Swedish Visiting Cake Bars Recipe
Experience the delight of these Swedish Visiting Cake Bars. A soft almond cake with toasted almond-meringue topping. They’re quick to make and taste absolutely divine!
Servings: 9 bars or 18 triangles
Calories: 385kcal
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 1 c. confectioners’ sugar
- 3 large egg whites
- 1½ cups sliced almonds blanched or unblanched
For the Bars
- 3/4 c. granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1½ teaspoons 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 baking rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). 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
To STORE these Swedish Cake Bars, let the bars cool first. Then, place them in an airtight container at room temperature, where they will stay fresh for up to 4-5 days. To FREEZE, just wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and foil. You can freeze the bars for up to two months.
To REHEAT, thaw at room temperature and warm in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 97mg | Potassium: 172mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 56IU | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 2mg
