Tosca cake with almond caramel topping
Torta di Tosca
This recipe has been in my family for generations, and I thought it was an Italian invention due to the name and the likeness with Florentines and Florentine cookies. Just to make sure I tried it on Google, and found the cake to be a Scandinavian favourite named after Puccini’s opera. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Italians have a similar sponge cake with caramel and almond topping. And regardless of the origin, it tastes fantastic.
Ingredients
For the sponge
2 eggs
120 g sugar
100 g butter
1 lemon – juice and zest
2 tbsp double cream
120 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
For the caramel topping
50 g butter
50 g blanched almond splits
50 g sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp double cream
Prepation
Whisk eggs and sugar until white and fluffy:
Melt the butter and pour it in the egg and sugar mixture along with cream, lemon juice and grated lemon zest.
Mix with flour and baking powder and pour the batter in a greased spring form tin.
Bake at 150 C/300 F for 20 minutes while you prepare the topping
Melt sugar in a casserole.
Add butter, flour, cream and almond splits
Spread the caramel topping over the sponge and bake the Tosca cake for another 25 minutes
Other desserts and cakes with almonds:
In spite of the name, this Tosca cake with almond caramel topping is an old Scandinavian favourite.
I am seriously hungry looking at this – and this cake has two of my favourites – almonds and caramels. Now is double cream actually whipping cream?
Well, double cream is anything with more than 40% fat, which I think is called heavy whipping cream or extra heavy whipping cream in North America. It’s the stuff that turns stiff, when you whip it. I have tried substituting with milk, and the result is acceptable, but it doesn’t taste or look nearly as good.
Feeling nostalgic and wanting some tosca torta (Swedish parents, I grew up in Australia and I now live in Italy)….anyway, I am so happy I found this recipe! It worked so well. I couldn’t find thick cream here in my little local in Trento so I used mascarpone instead. As I didn’t have lemon zest (didn’t trust my waxy lemon), I think it added a really nice twist.
Brava!
Thanks for the feed-back, and a nice twist with mascarpone instead of cream. It’s funny how food connects with places, memories and origins.