Toscakaka - Swedish almond caramel cake

As a Swede who bakes a lot, what I'm about to say next is a bit embarrassing.
I have never baked a toscakaka before.
Why, you wonder? I have no idea.
But now, I must say I'm very glad I finally did. Better late than never, right?
Not only is each slice a buttery, moist, fluffy, crunchy, caramelly piece of heaven, it's also incredibly easy to make.

I thought I'd come back (as you may have noticed, I haven't blogged in quite a while) with something really fancy, like a crazy layer cake or something, but I quickly realized that was way too ambitious for the state I'm in (Exhausted! Uninspired!).
Cause it's kind of hard to get back, so I thought I'd make something very easy without compromising flavor. It worked out well, I must say. I think I happily announced finishing my new book about four months ago? Forget I even said that. Still working on it!
While I'm working on finishing that book, you go right ahead and make this cake. Ok?








TOSCAKAKA -SWEDISH ALMOND CARAMEL CAKE
Serves 10

Recipe adapted from here

For the cake
100 g (1 scant stick) salted butter (if using unsalted, add 1/8 tsp salt to the batter)
2 eggs
2/3 cup (140 g) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla powder (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (120 g) all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp + 1 tsp (50 ml) milk or half & half

For the topping
100 g (1 scant stick) salted butter (if using unsalted, add 1/8 tsp salt to the topping)
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp (90 g) granulated sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp milk or half & half
100 g (about 1 cup) flaked almonds


Cake
1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F).
2. Grease a 23-24 cm (9 or 9.5-inch) cake pan with a removable bottom. Sprinkle pan with bread crumbs or flour, make sure you get some on the sides of the pan aswell.
3. Melt butter and let cool.
4. Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until very light in color and texture, about 2-3 minutes.
5. Mix flour and baking powder in a small bowl. Gently stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Add melted butter and milk and stir very gently until batter is smooth.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake is just set (to ensure it can hold up the topping). While the cake is baking, prepare the topping.

Topping
1. Put the butter, sugar, flour, milk and almonds in a saucepan and stir until everything is melted. The mixture should bubble and become slightly thicker which should take about 2-3 minutes. Make sure to stir continuously. Remove from heat.
2. When cake is done, remove it from the oven and spread topping over the cake.
3. Put the cake back in the oven, in middle/top position and bake for an additional 15-17 minutes or until top is golden and bubbling.
4. Let the cake cool in its pan for 10 minutes before sliding a knife around the edge and removing the sides. Let cool to room temperature. This cake is amazing on its own but it's not a bad thing serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...