Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease 8” round cake pan or 9” pie pan and keep aside.

Take flour and baking powder in a bowl, mix and keep aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With my hand held mixer it took about 2-3 minutes. The softer the butter, sooner the sugar and butter mixture becomes creamy & fluffy.

Reserve 1 – 1 ½ tsp. of beaten egg and add the rest to the butter mixture and mix.

Add almond extract and mix.

Reduce the mixer speed to low or fold setting and fold in the flour. I used an electric mixer to fold in the flour but a sturdy spoon can also be used. Cake batter will be stiff.

Transfer batter to greased pan and press it evenly.

Press almond halves or sprinkle sliced almonds on top of the cake batter. I used sliced almonds.

Brush the top of the cake with beaten egg and bake in preheated oven for 28-30 minutes until the cake is golden brown. I baked for 29 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan, slice the cake into wedges and serve.