If you haven't tried a Toscakaka cake before, you're in for a TREAT! This is a Swedish almond caramel cake with a feather light, moist sponge and a sticky, nutty, caramel topping. Don't be intimidated to make a Tosca cake yourself though. With easy step-by-step instructions provided below, anyone can make this cake in less than an hour!
For more easy, yet delicious cake recipes, also check out this to-die-for Chocolate orange cake!
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Sweden - Fast facts
| Location | Northern Europe, bordered by Norway to the west and Finland to the east. |
| Language | Swedish. English is also widely spoken as a second language. |
| Population | Circa 10.4 million people. |
| Trivia | Sweden is home to the world's largest underground art museum, located 90 meters below ground in a former nuclear bunker. The museum, called "Artipelag," features contemporary art and cultural exhibitions. |
What's to love about this recipe
- This Swedish almond cake is a mighty impressive cake, a bit unique and quite luxurious.
- It may look intimidating to a novice baker, but it really isn't. Just follow the steps and you'd be surprised at how easy it really is.
- Ready in less than an hour.
- The sponge is feather light and moist, perfectly complimented by a delicious crunchy caramel almond topping.
- Single layer cake with no decorating needed.
Why is it called Toscakaka cake?
The origin of the name is somewhat unclear and there doesn't seem to be anything definitive, but the most popular believe is that it was named after Puccini's opera, Tosca. Where ever the name came from, this is a Swedish classic and hugely popular in the Scandi countries.
Key ingredient notes and substitutions
**Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full list of ingredients.
Butter - We use unsalted butter in this recipe because it allows you to control how much salt you'd like to add.
Eggs - Allow the eggs to come up to room temperature before using.
Top tip! To speed up the process, put the eggs in a bowl with warm water for about 5 minutes.
Caster sugar - The fine texture of caster sugar will give you a slightly lighter cake to normal granulated sugar. You can use granulated sugar if no caster sugar is available where you live.
Top tip! Make your own caster sugar by simply whizzing granulated sugar in a food processer until you have a consistency of somewhere between granulated and icing sugar.
Buttermilk - Even though it's a liquid, we've given the measurements for the buttermilk in grams as it's so much easier to weigh it into the bowl than trying to measure it in a measuring jug.
Top tip! Make your own buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice (fresh) or white vinegar to 250ml of full cream milk. Leave it to stand for about 10 minutes.
Light brown sugar - Don't substitute this for granulated white sugar or dark brown sugar. You need the caramel flavour of brown sugar, but dark brown sugar will make your topping too dark.
How to make Toscakaka cake - Step-by-step
Prepping
- Line a 23cm/9" round springform pan with parchment paper.
- Over a medium heat, toast the almonds in two batches in a large frying pan until a very light golden brown. Keep the almonds aside in a bowl. Set the pan aside to make the caramel topping in later.
- Melt the 100g unsalted butter for the cake in the microwave. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 170℃/338℉/gas mark 3
To make the sponge
- Add the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract to a large bowl.
- Beat at a high speed until light, creamy and thick. This will take about 5 minutes with an electric hand mixer and slightly less time in a stand mixer.
- In a separate bowl, combine the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using a silicone spatula or large spoon, add a third of the flour to the egg mixture and lightly fold it in, taking care not to knock out the air.
- Add all the buttermilk and fold it in.
- Add the second third of the flour and fold in.
- Add in all the butter and fold it in.
- Add the final third of flour and again, fold it in. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Knock it on the counter three times to get rid of any large air bubbles in the batter.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown, the centre feels firm and a cake tester comes out clean.
- Temporarily remove the cake from the oven and turn the oven up to 200℃/392℉/gas mark 6.
Make the almond caramel topping
- Slice the 125g of butter into smaller pieces. It will help it melt faster.
- Using the same frying pan as earlier, add the butter, light brown sugar, salt and milk.
- Over a medium-low heat, melt the butter and keep stirring, combining it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring the butter mixture up to a bubble. Let it cook undisturbed for about 2 minutes. It should get thicker and become a rich caramel colour. Test it by giving it a stir. If it looks like it's 'pulling' away from the sides as you scrape it, it should be ready.
- Important - Take care not to overcook the caramel. Err on the side of undercooked rather than overcooked, which will instead result in a sticky, unusable caramel. In a large frying pan, this really won't take much longer than 2 minutes at a medium-high heat.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the flaked, toasted almonds from earlier.
- Spoon the almond mixture over the top of the cake in an even layer.
- When the oven's preheated up to 200℃/392℉/gas mark 6, put the cake back in the oven and bake for a further 7-8 minutes until the top is a rich, golden brown.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool inside it's tin for 15 minutes. Using a knife or offset spatula, run it alongside the edge of the cake to release it from the tin.
- Unbuckle the springform tin and remove the collar. Allow the cake to cool down to room temperature on a wire rack before slicing.
