Swedish Visiting Cake Bars

These Swedish visiting cake bars have a soft layer of almond cake topped with toasted almond meringue topping. These bars are quick, easy and absolutely delicious!

I’m partnering with OXO and Cookies for Kids’ Cancer to bring you today’s recipe. All opinions are my own. Thank you for helping me work with companies I love!

Swedish Visiting Cake cut into bars

Baking for a Cause

Today’s post is extra special because I’m baking for a cause. I’m partnering with OXO to support Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. We’re providing you with delicious recipes (like these Swedish visiting cake bars) in hopes that they will inspire you to host your very own Cookies for Kids’ Cancer bake sale.

This non-profit organization was founded by two OXO employees that were inspired by their son’s battle with pediatric cancer. Like always, OXO is donating $100 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer for each blog post that is dedicated to this campaign during the first week of September, which happens to be Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. How cool is that?!

When we were given the recipes to choose from, I knew this one would be a big hit at our house. We love cake and we LOVE anything almond. These bars have a thick cake base and a crunchy meringue topping.

Not only are they insanely easy to make (15 minutes is all you need), but they look and taste like you spent all day on them.

Mixing ingredients for Swedish Visiting Cake Bar recipe in a mixing bowl

What is Visiting Cake?

Swedish Visiting Cake is meant to be shared with friends and visitors over a cup of tea. The idea is that it’s so quick and easy to make, you can start making it as the visitors are pulling up the driveway, and it will be ready to enjoy by the time they sit down to enjoy a cup of tea! 

Of course, this version is a little different as it’s cut into bars, but it’s still a quick and easy treat that’s perfect for entertaining company. 

Weighing flour for swedish visiting cake recipe

How to Make Swedish Visiting Cake

MERINGUE. The first thing you’ll do when making these bars is whisk together the meringue topping. Unlike traditional meringue, all you have to do is whisk the powdered sugar, egg whites and almonds together. No beating involved.

BATTER. Then in a stand mixer or a large bowl with a hand held mixer, combine the sugar, eggs, salt and extracts. The combination of vanilla and almond extract gives these bars their wonderful, unique flavor. They taste *almost* like marzipan. Swoon

ASSEMBLE. Fold in the flour, then the melted butter and pour into a lined heavy duty 9-inch non-stick baking pan. Smooth into an even layer and then pour the topping over top.

Note: You’ll need to carefully spread it so that it completely covers the cake batter. I tried to be neat and used a spatula at first, but I found using my fingers was way more effective. Either way works.

BAKE. Bake the bars for about 30 minutes. You can remove them from the oven OR you can broil the top like I did to get the meringue nice and crisp. It added so much flavor and nuttiness to the bars.

COOL. Let the pan cool on a wire rack before removing them from the pan. I gave them a good 10 minutes because I’m always super nervous about them splitting or breaking during the transfer.

SERVE. Once the bars have cooled you can dust them with powdered sugar and cut them into bars or triangles. They would be great with fresh raspberries and vanilla bean ice cream, don’t you think?!

Cake batter in a lined pan

Variations

Make it a cake: Making these into a cake is super easy! You can literally make and bake it the exact same way, just don’t slice them into bars! If you want you can use a 9inch round pan instead of a 9inch square pan.

Additions/Substitutions:

  • Sliced and peeled apple
  • Use shredded coconut as a substitute for the almonds
  • Lemon zest: There are some recipes that include lemon zest to add a little bit of brightness to the dish. Feel free to add the zest of 1 lemon.

Swedish Visiting Cake Bar batter in a lined pan

Storage Tips

Let the cake bars cool completely before covering them. STORE them at room temperature.

Freezing: You can wrap individual pieces in plastic wrap and foil for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to eat them let them defrost in the fridge overnight and then bring it to room temperature before you eat it.

Baked Swedish Visiting Cake recipe

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Swedish Visiting Cake Bars | lifemadesimplebakes.com

Swedish Visiting Cake Bar Recipe

These Swedish visiting cake bars have a soft layer of almond cake topped with toasted almond meringue topping. These bars are quick, easy and absolutely delicious!
4.57 from 182 votes
Pin Rate
Course: Brownies & Bars
Cuisine: Swedish
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 9 bars or 18 triangles
Calories: 523kcal
Author: Andrea
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Ingredients

For the topping:

  • 1 c. confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 large egg whites
  • 1 1/2 c. sliced almonds, blanched or unblanched

For the bars:

  • 3/4 c. granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs - at room temperature
  • 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp. pure almond extract
  • 1 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 stick - unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • Confectioners’ sugar - for dusting (optional)

Instructions

  • Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-inch square baking pan and line it with parchment paper.
  • To make the topping: Put the sugar in a medium bowl and pour over the egg whites. Using your fingers or a fork, mix until the sugar is moistened. If there are lumps, ignore them. Toss in the almonds and stir them around until they’re coated with the sugared whites. Set aside while you make the batter.
  • Working in a large bowl, whisk the sugar, eggs and salt together until the mixture lightens in color and thickens a little, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla and almond extracts. Switch to a flexible spatula and gently stir in the flour. When the flour is fully incorporated, gradually fold in the melted butter. You’ll have a thick batter with a lovely sheen. Scrape it into the pan and use the spatula to work the batter into the corners. The layer will be very thin.
  • Give the topping another stir, or a run-through with your fingers, and turn it out onto the batter. Use a spatula or your fingers to spread the almonds evenly over the mixture, making sure to get nuts into the corners too.
  • Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with only a few crumbs stuck to it. The meringue topping will be pale golden brown. If you’d like a deeper color on the topping, run it under the broiler until you get the shade of gold you like best.
  • Transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of the cake and unmold it onto the rack. Very gently peel away the parchment and invert the cake onto another rack to cool to room temperature.
  • Transfer the cake to a cutting board and, using a long, thin knife, slice it into nine 3-inch squares. For smaller portions, cut each square into two triangles. If you’d like, you can dust the bars with confectioners’ sugar just before you serve them.

NOTES

- Wrapped, the bars will keep at room temperature for 4 to 5 days.
Source: recipe rewritten with permission.

Nutrition

Calories: 523kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 85mg | Potassium: 336mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 53IU | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 3mg

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About the Author

Andrea

Hi I'm Andrea!

Hotelier turned Food Blogger to help make your life simple, one recipe at a time.

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Comments:

  1. 5 stars
    I absolutely love this recipe. It’s so delishious and has a unique flavor. Tastes like something grandma would make.

  2. 3 stars
    Great flavor, but came out wet and gooey on the bottom after 35 minutes, even after the tester came out clean. Returned to the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, after it had already cooled for 10 minutes. I didn’t know about the goo situation, until after the ‘cooling period’ and removal from the baking pan… so, back into the oven it went. Newbie bakers would be crying in a corner at this point, especially since this was for a Mother’s Day event… After 10 additional minutes (for a total of 1 hour), it seems edible and non-gooey.

    In conclusion, I think the parchment paper allowed the meringue to flow to the sides/bottom of the pan- resulting in soggy sides and bottom. I used a 9×9″ metal baking pan, and buttered the sides and bottom. I didn’t freelance with the ingredients. Eggs were at room temp. After 1 hour, the meringue on top was a blond wood color, which seemed to be the goal- and it appeared completely cooked.