Tosca Cake (Toscakaka or Swedish Caramel Almond Cake)

A soft cake topped with crunchy, caramelized almonds, Tosca Cake (Toscakaka) is excellent with coffee or tea.  Enjoy a slice (or more) of this authentic Swedish treat for your next snack or dessert!  Absolutely delicious!

Yes, tosca cake is not as famous as kanelbullar (Swedish Cinnamon Rolls) outside Sweden, but just as well-loved by the locals.

Swedish caramel almond cake is one of the top favorites for fika, and a list of classic Swedish desserts is incomplete without it.

So, what exactly is Tosca cake?

It’s a sponge cake topped with caramelized almond flakes.

To break it down, ‘tosca’ in Swedish means caramelized nuts — of which almonds are the most common.

And yep, you guessed it, ‘kaka’ means cake; hence it’s known locally as ‘toscakaka.’

Tosca glaze is not just for Swedish cakes, though; check out how it’s used in this authentic Swedish almond tart.

If you’re wary that it’s a sugar overload, don’t be. 

I promise that for this tosca cake recipe, you will taste the caramelized almonds, not the melted sugar. 🙂

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Ingredients

• Flour – you only need all-purpose flour for toscakaka.

• Sugar – granulated white sugar (with small granules) is excellent for this Swedish cake.

• Eggs – medium-sized eggs (63 to 73 grams per piece) at room temperature.

• Butter – I use unsalted butter to make the tosca cake glaze and batter.

• Milk – whole cream milk, if possible.

• Almonds – blanched and chopped into flakes for the tosca topping.

• Breadcrumbs – for dusting the pan for your toscakaka right after greasing it with butter.

• Baking powder – just use your favorite brand.

Preparation

Start making toscakaka by preheating your oven to 180°C (350°F).

Grease an 8-inch cake pan with butter and dust it with breadcrumbs; then set it aside.

Prepare the toscakaka batter first by combining milk with butter in a small saucepan.

Place over low heat until the butter melts (no need to boil) — set aside to cool.

Strain and combine flour and baking powder in a medium bowl.

Using a larger bowl, combine and mix eggs and sugar.

Add the cooled milk and melted butter and continue mixing.

Add the strained flour and baking powder.

Mix the batter gently — just enough to combine everything.

Pour your toscakaka batter into the greased cake pan.

Place the pan in the middle of the oven for about twenty minutes.

While waiting, prepare the tosca glaze by combining all the ingredients in a saucepan:  almonds, butter, sugar, milk, and flour.

Place over low heat until the butter completely melts.

Simmer for about three more minutes until its texture thickens a bit.

Remove your tosca cake from the oven and pour the glaze on top.

Use a spatula to spread it out a bit — does not need to be perfect or even since it will automatically spread while cooking.

Place the pan back in the oven for fifteen to twenty minutes or until the top turns deep golden in color.

Take your toscakaka out of the oven and set it aside to cool.

Remove from the cake pan and slice — serve and enjoy! 

Helpful tips

• If you want a thicker cake, use a 7-inch cake pan, but a 9-inch pan is too big for this tosca cake recipe.

• You can also dust your cake pan with flour, but the breadcrumbs will give you that crunchy-looking side that complements the golden tosca glaze.

• I have seen granulated white sugar in some countries with big granules.  If yours is one of these, I suggest using caster sugar instead — or use a food processor to pulse your sugar for a few seconds.

The granulated sugar in Stockholm is almost as small in granules as caster sugar — so it’s what I generally use for baking.

What to serve with tosca cake?

Coffee or tea — no need to complicate it. 🙂

Seriously though, that is why it’s perfect for fika or dessert.  You don’t need elaborate drinks or sauce to enjoy it.

So how about it?  Try this delicious tosca cake recipe tonight — you will thank me for it! 🙂

OR YOU CAN GET MORE IDEAS FROM THIS LIST OF INTERNATIONAL CAKES!

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