Swedish Almond Cake Recipe (2024)

By Dorie Greenspan

Swedish Almond Cake Recipe (1)

Total Time
1¼ hours, plus cooling
Rating
4(3,560)
Notes
Read community notes

Fika is the Swedish custom of stopping twice daily for coffee, conversation and a little something sweet; the word was created by flipping the two syllables in kaffe. Minutes after I had a fika in the Stockholm studio of the pastry chef Mia Ohrn, I started thinking about what I’d serve at my own first fika. This cake, so much easier to make than you’d guess by looking at it, has become my favorite. The recipe turns out a moist, buttery, tender cake, which would be lovely as is. But when the cake is half-baked, I cook a mixture of butter, sugar, flour and sliced almonds, spread it over the top (a homage to Sweden’s famous tosca cake), put the pan back in the oven and wait for the mixture to bubble, caramelize and create a shell that is a little chewy, a little crackly and very beautiful. It’s a perfect cake for fika, and great for brunch.

Featured in: The Perfect Cake for Your Coffee Break

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

    For the Cake

    • ½cup plus 6 tablespoons/200 grams unsalted butter, melted and lukewarm, plus more unmelted butter for greasing the pan
    • 2cups minus 2 tablespoons/240 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
    • 1teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼teaspoon fine sea salt
    • cups/250 grams granulated sugar
    • 2large eggs, at room temperature
    • cup/160 milliliters whole milk, lukewarm
    • 2teaspoons vanilla extract

    For the Topping

    • 7tablespoons/100 grams unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
    • ¾cup/75 grams sliced almonds
    • ½cup/100 grams granulated sugar
    • 2tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • 2tablespoons whole milk

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

747 calories; 49 grams fat; 28 grams saturated fat; 2 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 72 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 46 grams sugars; 8 grams protein; 153 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Swedish Almond Cake Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Make the cake: Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan (using solid, unmelted butter), and dust the interior with flour; tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

  2. Step

    2

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

  3. Working with a mixer (use a paddle attachment, if you have one), beat the sugar and eggs together on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, and gradually add the melted butter, followed by the milk and vanilla. (I like to pour the ingredients down the side of the bowl as the mixer is working.) Mix until the batter is smooth; it will have a lovely sheen. Decrease the speed to low, and gradually add the dry ingredients. When the flour mixture is almost fully incorporated, finish blending by stirring with a spatula. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

  4. Step

    4

    Slide the cake into the oven, and set your timer for 30 minutes.

  5. Step

    5

    As soon as the timer dings, start the topping (leaving the cake in the oven): In a medium saucepan, mix together all the topping ingredients. Place over medium-high heat and, stirring constantly, cook until you see a couple of bubbles around the edges. Lower the heat to medium, and cook, stirring nonstop, for 3 minutes. The mixture will thicken a little, and your spatula will leave tracks as you stir. Remove the pan from the heat.

  6. Step

    6

    Immediately take the cake out of the oven (leaving the oven on), and carefully pour the topping over the cake, nudging it gently with a spatula to cover the cake completely.

  7. Step

    7

    Return the cake to the oven, and bake for an additional 15 minutes (total baking time is about 50 minutes) or until the topping, which will bubble and seethe, is a beautiful golden brown and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack, and cool for 5 minutes. Carefully work a table knife between the side of the pan and the cake, gently pushing the cake away from the side (it’s a delicate job because the sticky topping isn’t yet set). Remove the sides of the pan, and let the cake come to room temperature on the base. When you’re ready to serve, lift the cake off the springform base and onto a platter.

Ratings

4

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3,560

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Wendy

Cate suggested using two timers. I like to use four timers: a third one to keep track of the total time elapsed for the first two timers, and then a fourth timer to keep track of the total time it took me to set the first three timers. Oh, and sometimes I set a fifth timer, just to remind me when it’s time to take another Xanax.

Cate

Hazardous variable is the time required to prepare the topping, which must be tracked and then subtracted from total cook time: it's easy to overcook the cake. Set two timers instead, one for 45 minutes for total cook time and one for 20 to begin fixing topping. Keep topping hot; add topping when cake timer shows 15 minutes remaining.

G&J

I'll likely anger the dessert purists, but I altered this cake to reduce sugar & butter and it's still delicious. I don't like super sweet desserts. Following the lead of others, I reduced the butter in the cake to a 1/2 cup, reduced the sugar to 1 cup, and used a mixture of almond and all-purpose flour. I also cut the butter and sugar in the topping by half. And you know what? The cake is perfect!!!! Probably one of the best cakes I've ever made, and I plan on making it again using my changes.

Krykos

Swedish fika does not have to include anything sweet at all. A couple of dry rusks will do, as will any sandwich. Coffee or tea isn't even needed. Fika really stands for a break with something to eat, even fruit or porridge. Whenyou are on the road you say 'when shall we stop for fika?'This cake is always called a Tosca cake. And it is perfectly okay to use 1/4 of the butter for the cake and less for the topping. For a stronger almond flavour I use almond extract for the cake.

susan

This cake is awesome - tender and just the right density. But agree the bake time is far too long. Remove cake after 18 minutes, pour on topping, then bake another 15-20 minutes. The top can get overly brown quickly, so tent with foil when you put it back in the oven.

