The Swedish Princess Cake, also known as Prinsesstårta in Swedish or princess torte, is a layered cake consisting of sponge cake, pastry cream, whipped cream, raspberry jam, and topped with a layer of green marzipan. The Princess Cake is typically round, like a dome, and is decorated with a small pink marzipan rose. It is said it was the creation of a Swedish economics teacher in honor of the 3 Swedish princesses. Read more about the history of the Swedish Princess Cake here.

I made this cake for the first time last year as a birthday cake for my son, and I can tell you that even though it requires some time and skills, the final result can be fantastic! It’s a beautiful cake (hello, miniature pink roses) with a refreshing and sweet taste – I love the combination of custard cream, raspberries, and marzipan. You can also make your marzipan at home, but I simplified this step and ordered a pack of already-made marzipan. I only found the regular, but I played with some food coloring until I got the perfect green and pink tones. 

READ MORE: Swedish Midsummer Cake with Strawberries and Cream

Before starting to bake this pretty cake, did you know this is also the most-sold cake in Sweden, with about half a million Princess Cakes sold yearly?

The ingredients below are for a large cake (which can be served as a birthday cake, for example, or if you are having a dinner party) and two small ones, which are perfect for kids.

Ingredients:

(makes a large cake and two little ones)

For the Sponge cake:

10 eggs

2 tablespoons (25 grams) melted butter

 1 ½ cups (300 grams) sugar

 1 ½ cups (220 grams) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

For baking:

3 x 20 cm (8 inches) diameter round baking tins

For the Custard cream:

1 cup (200 grams) sugar

½ cup (80 grams) cornstarch

8 large egg yolks

4 cups (950 ml) whole milk

½ cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Whipped cream:

4 cups (1 liter) heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)

To Garnish:

Raspberry Jam

450 grams marzipan

Green and Pink food gel coloring

Icing sugar

Instructions:

Make the Sponge cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C. Line the round baking tins with parchment paper.
2. In a standing mixer with the attached whisk, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla for approximately 10 minutes. Add the melted butter and whisk together until incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Sift this into the egg mixture in 3-4 batches. Continue whisking on low speed until all the flour is incorporated.
4. Divide the batter between the three baking tins (or pour it into the regular pans) and bake them for approximately 10 – 15 minutes until they are lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Let the cake cool to room temperature. If you used regular pans, cut the cake (after it has cooled) into 3 round shapes.

READ MORE: Vanilla Eclairs Recipe – learn how to make the classic French Eclairs

Make the Custard cream:

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine milk and vanilla. Bring to a boil.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, and cornstarch.
3. Temper the egg mixture with the hot milk, whisking continuously. When you “temper” the egg mixture, add the hot milk to it (in batches, not once), whisking. Then transfer this mixture to the saucepan, whisk continuously, and cook until it thickens (no more than 2-3 minutes) and gets glossy.
4. Remove from the heat, and add the butter. Whisk until the butter is well incorporated.
5. Pass the cream through a strainer into a large bowl, cover it with plastic foil, and let it cool.

Make the Whipped cream:

1.  Whisk the heavy whipping cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.

Prepare the Marzipan lid and the decorations:

1. Roll out the marzipan (save a little part for the decorations) and add the green food coloring to tint it light green.
2.  Roll the left marzipan and add the pink food coloring to get a nice pink color. Make a couple of small roses.

Put together the cake:

1. Using a plate, cut your sponge cake into three round shapes. (Skip this step if you used round baking tins.) For small kids’ cakes, use a glass to cut the sponge cake.
2.  Spread evenly a thin layer of raspberry jam on the first cake layer, followed by another one of custard. 
3. Put the second cake layer on top and repeat step 2.
4.  Add the last layer of cake. Spread with raspberry jam again, then with whipped cream. Add more whipped cream on top of the cake and create a dome.
5. Refrigerate the cake for a couple of hours until the cream on top is firm enough.
6. Carefully cover the cake with the green marzipan lid, trimming any excess. Decorate with powdered sugar and pink roses.

Swedish Princess Cake tips and tricks:

1. Marzipan – You can get your marzipan already colored. You will need green marzipan and only a tiny amount of pink marzipan (to decorate roses). But if you don’t find it, it’s usually easier to get regular marzipan (no color) and add food coloring. It’s preferable that the food coloring be gel and not liquid.
2. Baking tins: If you don’t have round baking tins, you can bake the cake in a regular pan and cut it when it reaches room temperature in 3 x 20 cm (8 inches) circles.
3. Prepare the sponge and custard cream the day before to save time.
4. For the best taste, let the cake rest in the fridge for at least a few hours before consuming it.

 

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