Swedish Almond Cake

My hubby brought home this quick, easy and delicious recipe for Swedish almond cake, (also known as Swedish visiting cake), from a patient he was doing physical therapy with years ago, and it quickly became one of my families favorite treats! This isn't a sickly sweet cake. It's very European with a slight crunch on the outside, but with a beautifully chewy center. It's fantastic as a snack cake, with a hot drink after dinner, or cut into pieces for an English type tea party! The Swedish actually have their own version of tea time which they refer to as Fika. Fika is traditionally a time set aside during the day when you take a break to socialize with a friend over coffee and a treat, so it would be a PERFECT time to serve this!

I'm pretty sure you probably have most of these ingredients on hand at any given time. They are all pantry staples at this house. The batter takes just minutes to mix together and get in the oven, so you can throw this in if you have unexpected guests and serve it up as a quick treat. I have definitely been known to double the recipe and make two at a time.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, (1 stick), melted

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp almond extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9" cake pan lightly with non-stick spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper, (or spray with the Bakers Joy non stick spray that contains flour.)

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time. Whisk in the almond extract, then whisk in the all purpose flour. Pour the batter in to the prepared cake pan and sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. (I run a very thin knife around the edge, flip on to one platter, then flip back on to another.) Let the cake cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving!