Swedish almond cake is like the relative of kanelbullar cinnamon buns: immensely delicious - and known in this country mainly through Ikea.
What a combination! This cake, made of delicate almond meringue layers and fine vanilla buttercream, is easy to prepare - and great to make. I'll tell you how to bake the almondy cake in this post.
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Taste and Occasion
Because, as so often: Do-it-yourself is, of course, also better here! Among other things, because such a Swedish almond cake makes immensely proud 🙂 . The Scandinavian specialty is a fine glutenfree almond cake, filled with a vanilla buttercream and coated. Note: The preparation takes a bit of time. But you can make everything super 2 to 3 days in advance. When the Swedish almond cake is well done, it tastes almost better. In itself, the recipe is not complicated. It consists of three steps or elements: Bake the bases, prepare the cream, and assemble the cake.
Ingredients
The foundation of the world's best Swedish almond cake is a bit unusual: a mix of meringue and sponge cake. Unfortunately, since the mixture (only) of beaten egg whites, sugar, and almonds is very fine and delicate, it is difficult to divide horizontally. You should bake the two cake layers separately, one after the other.
While they are in the oven, you can cook the vanilla pudding you need for the filling (here with egg yolks instead of pudding powder) so the remaining egg yolks you don't need for the dough are used right away). Be sure to follow the preparation tips from my basic buttercream and sponge recipes. This way, you are guaranteed to succeed with the Swedish almond cake!
How to make the Almond Cake
This is how you prepare the cake: Bake the cake layers, cook the custard, prepare the custard buttercream, layer the cake, decorate with almonds, and refrigerate. First, remove the butter for the buttercream from the refrigerator so that it can reach room temperature.
Next step – Bake the cake layers: The two bases must be baked separately, as the meringue sponge is challenging to divide horizontally. Separate the eggs. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. For the first base, grease the bottom of a 10 in / 26 cm springform pan or cover it with baking paper. Beat 4 egg whites with 1 pinch of salt and add 80 g sugar. Beat for about 2-3 minutes until the mixture is entirely stiff and reminds me of marshmallow cream. Gently fold in 125 g of almonds with a dough scraper to make a homogeneous fluffy mixture. Pour into the prepared mold, carefully smooth out, and bake the sponge for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the mold, turn out, peel off the paper, and let cool. Before the first base is ready, prepare the second dough using the remaining 4 egg whites, salt, 80 g sugar, and 125 g almonds. Bake the dough in a second springform pan afterward - or, if you have only one pan, turn out the first base, clean the pan, and cover it with a new baking paper.
Now, it's time to cook the custard: While the cake is baking, make a custard for the topping. For this, whisk the egg yolks very well. Add the starch to about 2 tablespoons of the cream and whisk until smooth. Put the rest of the cream in a saucepan with the sugar and the scraped-out pulp of the vanilla bean, briefly boil, and then turn down the heat. Stir a few tablespoons of the cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture to equalize the temperature. Then add this egg yolk mixture back into the cream pot along with the stirred starch and let everything thicken into a pudding over medium heat, stirring constantly. Be careful not to let the custard boil. Transfer the pudding to a bowl, cover, and let cool until lukewarm and the same temperature as the softened butter. Stir occasionally to prevent skin from forming.
For preparing the buttercream, beat the softened butter with the sifted powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the pudding by the tablespoonful, continuing to stir. Chill the buttercream briefly (about 15 minutes) to firm it up.
For the decoration, toast the almond flakes briefly in a coated pan without fat until they get a little color and are fragrant. Be careful not to let them get too dark. Place the first cake layer on a cake plate or similar. Spread just under half of the vanilla cream. Place the second cake layer on top. Spread the rest of the cream and spread a thin layer on the edge. Spread the cooled toasted almond flakes on the cake, including the edge, and press down. Refrigerate the cake until serving.
Top Tip
To make the dough and filling successful, reading through my basic sponge cake recipe and the basic custard buttercream recipe is best. You can make the cake very well, about 2 days in advance. Easy to leave well wrapped in the refrigerator to infuse.
Recipe Card
Almond Cake
Equipment
- 1 springform pan (10 in / 26 cm)
Ingredients
For the bases
- 8 egg whites
- 2 pinches salt
- 160 grams (â…˜ cup) sugar
- 250 grams (2.2 cups) ground almonds, unpeeled
For the cream
- 8 egg yolks, room temperature
- 300 grams (1.3 cups) cream
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 100 grams (½ cup) sugar
- 1 piece vanilla pod
- 220 grams (1 cups) butter, soft, room temperature
- 30 grams (0.3 cups) powdered sugar
For decorating
- 70 grams (â…˜ cup) almond flakes, coarse specification
Instructions
- This is how you prepare the cake: Bake the cake layers, cook the custard, prepare the custard buttercream, layer the cake, decorate with almonds, and refrigerate. First, remove the butter for the buttercream from the refrigerator so that it can reach room temperature.
Bake the cake layers
- The two bases must be baked separately, as the meringue sponge is challenging to divide horizontally. Separate the eggs. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. For the first base, grease the bottom of a 10 in / 26 cm springform pan or cover it with baking paper. Beat 4 egg whites with 1 pinch of salt and add 80 g sugar. Beat for about 2-3 minutes until the mixture is entirely stiff and reminds me of marshmallow cream.
- Gently fold in 125 g of almonds with a dough scraper to make a homogeneous fluffy mixture. Pour into the prepared mold, carefully smooth out, and bake the sponge for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the mold, turn out, peel off the paper, and let cool.
- Before the first base is ready, prepare the second dough using the remaining 4 egg whites, salt, 80 g sugar, and 125 g almonds. Bake the dough in a second springform pan afterward - or, if you have only one pan, turn out the first base, clean the pan, and cover it with a new baking paper.
Cook the custard
- While the cake is baking, make a custard for the topping. For this, whisk the egg yolks very well. Add the starch to about 2 tablespoons of the cream and whisk until smooth. Put the rest of the cream in a saucepan with the sugar and the scraped-out pulp of the vanilla bean, briefly boil, and then turn down the heat.
- Stir a few tablespoons of the cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture to equalize the temperature. Then add this egg yolk mixture back into the cream pot along with the stirred starch and let everything thicken into a pudding over medium heat, stirring constantly. Be careful not to let the custard boil.
- Transfer the pudding to a bowl, cover, and let cool until lukewarm and the same temperature as the softened butter. Stir occasionally to prevent skin from forming.
Prepare the buttercream
- Beat the softened butter with the sifted powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the pudding by the tablespoonful, continuing to stir. Chill the buttercream briefly (about 15 minutes) to firm it up.
Assemble the cake
- For the decoration, toast the almond flakes briefly in a coated pan without fat until they get a little color and are fragrant. Be careful not to let them get too dark. Place the first cake layer on a cake plate or similar. Spread just under half of the vanilla cream. Place the second cake layer on top. Spread the rest of the cream and spread a thin layer on the edge.
- Spread the cooled toasted almond flakes on the cake, including the edge, and press down. Refrigerate the cake until serving.
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
By the way, spreading and decorating is super easy: Since you sprinkle the Almondy almond cake all around with almond flakes at the end, nothing has to be perfect here. What will be perfect anyway are the taste and the consistency. You will love the easy Swedish almond cake like from Ikea! Just like the almond bundt cake and the German almond butter cake.
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About Kathrin & Jan
It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!
Kathrin & Jan
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