Swedish Visiting Cake

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
page 197
makes 8 - 10 servings
Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar, plus a little more for sprinkling
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used 2)
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• about 1/4 cup sliced almonds (blanched or not) OR 1 sliced apple

Directions

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F (if you are using apples, consider baking it at 375F). Butter a seasoned 9 inch cast iron skillet or other heavy ovenproof skillet, a 9 inch round cake pan or even a pie pan.
2. Pour the sugar into a medium bowl. Add the lemon zest and blend the zest into the sugar with your fingers until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Whisk in the salt and the extracts. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in the flour. Finally, fold in the melted butter.
3. Scrape the batter into the skillet and smooth the top with the rubber spatula. Scatter the sliced almonds over the top or arrange your apple slices in a pattern of your choosing, and sprinkle with a little sugar. If you’re using a cake or pie pan, place the pan on a baking sheet.
4. Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes, or until it is golden and a little crisp on the outside; the inside will remain moist, even, as Ingela says, “slightly damp". (For me this took closer to 60 minutes). Remove the skillet from the oven and let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then run a think knife around the sides and bottom of the cake to loosen it. You can serve the cake warm or cooled, directly from the skillet or turned out onto a serving plate.

Storing: The cake is an excellent keeper. Well wrapped, it will keep for about 5 days at room temperature or for up to 2 months in the freezer.