Swedish Visiting Cake

I have been keeping my oven working almost daily. However, I have not been posting much of my bakes lately as I just find taking photos and uploading them such of a hassle. Not to mention I have also been slacking in updating my blog. ;(

This morning I visited my favourite foodblog " The Little TeoChew" and saw this very delicious looking muffins (photo from The Little Teochew....thanks Ju, your photography skill is a class above)

I just go to get my hands on them. After serving breakfast, I told my little girl that I must bake something. Showed her the post and she is in agreement that we need to have them on our table.

So, got out all the ingredients and this is what we got for tea!

Swedish Visiting Cake
(from The Little Teochew)
Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients :
- 1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling (I used 0.8 cup)
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used vanilla beans)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- About 1/4 cup sliced almonds (blanched or not) ( I used almond nibs)

Method :

• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (about 175 degrees celsius). Butter a seasoned 9-inch cast-iron skillet or other heavy ovenproof skillet, a 9-inch cake pan or even a pie pan.

* Like The LittleTeochew, I used a muffin tray

• Pour the sugar into a medium bowl. Add the zest and blend the zest and sugar together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Whisk in the salt and the extracts. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the flour. Finally, fold in the melted butter.
• Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Scatter the sliced almonds over the top and sprinkle with a little sugar. If you're using a cake or pie pan, place the pan on a baking sheet.
• Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it is golden and a little crisp on the outside; the inside will remain moist. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then run a thin knife around the sides and bottom of the cake to loosen it. You can serve the cake warm or cooled, directly from the skillet or turned out onto a serving plate.

The cake is delicious .. slightly crispy outside whilst the inside is soft.

However, being less of a sweet tooth, we find it a tad too sweet for us. So the next time I will further reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup.

Mine is square!