Tuesday, April 13, 2010

TWD: Swedish Visiting Cake


This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie selection, Swedish Visiting Cake, brings me back to a simpler time. A time before I was a member of two baking groups, owned stacks of cookbooks, subscribed to a number of cooking magazines, and read dozen of food blogs. You see, I’ve always enjoyed baking, but my recipe repertoire used to be a lot smaller, and one of the things I made was a nice little almond cake. A friend of mine had made the cake and I loved it: it had a deep almond flavor and a nice chew, reminiscent of marzipan. Anyway, of course I requested the recipe, and it turned out to be from the package of Safeway brand almond extract – no fancy ingredients like marzipan involved! It’s been a few years since I’ve made that cake, but obviously I remember it well, and this one was delightfully similar.



Dorie says it’s called a “visiting cake” because you can begin making it when you see people up the road and have it (nearly) ready by the time you sit down to coffee. I think it works as a visiting cake on another level too: the ingredients are simple enough that if you happen to be visiting someone who is not much of a baker, you could probably still cobble together the ingredients and a pan to bake it in (no leveners and you can bake it in almost anything!) . And then that friend or relative would want to start baking, because this cake proves that you do not need gourmet ingredients or tons of time to make a spectacular cake.



We rated this cake an 8.5 for Deliciousness and a 2 for Effort, for an EDR 4.25. Many thanks to the inimitable Nancy of The Dogs Eat the Crumbs for an excellent selection. Nancy takes impeccable recipe notes and imparts the details in her posts, which are always a pleasure to read, both on her regular site and also her yeast baking site, The Corner Loaf. You can find the recipe here on Nancy’s site and visit the TWD blogroll to see what the rest of the bakers thought of this cake.

25 comments:

Cristine said...

Your cake looks great!

Jacque said...

I'm still having a hard time picturing myself heading off to the kitchen to whip up a cake when I see folks headed my way, LOL. It seems like "visiting" is a thing more from the past. Anyway, I agree that this is a wonderful cake. Yours looks perfect.

Unknown said...

Great post Margot - I love your point that you don't need fancy ingredients or lots of time to make a wonderful cake - so true!! I didn't have high expectations for this one but it surprised me in the best way :) Your cake looks terrific!

JoAnn Freda said...

This was going to be the next recipe I was going try from my very own copy of "Baking" that you gave me for Christmas. We are having the perfect weather for a warm cake to have with coffee. Wouldn't it be nice if someone just "dropped in" as I was baking it? I'm pretty sure I won't have any trouble recruiting a neighbor to help me eat this.

Hindy said...

Agreed - a lovely simple recipe. Yours looks delicious!

Flourchild said...

Im glad you enjoyed the recipe. I too found it to be so easy to make and the outcome..wonderFUL! It's a cake that I will make again and again.
Your cake looks delectable!

Leslie said...

It looks wonderful, Margot! I can also remember what life was like before I belonged to cooking groups and I used to seek out recipes. What a concept!

Hanaâ said...

Very pretty cake, Margot. Love the almond slices on top. Sounds like this cake was a big hit. What was the texture like?

Heather said...

A delicious looking cake - great job!

margot said...

@Hanaa: the cake is fairly dense, as there are no leaveners, but still tender - it's really good.

Anonymous said...

It looks wonderful. I knew I should have made this!

Mimi said...

I so agree. This was a fantastic cake. We will be making it again and again.
Mimi

CB said...

Your rating system is so cute! Your cake looks lovely. Glad you enjoyed it. This one is definitely a keeper!
-CB
http://iheartfood4thought.com

Susan said...

Your cake looks delicious! I remember "those days", and while I am crazy busy sometimes, I love the camaraderie that comes with baking with different groups. I also appreciate simple recipes, like this one. :)

Tia said...

looks delish!!! great job this week :) i did minis. nice pan by the way!

Marthe said...

Margot, this looks stunning! My coworkers always love everything I bring into the office with me ;)

Jessica said...

Your cake looks wonderful! I loved your post about simpler times, with fewer recipes. It's a double-edged sword, isn't it? I love looking at recipes, but they're overwhelming sometimes, aren't they?

Amanda said...

That looks fabulous!! We loved it too, so yummy!

Amanda said...

That looks fabulous!! We loved it too, so yummy!

Anonymous said...

Your cake looks very tasty! I love how simple this cake was but so big on flavor! =) I think you're right about this cake inspiring non-bakers to give it a go!

Jencrafted said...

Wonderful recipe, I agree and your cake looks fabulous! Oh, love the lime-green trivet! What an interesting rating system too!

spike. said...

love those simple fast recipes so much! so much better than creating a mountain of dishes and buying all sorts of crazy ingredients

Nancy/n.o.e said...

So much to like about your post:
1. That the recipe reminded you of a longtime favorite almond cake
2. It reminded me of the dim past where I didn't bake several times a week, take pictures of my food, and write about it for all the world to see
3. You evoke the image of this cake inspiring someone to begin baking - such a cool concept!
4. The cake earned a ETD rating above 4!!!
Thanks for the kind words and links to my blogs and for baking along with me this week.

Pamela said...

I was really happily surprised that such simple ingredients gave us this DEE-licious cake!

Kayte said...

Looks great from here...we loved this cake, which is nice b/c it is so easy! I laughed reading about you belonging to groups, buying cookbooks, magazines, etc., I was just wondering yesterday how quickly this all became addictive!