How to bake

Swedish almond cake
Swedish almond cake
Swedish almond cake

A simple butter cake that's best eaten on the day it's made, when the top is crisp and the base still soft and moist. Serve barely warm with a dollop of ice cold and very softly whipped cream.

75g unsalted butter

2 tbsp dry white breadcrumbs

1 large egg

125g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp double cream

100g plain flour

¾ tsp baking powder

50g flaked almonds

Melt 50g of the butter in a small pan. Use some of the melted butter to brush the inside of an 18cm flan tin, then dust generously with breadcrumbs. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted)/350F/gas mark 4.

Break the egg into a large, clean bowl and whisk until frothy. Slowly add 100g sugar and beat until thick. Stir in the vanilla and two tablespoons of cream, sift in the flour and baking powder, and fold through. Now stir in the remaining melted butter.

Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 25 minutes until the middle is barely firm. Meanwhile, melt the remaining 25g of butter in the same saucepan, add the almonds, 25g of the sugar, a teaspoon of flour and the remaining tablespoon of cream. Stir over the heat until bubbling.

When the cake is cooked, remove from the oven and turn up the heat to 210C (190C fan-assisted). Spoon the almond mix over the cake, return to the oven and bake for another five to seven minutes, until golden. Remove the cake from the tin while it's still warm.

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