pear toscakaka
crunchy almond topping, pear & cardamom sponge cake
toscakaka is a beloved swedish cake with this incredible crispy almond topping
the crunchy almond topping is baked directly onto the cake and takes an immense amount of self control not to pick it off bit by bit while waiting for the cake to cool
the addition of pears and cardamom is not traditional, but i love the flavours together!
yields eight small slices
ingredients
pear & cardamom cake
50g butter
40mL milk
1 egg
65g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
65g plain flour
0.5 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp ground cardamom
pinch salt
1 pear, peeled and sliced
crunchy almond topping
50g butter
40g caster sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp milk
50g flaked almonds
generous pinch salt
method
pear & cardamom cake
preheat the oven to 180°C
line a 15cm cake tin with baking paper
add the butter (50g) to a small saucepan over medium-high heat to brown
once the butter begins to brown, pour in the milk (40mL) and set aside to cool
while that is cooling, whisk together the egg (1), caster sugar (65g), and vanilla paste (1 tsp) until light and fluffy
pour in the cooled milk mixture and whisk to combine
add the flour (65g), baking powder (0.5 tsp), cardamom (0.5 tsp), and a pinch of salt and fold together until just combined
pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin and arrange the pear slices on top
bake for 20 minutes while you prepare the topping
crunchy almond topping
add the butter (50g), caster sugar (40g), flour (1 tbsp), milk (1 tbsp), flaked almonds (50g), and a generous pinch of salt to a saucepan
cook over medium-high heat until the butter has melted and the topping has thickened slightly, about 1-2 minutes
remove from the heat
once the cake has had 20 minutes in the oven, pour over the crunchy almond topping and return to the oven for a further 15-20 minutes until deeply golden on top
let cool in the tin before serving
this is also very nice the next day with yoghurt, if it lasts that long!