
- Add flour and cooled melted butter - continue to beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until the batter comes together. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula and fold the batter a few times.
- Pour into prepared cake pan. Smooth the batter and then sprinkle the sliced almonds evenly on top of the batter.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted in middle comes clean and almonds are golden. If almonds are browning too quickly, loosely cover with foil.
- Let cool for few minutes in pan and then run a knife around the edge to loosen before removing.
- Serve warm or room temperature. Serves 8.