Servings: 8-inch cake

Cake: subheading: Cake:
125 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature 125 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
135 grams granulated sugar 135 grams granulated sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature 3 eggs, at room temperature
1 lemon zested 1 lemon zested
140 grams all-purpose flour 140 grams all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons baking powder 1½ teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons milk, at room temperature 2 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
Topping: subheading: Topping:
55 grams unsalted butter 55 grams unsalted butter
55 grams sliced almonds 55 grams sliced almonds
3 tablespoons granulated sugar 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons heavy cream 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease a cake pan (preferably spring form). In a small bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat until well incorporated. (If your batter breaks at this step, your eggs have probably not been at room temperature or you've added them too quickly. Don't worry, the dough should come together once the flour is added.)
Add lemon zest and about half of the flour mixture and mix until smooth. Gradually add milk and rest of flour mixture and mix until batter is smooth. Pour into prepared cake pan.
Bake on the middle rack for 25 to 30 minutes or until risen, golden-brown in color, and almost done. (The cake will continue to bake once the topping is added but needs to be cooked enough to support the topping.)
Add butter, almonds, sugar, flour, and heavy cream to a medium-sized saucepan. You should finish making the topping at about the same time the cake looks almost done, because the topping will harden relatively quickly and you don't want the cake's temperature or the topping's temperature to drop in the meantime. Over medium-high heat, stir until mixture starts to bubble and thicken slightly. Remove from heat and pour over pre-baked cake, making sure that it's evenly distributed. I think it's easiest to pour the topping in the middle of the cake and, with the help of an offset spatula, gently spread into an even layer.
Bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until the crust is golden-brown and bubbles. Cool for about 10 minutes, run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the cake, and let cool some more on a wire rack. The caramel will harden as the cake cools down.

In the past, I've topped this cake with fresh strawberries or Greek yogurt (or perhaps some other lightly whipped cream), and it is delicious.  In the past, I've topped this cake with fresh strawberries or Greek yogurt (or perhaps some other lightly whipped cream), and it is delicious.