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Finnish Tosca cake (Toscakakku)

Finnish Tosca cake (Toscakakku) is a nordic dessert, specifically an almond-glazed sponge cake. The almond glaze contains butter, cream, and sugar. It’s quite soft and the top glazed layer has a lovely caramelized flavor to it, thanks to the combination of almonds and the other ingredients.

Finnish Tosca cake

The combination of the soft sponge cake is a perfect match for the almond-glazed layer. The classic version does not contain any additional layers or filling. This cake shows that you can bring great flavor to an ordinary sponge cake with only a few ingredients.

This cake, along with the authentic Finnish Brita cake, represents the strong Finnish baking tradition. While Brita cake is still regularly made during summer, Tosca cake is not as popular as it once was, unfortunately, but still part of the country’s identity and remains a very recognizable cake. It is a perfect cake to serve with coffee when having a traditional Finnish coffee break.

Origin and etymology

The Finnish Tosca cake is translated from Toscakakku, where kakku means cake.

It does not come as a surprise that the origin of the cake is somewhat uncertain. First of all, when googling it, you will find suggestions for this cake in each Nordic country. We found a Swedish website mentioning that this cake could be from Sweden, Norway, or Denmark. Well, poor forgotten Finland will take over.

The origin of the name might come, according to one available theory, from the grandiose Puccini’s Opera.
A different theory has it that the cake takes its name from the Italian city, Tuscany.

Whether the real origin is the first or the second, what we know for sure is that this cake should be passed on from generation to generation, because it’s part of Finnish traditions and because it’s very yummy (not a small detail!).

How to make the best Finnish tosca cake

The ingredients for this cake are easy to spot, and making the cake does not require a chef’s degree. As usual, follow every step and measure every ingredient very carefully and your Finnish Tosca cake will turn out just fine. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card, but mainly the steps are as follows:

  • Make the sponge cake base, by whipping the eggs and sugar until fluffy, mixing, then, flour and baking powder and adding into the eggs and sugar, mixing the milk and melted butter and adding in with the rest. Finally, by mixing all of it.
  • After pouring the batter into the pan and baking it in the oven, add the rest of the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil to create the perfect almond mixture for the cake.
  • When the sponge cake base is ready, pour the almond topping on it and put it back for 10 more minutes – just enough time for the almond and sugar mixture to caramelize slightly.

Easy as that! Thanks to the simplicity of the steps, the Finnish Tosca cake is relatively fast to make. So if you want to impress people with a great cake but don’t have a lot of time, this cake is for you!

Can I store it?

If you want to store the Finnish Tosca cake, you can keep it in an airtight container for a couple of days outside the fridge. When stored in the fridge, it can be kept for a couple more days.

Alternatively, you can cut it into pieces when cooled down, and store it in your freezer. Take it out of the freezer at least 60 minutes earlier in order for it to have enough time to thaw before serving.

Finnish Tosca cake

Finnish Tosca cake (Toscakakku)

Finnish Tosca cake (Toscakakku) is a nordic dessert, specifically an almond-glazed sponge cake, still very much prepared and eaten in Finland.
5 from 41 votes
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Finnish
Servings 8 people
Calories 291 kcal

Equipment

  • Round springform cake pan (22cm)
  • Bowls

Ingredients
 
 

Cake base

  • 2 eggs
  • 130 grams sugar
  • 160 grams flour
  • 1,5 teaspoon baking powder
  • 50 milliliters milk
  • 150 grams butter melted

Almond topping

  • 50 grams butter
  • 75 grams flaked almonds
  • 85 grams sugar
  • 50 milliliters whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon flour

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 175 °C make the cake base, whip the eggs and sugar until fluffy.
  • Mix flour and baking powder together and add in with the eggs and sugar.
  • Mix the milk and melted butter together and add in with the rest. Mix carefully until a fully mixed smooth batter forms.
  • Grease and sprinkle some breadcrumbs on a round springform cake pan (22cm). Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
  • In the meanwhile, add all the ingredients into a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat while constantly mixing. Lower the heat and let boil gently until the mixture thickens up slightly.
  • When the cake base is ready, take it out of the oven and increase the heat of the oven to 200°C. Pour the almond topping on the base and even it out.
  • Bake in the oven for another 10 minutes, until the top of the cake becomes light brown.

Nutrition

Calories: 291kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 7gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 127mgPotassium: 151mgFiber: 2gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 203IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 118mgIron: 2mg

Caution

Nutritional information shall not be used for medical reasons.

Keyword classic finnish recipes, finnish toscakakku, how to make tosca cake
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15 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This cake looks amazing and I love the simple ingredients. I love desserts with a beautiful caramelized topping.

  2. 5 stars
    This looks so wonderful. I’ll make it today as I cannot resist it now that I’ve seen it and I happen to have all the ingredients too. Thanks for sharing!

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