Tosca Kage
Growing up this was a favorite for Sunday coffee in the winter. Coffee and cake is a traditional aspect of hygge, the Danish concept of living beautifully. As kids we had hot cocoa with real whipped cream instead of coffee.
I found this recipe in my others old recipe box and tried it out on my parents and sister for the third Sunday in advent this year. It's excellent, although my sister and I both remember it being a denser moister cake. We think the recipe we are remembering is our Aunt's but no one is sure where that recipe went.
The original recipe was in the Reporter Dispatch from White Plains, dated February 17, 1971.
The recipe calls for a skillet, but I used a pie dish. The recipe also says to butter the dish and coat in fine bread crumbs but I used flour instead of bread crumbs. Still used butter.
Cake
Ingredients for cake
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar (original recipe called for 1 cup granulated)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1-1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of sea salt (recipe called for 1/4 teaspoon salt)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter.
Prepare dish with butter and flour
Beat eggs sugar and vanilla.
Blend flour, baking powder and salt.
Stir flour into eggs, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with the flour.
Beat in melted butter
Pour into dish and bake at 325 until done, about 30 minutes.
While cake is baking make topping.
Topping
Ingredients for topping
1 cup sliced almonds.
6 tablespoons caster sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar (recipe called for only granulated sugar)
4 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter (recipe did not call for)
Note: I quadrupled the topping recipe which is why it's weird. Eventually will convert to cups! The quadrupled amount was the right amount, imo. Can't even imagine a skimpy topping like the recipe called for!
Heat all the above ingredients to boiling on stove.
Remove cake from oven and spread topping over cake.
Return to oven and use broiler until the topping is bubbling. You should have a cookie sheet under the cake to catch drippings.
Remove and let partially cool, tastes great warm but I like it after it's sat for a little bit, I feel like flavors get richer and the cake is definitely easier to cut!
If you go to Rome, don’t buy water. You won’t need to. All you need is a water bottle, no matter how hot it is or how much water you drink. That is because fresh spring drinking water is free and plentiful all over Rome, no matter where you are. Hear that Detroit? It’s a human right.
There are approximately 2,500 of these fountains throughout the city…Most of which were created in the 1800’s but the concept dates back to Roman times. The modern ones are called Nasoni (see the third picture) and bear the stamp ‘SPQR’
The water comes from the reservoir that is the same one that delivers tap water throughout the city.
I can honestly say, I have never been so well hydrated in my life. The water was fresh and cool and even better tasting than the water in NYC. I wish more places had this approach to water. I miss them!
More pictures from the Appia Antica. I really can’t recommend this as part of a roman itinerary enough. Go on a Sunday when there are less cars. The Appia Antica is after all still a road used today. From Trastavere take the 3b bus to the Piramide and from there get on the 118 bus. You can get off at any point after the Porta San Sebastiano. Right before you get to the Catacombs of San Callisto there is a stop with a bike rental shop where the bikes are in good shape. I did not rent my bike here:). I got off at the Catacomb of San Callisto. Get there early (10) and be aware of the fact that they close for lunch. The catacombs of San Sebastiano are closed on Sunday. Remember this is a holy site so cover your bare shoulders! After this (see earlier post about the catacombs) I walked up the Appia Antica a short way until I got to a roadside stand on the left that serves gelato, lunch, cake and rents bikes. This is where I rented mine. Mine wasn’t all that great but it worked. If you want to go for a shorter ride this is fine, otherwise get a better bike at the earlier stop. The Appia Antica is difficult to ride in parts but in these areas there are paths on the side of the road you can bike. I road out past the Torre Selce. Check outwww.parcoappiaantica.it for various routes you can take. Next time I plan on spending even more time on the Appia Antica!
