Sweetish Visiting Cake

Yesterday I was invited over for dinner with my friend (and follower!) Sam.  Naturally, I was in charge of dessert while Sam handled dinner.  I thought a Swedish Visiting Cake would be appropriate since I was visiting Sam at his humble abode.  We sipped at red wine and chatted as he prepared a tomato penne with lemon and I prepared an lemon almond cake.

I took my recipe from the Dorie Greenspan book Baking: From My Home To Yours (of course I offered a few remedies to the original recipe).  I have found this baking book to be a great starting place for baking ideas.  Most recipes are unique and nearly everything I take from it comes out delicious.  The Swedish visiting cake permeates with almond flavor which lemon zest really enhances (and I hope I have already expressed my love of citrus).  

However, being in a new environment my baking clock was not properly adjusted.  The cake was slightly under-baked but both Sam and I discovered it was still delectable!  After our delicious (and organic) meal we indulged in the cake accompanied by a few cups of coffee.