The toscakaka, or toscatårta, is a Swedish coffee cake (kaffebröd), characterized by a butter and almond flake glaze, while the base is made with flour, butter, eggs, and sugar.
Puccini’s opera “Tosca” debuted in Rome in 1900, and had its Swedish premiere at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm in 1904.
Throughout the 20th century, there are many references to Tosca in the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet. Information on performances abroad, brief news about the novelties from La Scala, and reviews of the singers who played Floria Tosca.
Starting in 1934, advertisements in Svenska Dagbladet began to feature toscakaka, and in 1947, it appeared among the recipes.
The almond glaze soon became synonymous with the name Tosca. For example, in the book “Konditerns uppslagsbok” (1948), a cookie made of almond paste was spread with what was called Toscasats or Toscamassa, meaning a Tosca glaze.
In 1967, advertisements offered “toscariner” — or what we might today call Tosca mazarines, which are almond tartlets with a shortbread pastry shell and almond filling.
And today, you will find Tosca buns in supermarkets, as well as in the most elegant cafes.
Another Swedish coffee dessert also perfect for Christmas …
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Swedish
- Seasonality: All seasons, Christmas
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp butter
- 2 eggs
- 0.5 cup sugar
- 1.25 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 5 tbsp milk
- 7 tbsp butter
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 pinch salt
Tools
- 1 Baking Pan about 9 inches
Steps
Melt the butter, add the eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and milk. Work the dough and bake in the oven in a 9-inch pan at 340°F for 20 minutes.
For the glaze: mix all the glaze ingredients in a saucepan. Allow to melt and stir until it thickens.
Carefully spread the glaze over the cake and put back in the oven at 340°F for 15 minutes.
It was not just the cakes that borrowed their names from the opera… in 1932, 4711 not only offered its classic cologne but also the perfume “4711 Tosca“.
In 1933, a shop offered the “new solid-color fabric of the summer”: the “Tosca crêpe”.
A sky-blue dress in “Tosca tulle” was worn at the annual ball of the Order of the Amaranth also by Lisa af Petersens (a noted Swedish noble family) in the 1934 edition.