Raindrop

What if you line it with parchment paper or foil, preferably two pieces, made high enough (if you have two, one piece would be long on the top and bottom, and the other piece would be long on the sides) so you can just lift it out, like brownies?

Margaret

30 minutes was too long before adding the topping. My cake was nearly done at this point, rounded out on top so the topping sloped down the sides. The cake was dry, however the flavor is good and next time I’ll cut back on the baking time.

Suzanne F

Watch out, NY Times Plum Torte! This could become my new go-to.

Cathleen Clements

This custom is Norwegian, as well. My mother and grandmother always stopped whatever they were doing for coffee and ... around 10 am and 3 pm.

michaela

The cake came out wonderfully fluffy, and the topping is nicely crackly and crunchy. Subbed 1 tsp. vanilla for equal amount almond extract. When I was mixing the wet ingredients, the batter broke and looked almost curdled—probably because I didn’t bother fully warming the eggs to room temp. It all came back together when I added the dry ingredients and the texture of the baked cake doesn’t seem to have suffered for it. Baked for 35 min pre-topping and another 20 min post-topping; it was perfect.

Beth

My Swedish grandmother makes this often and it's my favorite thing she makes! Although she definitely uses almond extract, not vanilla. I love the strong almond flavor of our family's recipe and would never want to dull it down! My grandmother has also always made it in an Rehrucken loaf pan as well, if you want to go authentic all the way :)

Edda

The cake came out beautifully with Bob's Red Mill 1 To 1 Baking Flour. I added an extra 1/4 tsp of baking powder to be safe and baked the cake in the lower 1/3 of the oven (that's at tip I picked up from a GF baking site). The oven was set to 350 degrees, but the actual temperature was more like 360 according to my oven thermometer. I followed the times specified in the recipe.

Nevin

I just made this in a regular cake pan, turned out great!

Shawn Huckaby

Breaking with the bizarrely popular tradition of people commenting on a recipe that they made no attempt to follow, I made this cake exactly as the recipe indicated, no timing changes, no bizarre substitutions. I just followed the recipe, and it was pretty wonderful. In fact I am considering moving to Sweden.Thanks, Dorie!

Jackie

Make sure the surface of the middle of the cake is set ( but not firm) before you spread the hot glaze on it. If it's too wobbly, the glaze will tear off the surface and slide to the sides or plop down the center of the cake. The recipe says set timer for 30 minutes and then glaze--ovens differ. I made it twice, and I waited 35 minutes on the second cake before glazing and it turned out much better! This is a scrumptious cake--enjoy!

Corinne

I adore this cake (although for some reason I have to cook it for at least five minutes longer than the original 30 minutes - and I have preheated the oven for hours). Anyway, my favorite use for this recipe is as a dessert, served with homemade whipped cream and sweetened raspberries.

Eddie

I find it obnoxious when recipes call for "sea salt" in baked goods like this. This is pretentious, elitist, and poses a barrier to folks who don't stock unneeded "premium" ingredients. There is no discernible difference between sea salt and regular table salt in something like this where everything is mixed together and baked.

Gratteciella

Made this with non dairy subs and in a 10” springform pan, and it was amazing. But I should have waited a little longer to add the topping, until the cake was more set.

Deborah

I altered the recipe and it was delicious. In the cake I, used only 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup sugar. I added 1.5 tsp of almond extract and .5 tsp vanilla extract. For the topping I used 5 tbsp butter and 1/4 cup sugar. It still had plenty ofsweetness to it, so I'm glad I made the changes. As written it would have been too sweet for me.

mari

A bit dry

Me

Bake to the time in the recipe.

Me

Added 1/4 tsp almond extract to cake batter

Amelia K

DO NOT listen to the comment that says take the cake out at 20 minutes. I listened to this advice and the topping sank to the bottom through the underbaked cake. Then, it looked as though the middle of the cake was raw, but it was the topping. Maybe my oven temperature is too low, which could be why the 20 minutes wasn't enough, but I would try this cake again and follow the author's bake times. Cake itswas super fluffy! I love almond so I substituted almond extract for vanilla and it was great.

Kate

Started the topping 10 min earlier than recipe says to. Put it on at 30 min

Vicki

It’s in the oven. I did it exactly as written. The almond topping immediately sunk as I poured it on. Hopefully this will taste better than it looks.

Barend

Is this 350 degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Sharon

Followed the directions, mostly, but it was very dry. I was out of baking powder so I used a baking powder hack (lemon juice and baking soda) that I found online. I thought I was being so clever. Maybe I'm just not a baker.

Linda M

Use G&j notes

Pete

Second time. Added almond extract - felt like it made the cake significantly better. Forgot to add the flour to the topping and thought I might as well try it. It ended up delicious - more like and almond toffee topping that was divine when the cake was warm. Thought it was better than the traditional topping. It hardens after a couple hours, but if you give the cake a light warming it is absolutely worth it.

MR

This is one of the best cakes I ever baked. Thanks you. I also used half the amount of sugar by weight.

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Swedish Almond Cake Recipe (2024)
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