Top Tips
- We don't line the entire cake tin, only the bottom. A wise foodie once told me that a cake needs something to 'cling' to when it rises. When the tin is slippery from non-stick spray/butter, there is nothing for the cake to cling to and rise up. If your pans tend to stick, the best option is spreading it with a very thin layer of butter and then flouring over it.
- When toasting the almonds, don't brown them too much. Consider that more browning will take place when the almonds are baked with the caramel topping.
- Beating the eggs and the sugar until it's light, fluffy and creamy is a really important step. Don't stop until you reach that consistency. Try your best to fold the rest of the ingredients in very gently as to not deflate all the air you've beaten into the egg mixture.
- Using a large non-stick frying pan for making the caramel really is your best option. If you use a small saucepan, you limit the surface area, and, the larger distance between the top of the caramel and the base of the saucepan makes it harder for a good caramel to develop.
- When the cake's in the oven for the second go, keep a very close eye on the caramel top for the last minute or two. It starts browning more rapidly towards the latter minutes. Open the oven door to get a good idea on the colouring. A darkish oven door can really deceive your eyes!
Variations
- Add lemon zest to the batter for a lemony twist.
- You can add almond extract for extra almondy flavour.
- Some recipes include cardamom. We haven't tried it, so let us know in the comments if you do and whether you like it!
- Add orange zest or orange extract.
How to serve Toscakaka
This cake is incredible on it's own, but you can also serve it with..
- Whipped double cream
- A dollop of sour cream
- Custard
- Vanilla ice cream
- Lemon curd
- Chantilly cream
Storage
The cake will keep well for up to five days when stored in an airtight container.
We would not recommend freezing it as the crispy caramel topping will go soggy.
More international cakes and tarts you might enjoy
More European recipes
Chokladbollar - Swedish chocolate balls
Hallongrottor - Swedish thumbprint cookies
Recipe
Toscakaka - Swedish Tosca cake
Equipment you may need
- 1 23cm/9" round springform cake tin
- 1 large frying pan preferably non-stick
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 100 grams unsalted butter
- 4 eggs - room temperature
- 170 grams caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 200 grams all purpose flour
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 100 grams buttermilk
For the almond caramel topping
- 125 grams flaked almonds
- 125 grams unsalted butter
- 125 grams light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Prepping
- Line a 23cm/9" round springform tin with parchment paper.
- Toast the almonds in two batches in a large frying pan until a very light golden brown. Keep the almonds aside in a bowl. Set the pan aside to make the caramel topping in later.
- Melt the 100g unsalted butter for the cake in the microwave. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 170℃/338℉/gas mark 3
To make the sponge
- Add the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl. Beat at a high speed until light, creamy and thick. This will take about 5 minutes with an electric hand mixer and slightly less time in a stand mixer.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Using a spatula or large spoon, add ⅓ of the flour to the egg mixture and lightly fold it in, taking care not to knock out the air.
- Add all the buttermilk and fold it in.
- Add the second ⅓ of the flour and fold in.
- Add in all the butter and fold it in.
- Add the final ⅓ of flour and again, fold it in. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Knock it on the counter three times to get rid of any large air bubbles in the batter.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown, the centre feels firm and a cake tester comes out clean.
- Temporarily remove the cake from the oven and turn the oven up to 200℃/392℉/gas mark 6.
Make the almond caramel topping
- Slice the 125g of butter into smaller pieces. It will help it melt faster.
- Using the same frying pan as earlier, add the butter, light brown sugar, salt and milk. Over a medium-low heat, melt the butter and keep stirring, combining it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture up to a bubble. Let it cook undisturbed for about 2 minutes. It should get thicker and become a rich caramel colour. Test it by giving it a stir. If it looks like it's 'pulling' away from the sides as you scrape it, it should be ready. Important - Take care not to overcook the caramel. Err on the side of undercooked rather than overcooked, which will instead result in a sticky, unusable caramel. In a large frying pan, this really won't take much longer than 2 minutes at a medium-high heat.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the flaked, toasted almonds from earlier.
- Spoon the mixture over the surface of the cake and spread it out equally with the back of a spoon.
- When the oven's preheated up to 200℃/392℉/gas mark 6, put the cake back in the oven and bake for a further 7-8 minutes until the top is a rich, golden brown.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool inside it's tin for 15 minutes. Using a knife or offset spatula, run it alongside the edge of the cake to release it from the tin.
- Unbuckle the springform tin and remove the collar. Allow the cake to cool down to room temperature before slicing.
**Nutritional data disclaimer**
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is calculated by a third party and we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We try our best to give you the most accurate information, but we do not take responsibility for errors that may be present. Also, the nutritional value of the recipe may change depending on the exact brands and products used. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian for personalised advice on your dietary needs.
Nutrition
For food safety advice, including guidance on food allergies
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