Swedish Princess Cake - Prinsesstårta - Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
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Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta
EUROPE, SWEDEN
Published on May 2, 2013 comments 57
By Sasha Martin
http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/recipe-swedish-princess-cake-prinsesstarta/
Page 1 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
They say this spring green dome from the 1930s made with layers of sponge cake,
raspberry jam, custard, and whipped cream is DIFFICULT. Everyone says so, in fact, except
for the Swedes.
Curious, right?
I finally figured out why: Swedish folk have great recipes and three quarters of a centurys
worth of tips and tricks up their sleeves.
Like, ahem, pre-rolled marzipan and boxed custard. I even saw one Swedish video which
used prepacked cake, already sliced in thirds.
Page 2 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
We all start out as children.

This Swedish Proverb hints at what I learned, first hand, when making this cake: we must
Page 3 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
crawl before we can walk, we must be children before we are grown.

Experience comes one step at a time.
Considering I made each part of this cake 3 times, and messed it up terribly along the way
I thought you might benefit from my errors.
So, do forgive me, but before we get into the recipe, I must tell you about the top five
mistakes I made when making this cake, so you dont do the same.
TOP FIVE MISTAKES WHEN MAKING A SWEDISH PRINCESS CAKE
1. I based my cake on a bad recipe. I didnt realize it, but two of the recipes I originally
adapted from were missing a key ingredient: water. As a result, my cake kept coming out
dry and overcooked on the edges (note the bottom of this photo).
Page 4 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
Though most of the photos in this post show really dark edges and a dry, dense crumb,
have no fear; Ive since fixed my recipe, so yours will be light in color and fluffy in texture. I
took a picture with my phone, so that you could see what it should look like:
Page 5 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
2. Food Coloring. If you really want to make your marzipan sticky, use regular food
coloring. If, however, you want to keep from having a huge mess, use gel colors, such as
Wiltons (available at craft and baking supply stores). They dont dilute the marzipan and it
stays relatively mess free. Plus, you can use them for buttercream and icing.
3. I tried to roll my marzipan at room temperature. Its much better to roll the marzipan
RIGHT after you mix the color in, not later on. The heat from your hands will have made it
much more pliable. You can even stand on a step stool to get some more weight behind
your rolling pin. (And be sure to do it between two sheets of parchment paper, so it doesnt
stick).
Page 6 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
4. I rolled my marzipan too thin. If rolled too thinly, the cake shows through (see below)
and it encourages cracking when you try to press it onto the cake. Dont worry, my recipe
has been updated so that you use an extra tube of marzipan, so you dont make the same
mistake I did. (I later went back and doubled up over the too-thin layer, which is always an
option if you make the same mistake I did).
5. I thought I could do it right on the first try. No one, not even Doctor Who, could smooth
marzipan over a cake of this height without cracks or ripples especially not on the first
try (Unless you already know how to work with fondant, in which case Im very jealous).
Somewhere I saw a blogger suggest testing out your skills on an inverted bowl. This is a
great idea because, once you get whipped cream on your marzipan, you cant re-roll it.
And marzipan is too expensive to make that mistake with.
Remember, worse case scenario, you could always just drape the marzipan like a rippled
curtain. And you can hide the wrinkly seams behind ribbon (as I did) or under some extra
flowers my friend says people put flowers and leaves (and even powdered sugar) all over
Page 7 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
flowers my friend says people put flowers and leaves (and even powdered sugar) all over
their cakes in Sweden to hide mistakes.
Heres a video I watched that was tremendously helpful when it came to assembly:
Tillverkning av prinsesstrta
Adapted from Marcus Samuelsson, Martha Stewart, and Semi Swede.

Makes 1, 8 super tall cake.
Ingredients:
Page 8 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
For the pastry cream:

2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup cornstarch
For the cake:
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup warm water
parchment paper and butter, for prepping pan
To assemble:
1/2 cup Raspberry jam (seedless)
3 cups heavy cream, whipped stiff (sweetened, as desired)
21 ounces marzipan (3 packages)
green food coloring
red food coloring
powdered sugar, for dusting
Method:
Turn on a little Swedish Music to get things going.
Swedish folk music - Triakel - Alla Gossar
Page 9 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
Page 10 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
1. Prepare the pastry cream.

Heat up the milk with the vanilla bean scrapings and sugar. Meanwhile, whisk together the
yolks (reserve the whites for another use) and cornstarch in a medium bowl. When the milk
is hot, whisk a little at a time into the yolk mixture, taking care not to curdle them.
Strain the mixture back into the pot, return to the stove and cook until thickened, whisking
often so that it doesn t clump up or stick.
Page 11 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
Look at those flecks of pure vanilla bean goodness!
Set aside the custard until cooled to room temperature (preferably poured onto an 8 plate.
This will make your job easier later, as its a bit thicker than the spreadable custard).
Meanwhile
Page 12 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
2. Prepare the cake.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour an 8 cake pan. Insert a circle of parchment
paper in the bottom.
Whisk together the flour and baking powder. In a standing mixer, whip the eggs with the
sugar on high speed until fluffy and pale yellow. Sream in the water, then fold the flour
mixture into the eggs.
Page 13 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
Pour into prepared cake pan and bake about 40-45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick
comes out clean.
Let cool completely.
3. Prepare the marzipan
Mix some food coloring paste into three tubes (21 ounces) of marzipan. You want to make
an ounce or two of the marzipan pink, for the flower(s).
Next, work on the green. The best way to do this is to mix the green into a handful of
marzipan until smooth. Make it darker than you need (and save a pinch of this dark green
for leaves). Then work this dark green into the remaining marzipan and work until smooth
(I believe the proper technique is break it apart, mash it, break it apart, mash it, and so on
until the color is even).
Heres the colors you end up with:
Page 14 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
Heres the colors you end up with:
If the marzipan gets sticky, use powdered sugar to dust your hands.
4. Roll out the Marzipan
Once the marzipan is really warm from being worked with your hands, roll it out.
Place between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out in a circle, until 2 mm thick and
about 16-17 wide (although you might want to measure your cake after you assemble it,
with a tape measure, just in case you need more or less). Remove the parchment paper at
the very end and roll it smooth to get rid of any lines the parchment paper may have
pressed into the marzipan.
Keep under tightly pressed parchment or saran until needed (so it doesnt dry out).
Page 15 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
4. Assemble the cake

Now for the fun!
Cut the cake in three even pieces, as show below. Use toothpicks to guide your knife evenly
(you can measure up from the bottom of the cake to help you put the toothpicks at the
same height all around)
TIP: I doubt youll have browned edges, like I did. BUT, if you do, feel free to trim off the
browned edges for a more refined look.
Page 16 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
The first layer needs the raspberry jam and a scoop of whipped cream. Be sure to keep the
jam away from the edge of the cake, as I have done. This will help keep it from oozing out
once you press the layers together.
Then add the second layer, the vanilla custard, and then a mini mountain of whipped
cream. Use your spatula to smooth it into an even mound.
Page 17 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
Add the final cake layer, pressing down with your hands on the edges, to encourage it to
curve.
(Remember your cake wont be this dried out)
Page 18 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
Use the last bit of whipped cream to cover the entire cake.
Page 19 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
Cover with marzipan you might find it tricky to smooth out the marzipan. I did. So I tried
again (leaving the original layer on top, so we ended up with a double coating of marzipan
yum!).
You can dust your hands with powdered sugar to keep the marzipan from sticking.
Page 20 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
Decorate with green leaves and a pink flower.
Page 21 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
Enjoy with the easy smile of a Swede.
So what do you think?

Would you ever attempt this beautiful Swedish Princess Cake?
(I made ALL the mistakes possible, so you wouldnt have to, I promise!)
1!
2 3 4 5
Page 22 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
They say this spring green dome from the 1930s made with layers of sponge cake,
raspberry jam, custard, and whipped cream is DIFFICULT. Everyone says so, in fact,
except for the Swedes. Curious, right? I finally figured out why: Swedish folk have great
recipes and three quarters of a centurys worth of tips and tricks up their sleeves. Like,
ahem, pre-rolled marzipan and boxed custard. I even saw one Swedish video which
used prepacked cake, already sliced in thirds.
Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta

Course Sweets
Lifestyle Vegetarian
Food Type
Miss Ava's Favorite Recipes, Mr. Picky's Favorite Recipes, Sasha's Favorite Recipes
Servings
8"CAKE
Ingredients
For the pastry cream
2cups milk
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/2cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/3cup cornstarch
For the cake
2cups cake our
2tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1cup sugar
3/4cup warm water
parchment paper
butter, for prepping pan
Page 23 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
butter, for prepping pan

