My name is Britta. My whole life I have had to carefully pronounce it, spell it, and then say, “No, it’s not a nickname…not short for Brittany..no, no I don’t go by Britt. Just Britta. B-r-i-t-t-a.”

Growing up,with a Marine Corps daddy, I moved a lot.  That meant introducing myself a lot.  One of my most vivid memories was me,  at the front of a classroom, with a teacher’s arm around my shoulders, hearing that name of mine butchered.  In college, the Brita water filter came on the market, and my life was changed!  Now everyone could easily pronounce my name.  Yes.

Still, people wanted to know where I got my name.  That was the easy part.  I was named after my father’s favorite aunt, Britta.  She was from Sweden.  She was a flapper in the roaring twenties.  I just love that.  I never met her.  But that genealogical connection got me through a lot of uncomfortable moments.

So maybe that is what made me try this recipe.  Swedish Almond Cake.  I don’t remember where I got it.  I think I googled it.  When I tried to find it again recently, I found similar ones, but not this one.  And this one is pure gold.

My hubby loves almond anything, so this is a winner.  And my kiddos think it smells like Christmas cookies.  I love it because it looks and tastes so impressive but takes less than 10 minutes to get in the oven.  Love that!  #ASimplerJoy  🙂

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick, softened)
• 2 Whole eggs
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 cups almonds (sliced)
• 1 teaspoon Wilton White Sparkling Sugar ((optional))

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flour and sugar.
3. Cut butter into the mixture.
4. Mix eggs and almond extract. Then stir into the sugar/flour/butter.
5. Press into a pie dish.
6. Spread sliced almonds over the top evenly. Sprinkle with Wilton’s White Sparkling Sugar (optional).
7. Pop into the oven for 30 minutes (glass pie dish).

Notes:

This is the perfect thing to take to a brunch or bridal shower.   But we love it for a snack, or dessert, or breakfast.  It is perfect for Easter or for Christmas.  Or anytime.  Yum!