Swedish princess cake
The recipe for Swedish princess cake was first written by the cookery teacher of three Swedish princesses, who loved this cake. This version is made with Victoria sponge, filled with layers of raspberry jam and crème pâtissière, a dome of whipped cream on top, covered in a thin layer of green marzipan and decorated with a pink marzipan rosebud. Strictly, a lighter, drier Génoise sponge would be used for a cake with such a creamy filling, but Victoria sponge is easier to make and just as good. The marzipan on a princess cake is always green, but a variation with yellow marzipan is known as a prince cake, and with pink marzipan, an opera cake.
Ingredients
For the sponge:
250g (8oz) soft butter
250g (8oz) caster sugar
4 large eggs
250g (8oz) self-raising flour
For the crème pâtissière:
4 egg yolks
120g (4oz) caster sugar
50g (2oz) plain flour
600ml (1 pint) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150ml (¼ pint) double cream
4 tablespoons raspberry jam
250g (8oz) white marzipan
pink food colouring
green food colouring
icing sugar for dusting
Method
For the sponge:
1. Heat the oven to 180˚C.
2. Wipe the insides of a 20cm cake tin with cooking oil. Dust the insides of the tin with flour.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until they are pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well each time.
5. Add the self-raising flour and gently fold it in using a metal spoon.
6. Scrape the mixture into the tin.
7. Bake the cake for 30 minutes. Test the cake by gently pressing your finger on the top. If it is firm, it is ready. If not, put it back in the oven for another five minutes, then test it again.
8. When it is ready, leave the cake to cool for ten minutes. Slide a knife around the edges and turn it out onto a wire rack to cool fully.
For the crème pâtissière:
1. Put the egg yolks, sugar and flour in a bowl and thoroughly mash them together.
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan until bubbles form around the edges, then remove it from the heat.
3. Pour a quarter of the milk over the mixture in the bowl, stirring continuously.
4. Pour the mixture into the pan with the rest of the milk. Heat it for 3-4 minutes, stirring it all the time with a wooden spoon, until it is thick and smooth.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
6. Tip the crème pâtissière into a bowl and allow it to cool.
For the cream:
1. In a clean bowl, whip the cream until it starts to form stiff peaks.
For the marzipan:
1. Break off a piece of marzipan about the size of a walnut.
2. Put the rest of the marzipan in a bowl and add two drops of green food colouring. Stir it until the colour is evenly distributed. Then wrap it in cling film and put it to one side.
3. Break the smaller piece of marzipan in half. Mix four drops of green food colouring into one half and two or three drops of pink food colouring into the other.
4. Dust the work surface and the rolling pin with icing sugar. Roll out both pieces of marzipan.
5. Cut leaf shapes out of the dark green marzipan.
6. Cut petal shapes out of the pink marzipan. Wrap the petal shapes around each other into the shape of a rosebud.
Assembling the cake:
1. Cut the cake twice horizontally.
2. Spread raspberry jam onto the bottom layer. Spread half the crème pâtissière onto the jam.
3. Place the next layer of cake on top and spread the rest of the crème pâtissière onto it. Place the top layer of cake onto that.
4. Use a knife to cut the edges around the top of the cake at a sloping angle.
5. Spoon whipped cream on top of the cake and use a blunt knife to shape it into a dome.
6. Dust a work surface and rolling pin with icing sugar. Roll out the green marzipan into a disc larger than the cake. Roll the marzipan over the rolling pin, carefully lift it up and lay it over the cake. Tuck in the edges under the cake, then use a knife to trim off any extra marzipan.
7. Arrange the rosebud and leaves on top.