To assemble
1/2cup raspberry jam(seedless)
3cups heavy cream, whipped sti (sweetened as desired)
21oz marzipan(3 packages)
green food coloring
red food coloring
powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Prepare the pastry cream
1. Heat up the milk with the vanilla bean scrapings and sugar. Meanwhile, whisk
together the yolks (reserve the whites for another use) and cornstarch in a
medium bowl. When the milk is hot, whisk a little at a time into the yolk
mixture, taking care not to curdle them.
2. Strain the mixture back into the pot, return to the stove and cook until
thickened, whisking often so that it doesn't clump up or stick. Set aside the
custard until cooled to room temperature (preferably poured onto an 8 plate.
This will make your job easier later, as its a bit thicker than the spreadable
custard).
Prepare the cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and our an 8 cake pan. Insert a circle of
parchment paper in the bottom.
2. Whisk together the our and baking powder. In a standing mixer, whip the
eggs with the sugar on high speed until uy and pale yellow.
3. Stream in the water, then fold the our mixture into the eggs. Pour into
prepared cake pan and bake about 40-45 minutes, or until an inserted
toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.
Prepare the marzipan
1. Mix some food coloring paste into three tubes (21 ounces) of marzipan. You
want to make an ounce or two of the marzipan pink, for the ower(s).
Page 24 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
2. Next, work on the green. The best way to do this is to mix the green into a
handful of marzipan until smooth. Make it darker than you need (and save a
pinch of this dark green for leaves). Then work this dark green into the
remaining marzipan and work until smooth (I believe the proper technique is
break it apart, mash it, break it apart, mash it, and so on until the color is
even).
Roll out the marzipan
1. Once the marzipan is really warm from being worked with your hands, roll it
out. Place between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out in a circle, until
2 mm thick and about 16-17 wide (although you might want to measure your
cake after you assemble it, with a tape measure, just in case you need more or
less). Remove the parchment paper at the very end and roll it smooth to get
rid of any lines the parchment paper may have pressed into the marzipan.
2. Keep under tightly pressed parchment or saran until needed (so it doesnt dry
out).
Assemble the cake
1. Cut the cake in three even pieces, as show below. Use toothpicks to guide your
knife evenly (you can measure up from the bottom of the cake to help you put
the toothpicks at the same height all around) TIP: I doubt youll have browned
edges, like I did. BUT, if you do, feel free to trim o the browned edges for a
more rened look.
2. The rst layer needs the raspberry jam and a scoop of whipped cream. Be
sure to keep the jam away from the edge of the cake, as I have done. This will
help keep it from oozing out once you press the layers together.
3. Then add the second layer, the vanilla custard, and then a mini mountain of
whipped cream. Use your spatula to smooth it into an even mound.
4. Add the nal cake layer, pressing down with your hands on the edges, to
encourage it to curve. Use the last bit of whipped cream to cover the entire
cake.
5. Cover with marzipan you might nd it tricky to smooth out the marzipan. I
did. So I tried again (leaving the original layer on top, so we ended up with a
double coating of marzipan yum!). You can dust your hands with powdered
Page 25 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
double coating of marzipan yum!). You can dust your hands with powdered
sugar to keep the marzipan from sticking.
6. Decorate with green leaves and a pink ower.
Recipe Notes
TOP FIVE MISTAKES WHEN MAKING A SWEDISH PRINCESS CAKE
1. I based my cake on a bad recipe. I didnt realize it, but two of the recipes I
originally adapted from were missing a key ingredient: water. As a result, my cake
kept coming out dry and overcooked on the edges (note the bottom of this photo).
Though most of the photos in this post show really dark edges and a dry, dense
crumb, have no fear; Ive since xed my recipe, so yours will be light in color and uy
in texture. I took a picture with my phone, so that you could see what it should look
like:
2. Food Coloring. If you really want to make your marzipan sticky, use regular food
coloring. If, however, you want to keep from having a huge mess, use gel colors, such
as Wiltons (available at craft and baking supply stores). They dont dilute the
marzipan and it stays relatively mess free. Plus, you can use them for buttercream
and icing.
3. I tried to roll my marzipan at room temperature. Its much better to roll the
marzipan RIGHT after you mix the color in, not later on. The heat from your hands
will have made it much more pliable. You can even stand on a step stool to get some
more weight behind your rolling pin. (And be sure to do it between two sheets of
parchment paper, so it doesnt stick).
4. I rolled my marzipan too thin. If rolled too thinly, the cake shows through (see
below) and it encourages cracking when you try to press it onto the cake. Dont worry,
my recipe has been updated so that you use an extra tube of marzipan, so you dont
make the same mistake I did. (I later went back and doubled up over the too-thin
layer, which is always an option if you make the same mistake I did).
5. I thought I could do it right on the rst try. No one, not even Doctor Who,
could smooth marzipan over a cake of this height without cracks or ripples
especially not on the rst try (Unless you already know how to work with fondant,
Page 26 of 47
12/4/15, 9:28 AM
especially not on the rst try (Unless you already know how to work with fondant,
in which case Im very jealous). Somewhere I saw a blogger suggest testing out your
skills on an inverted bowl. This is a great idea because, once you get whipped cream
on your marzipan, you cant re-roll it. And marzipan is too expensive to make that
mistake with.
Remember, worse case scenario, you could always just drape the marzipan like a
rippled curtain. And you can hide the wrinkly seams behind ribbon (as I did) or under
some extra owers my friend says people put owers and leaves (and even
powdered sugar) all over their cakes in Sweden to hide mistakes.
Source:
Recipe Copyright Sasha Martin, Global Table Adventure. For personal or educational
use only.
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F I L E D U N D E R : Europe, Sweden
TA G G E D W I T H : Featured1, weddings
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Nuts about food

May 2, 2013
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Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

We all start out as children.

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

crawl before we can walk, we must be children before we are grown.

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Adapted from Marcus Samuelsson, Martha Stewart, and Semi Swede.

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

For the pastry cream:

Swedish folk music - Triakel - Alla Gossar

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

1. Prepare the pastry cream.

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Look at those flecks of pure vanilla bean goodness!

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

2. Prepare the cake.

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Heres the colors you end up with:

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

4. Assemble the cake

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Decorate with green leaves and a pink flower.

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Enjoy with the easy smile of a Swede.

So what do you think?

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

butter, for prepping pan

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Swedish Princess Cake | Prinsesstrta | Global Table Adventure

Chocolate Ice Cube Cake |

Swedish Cheese Custard

Zimbabwe Candy Cake |

Nuts about food

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