Swedish Princess Cake Recipe on Food52 (2024)

I first saw this cake during a technical challenge on the Great British Bake-Off and was immediately smitten. It's full of all my favorite dessert things: light, spongy cake; rich pastry cream; jam; and, oh yeah, GREEN MARZIPAN! I didn't know that that was one of my favorite dessert things until I stumbled upon this cake, but now it's up there.

From what I've read, Swedish Princess Cake (or Princesstårta) is a traditional Swedish celebration cake, typically eating on national holidays. It has been around since the 1930s but is still a favorite for birthdays and other events that require a beautiful, hulking dome of a cake decked out in green and topped with a pink rose.

My recipe is a fusion of Mary Berry's and a few other Swedish versions I found online, plus a few of my own twists. If you like almonds, festivities, and desserts that are just shy of over-the-top, give this recipe a whirl. I'm not going to lie to you: This cake is a project. It requires some advanced planning and a few separate components, some of which need to chill; however, several of the steps can be done way ahead of time, and you can substitute your favorite pudding, cake, and jam recipes in for the ones called for in the recipe. Feel free to customize this dessert to your whims: Make the marzipan blue instead of green, top it with a sunflower instead of a rose, or go make them mini! Okay, let's do this. —Catherine Lamb

Directions

1. Make the Custard: In a medium pot over medium heat, heat the milk and vanilla pods and seeds just until it starts to simmer. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Remove the vanilla pods from the milk. Slowly pour the milk into the egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly to combine. Return to the pot and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes, until very thick. Add the butter and stir until melted. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
3. Make the Cake: Heat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Butter or spray a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a parchment circle, then butter or spray that as well.
4. In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar for 5 to 7 minutes, until very thick, pale, and fluffy. Mix in the almond extract.
5. Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt over the bowl (or sift into a separate bowl first) and fold in with a spatula. Fold in the melted butter and stir just to combine.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Make the Fondant Rose: In a medium heatproof bowl, microwave the marshmallows until melted. Stir in the powdered sugar until combined. Turn out onto a clean surface and knead with your hands for a few minutes, adding more powdered sugar if it sticks or a few drops of water if it's too dry, until smooth and pliable. Knead in the red food coloring drop by drop until you have your desired shade of pink.
8. Divide the fondant into 5 to 6 pieces and form into balls. Dust 2 small pieces of parchment or waxed paper with powdered sugar. One by one, place the balls between the sheets and flatten with your fingers to a thin circle, about 2 centimeters/1 inch in diameter. Roll the first petal up to form a center bud. Wrap the remaining petals around the bud to make a rose. Let dry at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
9. Make the Whipped Cream: In the large bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
10. Stack the Cake: When the cake is completely cool, use a serrated knife to carefully slice into 3 even layers. Divide the jam evenly between 2 layers, spreading a thin layer over the top.
11. Fold half of the whipped cream into the chilled custard. Evenly divide the custard mixture between the first 2 layers, spreading carefully over the jam.
12. Stack the 2 first layers, then top with the remaining cake layer. Set aside 1 cup of the remaining whipped cream. Using a rubber spatula, shape the remaining whipped cream into a dome shape on top of the cake. Refrigerate for 1 hour to set.
13. While the cake is chilling, on a surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar, knead the marzipan until pliable. Add 2 dots of green food coloring and knead until the color is uniform. If you like, add another dot or two of food coloring until it reaches a light lime color.
14. Place the marzipan between 2 sheets of waxed paper and roll to a 16-inch diameter circle, large enough to generously cover the cake.
15. Gently drape the marzipan over the whipped cream dome. Shape and smooth the marzipan around the cake to get a clean appearance. Trim the edges and tuck them neatly under the cake.
16. Decorate: Fill a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip with the reserved 1 cup of whipped cream. Pipe a row of stars around the edge of the cake to hide any imperfections.
17. In a double boiler or the microwave, melt the chocolate. Make a skinny-tipped cone with parchment paper and fill with the chocolate, then snip off the tip. Carefully pipe the chocolate over the top of the cake in a swirl or curlicue. Top with the pink rose in the center.