My old school friend, Margaret Kelland needed a recipe for a Swedish cake. Looking through Signe Johansen’s Scandilicious Baking, I was reminded that ‘baking’ in Scandinavia mostly means biscuits, breads or sweet yeast cooking but not cakes. In the introduction to this cake, Signe Johansen calls it ‘one of Scandinavia’s most beloved cakes’ so it seemed an ideal choice. It is a shallow sponge which the buttermilk keeps light.
Pre heat oven to 170°C. Use a 23cm round springform cake tin that has been greased.
Sponge
3 eggs
150g caster sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of sea salt
75g butter, melted
75ml buttermilk
Praline
125g butter
125g light brown muscovado sugar
150g flaked almonds
50ml whole milk
1 flat tsp sea salt
½ tsp vanilla essence
Put the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk until pale. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl and add by degrees to the egg mixture alternating the dry ingredients with the melted butter, vanilla essence and buttermilk. Using a large metal spoon, fold the mixture until everything is incorporated.
Gently pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for about 25-30 minutes until the sponge is golden and firm to the touch. SJ advises that the cake should be tapped against a kitchen surface before putting it in the oven to ‘pop’ any big air bubbles.
Half way through the baking time, start to prepare the praline. Put all the ingredients into a medium saucepan and slowly bring the praline to a simmer, stirring all the while. Allow to simmer, continuing to stir, for about 3-4 minutes to thicken the mixture. Put to one side but keep warm.
When the sponge is cooked, take it from the oven and turn the oven temperature up to 220°C.
Leaving the cake in the tin, gently cover the top with the praline and then put the cake back into the oven for a further 5-10 minutes until the almonds are golden brown and the praline is bubbling.
Allow to cool slightly before running a knife round the edge and removing the cake from the tin.
This cake keeps well in an airtight container for several days.
