Swedish Fika Cake | Baking with Dorie

Let’s fika and eat Swedish almond cake while sipping coffee as the Swedes do. Make it a workday routine as remote work is becoming the new norm these days. From time to time, my home turns into a hub of home-based offices. Certainly, a sweet cake is nice to have around on the kitchen counter.

Fika is a twice-daily break, a time for a little something sweet, a coffee and conversation. It feels as if just about everyone in Sweden fikas — the word is both a verb and a noun. School kids fika, albeit with milk, and business people fika. You can fika at home or in a cafe, on weekdays and on weekends. “Having people in for a fika is so doable. It’s just coffee and cake.”

The base of the Swedish fika cake is a sponge cake, as are a whole host of cakes I’ve tested and blogged. However, the topping of the fika cake takes on a process all its own. That involves making an almond syrupy paste on the stovetop.

The topping, a mixture of butter, flour, sugar and sliced almonds, is simmered and then spread over the almost-baked cake. Return the cake to the oven for a few more minutes, the topping bubbles, the sugar caramelizes and the almonds brown a bit.

When the cake cools, the topping sets and forms a sweet, just-a-little-crackly, just-a-little-chewy caramel shell, making it a fine companion for the supple cake beneath it. The only downside: both the cake and the topping use proportionally high amount of sugar.

No one objects taking a break or two during the work day. I made the cake in the early afternoon and it’s almost gone by dinnertime. That’s a surprise! The concept of fika is appealing; it is more than a sweet Swedish tradition. The cake will not last long given the reality and circumstance of remote work. Outside of this context and on its own, the fika cake is likely to face stiff competitions. In the end, I’m not sure the cake stands as tall (or as balanced) as a list of my favorite sponge cakes topped with almonds.

Print Recipe

Swedish Fika Cake

By Dorie Greenspan – Serves: 8

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:
1 3/4 cups /240 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1¼ cups/250 grams granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 3/4 sticks /7 ounces /200 grams unsalted butter, melted and lukewarm
⅔ cup/160 milliliters whole milk, lukewarm (if necessary, heat it gently)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
FOR THE TOPPING:
7 tablespoons/100 grams unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
¾ cup/75 grams sliced almonds
½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

TO MAKE THE CAKE: Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan (using solid, unmelted butter), and dust the interior with flour; tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

WHISK TOGETHER DRY INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

MIX THE DOUGH: Working with a mixer (use a paddle attachment, if you have one), beat the sugar and eggs together on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

Reduce the speed to medium, and gradually add the melted butter, followed by the milk and vanilla. (I like to pour the ingredients down the side of the bowl as the mixer is working.) Mix until the batter is smooth; it will have a lovely sheen.

Decrease the speed to low, and gradually add the dry ingredients. When the flour mixture is almost fully incorporated, finish blending by stirring with a spatula. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

BAKE THE SPONGE CAKE: Slide the cake into the oven, and set your timer for 30 minutes.

PREPARE THE ALMOND TOPPING: As soon as the timer dings, start the topping while the cake is baking. In a medium saucepan, mix together all the topping ingredients. Place over medium-high heat and, stirring constantly, cook until you see a couple of bubbles around the edges. Lower the heat to medium, and cook, stirring nonstop, for 3 minutes. The mixture will thicken a little, and your spatula will leave tracks as you stir. Remove the pan from the heat.

ADD THE WARM TOPPING: Immediately take the cake out of the oven (leaving the oven on), and carefully pour the topping over the cake, nudging it gently with a spatula to cover the cake completely.

FINISH BAKING THE CAKE: Return the cake to the oven, and bake for an additional 15 minutes (total baking time is about 50 minutes) or until the topping, which will bubble and seethe, is a beautiful golden brown and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack, and cool for 5 minutes. Carefully work a table knife between the side of the pan and the cake, gently pushing the cake away from the side (it’s a delicate job because the sticky topping isn’t yet set). Remove the sides of the pan, and let the cake come to room temperature on the base. When you’re ready to serve, lift the cake off the springform base and onto a platter.