If you love trying out Norwegian/Scandinavian recipes, I’ve got a treat for you:

Norwegian almond cake.

This cake is one of my favorites – Scandinavian or not.

It’s light in texture, has a subtle almond flavor, and thanks to the corrugated ridges in the pan, the cake slices are essentially pre-portioned.

It’s made from simple ingredients you probably have on hand right now, and is budget-friendly.

Every time I make this, I think, “I need to make this more!”

Do I Need A Special Pan To Make This Cake?

A specialty Scandinavian almond cake pan is the preferred pan to make this cake in. I purchased mine in a gift shop in Walker, Minnesota.

You can also purchase this pan on Amazon: Almond Cake Pan

However, I suspect that a standard loaf pan would also work. The cake would not have ridges, obviously, but the flavor and general shape would be the same. If you try using a loaf pan, watch the bake time closely to avoid burning.

Recipe Tips

• The icing and almond slices on the cake are optional. (I definitely prefer this cake with these toppings!)
• If you don’t like icing, you could serve this cake with whipped cream and berries.
• I used the recipe that came with the pan, but I used less sugar than what is called for. The cake is plenty sweet with 1 cup of sugar (as opposed to 1 1/4 cups).

More Norwegian Recipes

I LOVE making traditional Norwegian recipes. It’s my favorite way to explore my Scandinavian roots. Here are some other recipes you can try:

Norwegian sweets/dessert recipes:

• Rice pudding (risgrøt)
• Norwegian cream pudding (rømmegrøt)
• Almond kringler
• Goro
• Krumkake
• Sandbakkelse
• Sweet soup (sot suppe)
• Lefse
• A Scandinavian snack board
• Norwegian egg coffee (the perfect accompaniment to Norwegian sweets!)
• Non-alcoholic gløgg (mulled juice)

Traditional Norwegian recipes – savory:

• Potato dumplings (potet klub)
• My Norwegian grandma’s meatball recipe (kjøttkaker)
• Flatbread (flatbrod)

Norwegian Almond Cake

Yield: 18 small slices

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients

For Cake:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 stick melted butter

For Icing:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• A drop or two of almond extract
• Sliced almonds, for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a Scandinavian almond cake pan generously with non-stick cooking spray, and flour the pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, egg, almond extract, and milk until smooth. Add flour and baking powder. Stream in melted butter and beat until incorporated.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cake is golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely.
4. Make icing: In a large mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, cream, and almond extract. Mix until smooth.
5. To serve, drizzle icing over cake and sprinkle with almonds. Cut cake along ridges

Notes

Please note: The recipe attached to the pan says to bake the cake for 40 to 50 minutes. However, my cake was done after 30 minutes. Be sure to check the cake starting at 25-30 minutes to avoid over-baking.