Swedish Visiting Cake

I always used to look up recipes online. That used to be the best source available, or another option would be our cooking channels which while doing a great service of creating awareness about different cuisines & new ingredients take too much as they are shot in 'real-time'.
Based on this difficulty of finding good recipes and losing recipes because of spilled cake batter, I decided that I should invest in a baking book. So after lots of "googling" and reading about a hundred reviews/lists of "best baking books ever" I finally decided on getting the following book which turned out to be my best investment ever.
Update: I now have a bookshelf of cooking books, procured from Urdu Bazaar, ordered online and delivered through relatives abroad, or while wandering around in Sunday Bazaar.

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Green Span

I have read this book page by page recipe by recipe twice. Every recipe in this book has been meticulously explained with the author giving an interesting anecdote/story/background to the recipe with little notes on the side detailing multiple variations/playing around that can be done with the recipe. 

This is such a simple cake, but the sprinkling of almonds and sugar of top elevates it to another level.

Swedish Visiting Cake
Ingredients:
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for preparing pan (I used 100 gms of Nurpur Butter)
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
1/2 tsp almond essence (optional)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sliced almonds; preferably unblanched, since the skins gives a good contrast to the white cake

Method:
Center a rack in oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter a seasoned 9-inch cast-iron skillet or other heavy oven-proof skillet, a 9-inch round cake pan or even a pie pan. I used a 9-inch cake pan.

Pour sugar into a medium bowl. Add lemon zest and blend zest into sugar with your fingers until sugar is moist and aromatic. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Whisk in salt and vanilla and almond essence.

Switch to a rubber spatula and stir in flour. Finally, fold in melted butter. Scrape batter into prepared skillet or pan and smooth top with rubber spatula.

Scatter sliced almonds over top and sprinkle with sugar. If using a cake or pie pan, place pan on baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and a little crisp on outside; the inside will remain moist.

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Green Span