Swedish Visiting Cake

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350F. Butter and line a 9x9 baking pan with parchment paper. The parchment paper is only necessary if you want to lift out the cake for neater slicing.

Step 2

Put the egg whites in a medium bowl and break them up a little with a fork. Add the extract and powdered sugar and blend together. The mixture will be lumpy. Gently stir in the almonds, and mix well, taking care not to break the almonds. Set aside.

Step 3

In a large mixing bowl whisk the sugar, eggs, extracts and salt together until pale and slightly thickened. This will take a bit of elbow grease and a good couple of minutes.

Step 4

Using a silicone spatula fold in the flour. Then fold in the melted and cooled butter until the batter is homogenous and smooth. Turn the batter into your prepared pan.

Step 5

Top the batter with the almond topping. I use my fingers and drop small bits all over the surface of the batter to more easily distribute it. Smooth it down with an offset spatula and spread to the edges and corners.

Step 6

Bake in the center of the oven for 28-32 minutes. The top will turn golden and the center may still be slightly soft. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out without obvious wet batter on it. Do not over bake this cake.

Step 7

Let your Swedish visiting cake cool for about 15-20 minutes before lifting it out using the parchment paper to cool completely on a rack.

Step 8

Dust generoulsy with powdered sugar and slice just before serving. You can also serve with whipped cream and berries if you like.