Pound cake doesn’t need me to “fix” it. This beautifully dense, butter-enhanced confection has graced bakeries and grocery store freezers since the dinosaurs roamed the earth. (Or, okay, the 1700s.) The point is, a girl can still get tired of a good thing. When you’ve got a whole cake sitting on the counter, it helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve to keep things interesting. For example, I use my air fryer to spread a crunchy almond topping on slices of pound cake.

A completely different cake inspired me to create this little number: the Swedish Visiting Cake. I’m not Swedish, but I’ve mentioned in previous posts how much I love their daily practice of fika: taking a break during the day to have a hot drink, chat with friends, and enjoy a sweet snack. Swedish Visiting Cake is a total fika cake. It’s a simple buttery almond cake, but the topping is what makes it special. The batter is spread with a sweet almond topping before baking. After it’s baked and cooled, the topping becomes crispy and flavorful: a delicious contrast to the soft cake.

The only thing is, I already have cake. I made a giant lemon cake from my cookbook of the week. It’s divine, but I’ve been eating it for three days. A little crunch would be a welcome change. So I mixed a little egg white with powdered sugar, a drop of almond extract, and a bunch of slivered almonds, essentially making a loose royal icing with nuts in it. Royal icing is that hard icing that bakers use to decorate sugar cookies because it dries completely solid and travels well. This almond topping uses that idea, coating the nuts with sugar and egg white, but instead of waiting for the water to evaporate, I speeded it up in the air fryer.

To make this crispy cake topping, whisk together the powdered sugar and egg whites. It will be a little coarse at first, but the sugar cubes will quickly dissolve into the liquid. Stir in a pinch of salt and, if desired, a drop of almond extract. Gently fold in the sliced almonds. Some of the liquid will pool at the bottom, and that’s okay. Scoop a spoonful or two onto a slice of pound cake, or any cake without frosting, and place in a 350°F air fryer (I used my trusty Instant Vortex) for 7-10 minutes. Check the cake after 5 minutes to see how it’s coming along. The nuts should be browned on top, but not burnt. Remove the slice and let it cool on a wire rack for 1 minute, so the sugars can solidify. Sprinkle with more powdered sugar and enjoy.