It’s a light and airy cake with an almond-based meringue topping filled with custard, raspberry jam, and a layer of marzipan. The combination of flavours makes this cake irresistible to many, and it is often served on special occasions or as part of afternoon tea.
Brief History and Origin
The origin of princess cake dates back to the 1700s when bakers first created it in Sweden. It was originally called “princess tårta”, meaning “Princess Tart” in Swedish, where its name comes from today. Over the years, the recipe has evolved to include more ingredients, such as cream, almonds, and raspberry jam. The traditional version is still made with marzipan on top, but modern recipes often substitute this for chocolate ganache or other sweet toppings.
Princess Cake – The Recipe
- Preparation Time: 2 hrs
- Cooking Time: 20 mins
- Total time: 2 hrs 20 mins
- Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 4 eggs
- 80g all-purpose flour
- 160g white sugar
- 80g cornflour
- 2 tsp baking powder
For the custard layer
- 150ml whole milk
- 150ml whipping cream
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp. cornflour
- 2 gelatin leaves, soaked in water for 10 minutes & drained
For the jam and cream layers
- 300ml whipping cream
- 6 tbsp. raspberry jam
- For the coveringa
- 400g marzipan
- green and pink food colouring
Instructions
For the sponge
- Prepare the oven and preheat it to 160 degrees C. Also, prepare a 30 x 40cm baking tray by lining it with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, add sugar and eggs, and beat for 5 minutes or until fluffy and light. Then add flour, baking powder and cornflour, and fold gently until all the ingredients are well combined; avoid over-mixing.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray, level the surface using a spatula and place in the oven; bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Then remove the sponge from the oven, allow it to cool, and set it aside from the tin. Peel the parchment paper and cut the sponge into 12 discs of 10cm diameter each.
For the custard layer
- In a saucepan over low heat, add cream, milk, sugar, egg yolks and cornflour; cook until the mixture becomes thick; remove from heat as soon as bubble starts to appear.
- Add gelatin and mix until it dissolves. Leave the custard to cool while stirring occasionally. Then pour into a piping bag fixed with a ½ cm nozzle.
For the jam and cream layers
- Make 4 piles of 3 sponge discs, spread jam on one of the discs in each pile, and place them on a board.
- Pipe ½ cm thick layer of custard on top of each disc custard and place another disc on top, pipe custard and add the final sponge disc on the top.
- Beat the whipping cream until fluffy. Make a dome of cream on top of each sponge and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour until set and chill.
For the covering
- Colour a small portion of marzipan green and the rest pink. Cut a fourth of the green marzipan, stretch it out between two sheets of baking paper until 1-2mm thick sheet, and cover the cakes with it. Gently press the marzipan into the sides of each cake and neat the edges at the base.
- Using the pink marzipan, make 4 roses and fix them on the top of each cake with the help of water. Make pea size balls and leaves using the remaining green marzipan and decorate roses with the leaves. Create a circle of small balls around the base of each cake, pushing them in using the end of a chopstick or something similar. Place the cake in the refrigerator to chill before you serve it.
