Princess Cake
A beautiful and unique cake with layers of sponge cake, vanilla custard and raspberry jam all covered in marzipan.
This is a princess cake, or prinsesstårta. It hails from Sweden where it’s been a national icon since the mid-1900’s, and was supposedly named after the three princesses who are said to have loved it.
And really, what’s not to love? Delicate sponge cake, custard, raspberry jam, whipped cream, and marzipan— oh my!
This cake was a favorite of my mother’s, and she’d often pick one up from the bakery for a special occasion. Once she even drove a princess cake all the way from Seattle to Salt Lake City to help celebrate the arrival of my first baby.
Today is my mother’s birthday and in a few days, the first anniversary of her sudden passing, and so I’m sharing this cake in her honor.
I actually attempted to make one for her birthday a few years ago and failed miserably. It was just one big mess of whipped cream and torn marzipan.
But this year I vowed to get it right. The recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart, but I also consulted so many other online sources. Blogs like SemiSwede and Global Table Adventure had beautiful examples and great tips, and this Swedish video tutorial was extremely helpful when it came time to put it all together. Armed with all the research I could find, I was ready to give it another go.
Traditionally the cake is covered in green fondant, but the bakery where my Mom bought her cakes leaves the marzipan un-tinted so that’s what I did too.
There are a few separate steps to this cake— baking the cake, making the custard, whipping the cream, and rolling out the marzipan— and while it does take time, all of these steps are simple and very doable for bakers of all levels.
The assembly can be a bit tricky, especially if you haven’t worked with marzipan before (I hadn’t!). But check out the links above and do your best. And if you like, simply skip the marzipan and frost the whole thing with whipped cream instead. It’ll still be delicious and elegant!
My princess cake is far from perfect, but I loved it and enjoyed it anyway. And I know my Mom would have too.
A huge thank you to all of my friends, family, and readers who have offered so much love and support over the past year. You have made this hard time a little bit better, and that means a whole lot.
baking tip:Tempering Eggs
Tempering eggs is a critical step in making a traditional custard. It slowly brings the temperature of the eggs up as they’re cooked. Heat them too quickly and you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.
How it’s done is you heat a milk mixture just until it starts steaming and tiny bubbles form at the edges, and then add it in a slow steady stream to the eggs while whisking constantly. After they are combined, you can return the mixture to the stove and continue cooking until thickened. Some eggs may still form lumps as they cook, so straining the mixture before freezing will leave your custard silky smooth.
Princess Cake
Ingredients
Sponge cake:
- 1 1/4 cup cake flour (141 grams)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons almond meal/flour ( 96 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs , room temperature
- 4 large egg yolks , room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , melted (113 grams)
Vanilla pastry cream:
- 2 cups whole milk (500 ml)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar , divided (100 grams)
- Pinch salt
- 1 split vanilla bean , seeds scraped
- 3 large egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Whipped cream:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream (500 ml)
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar (66 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
To assemble cake:
- 1/2 cup grams seedless raspberry jam
- 2 7- ounce packages marzipan
- Pink gel food coloring , optional
- Green gel food coloring , optional
- Powdered sugar , for dusting
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 8-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
- Combine the cake flour, almond flour, and salt. Set aside.
- In a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water (or use a double-boiler), whisk the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until warm to the touch and sugar is completely dissolved.
- Beat with an electric mixer on medium high until pale and doubled in volume, about 4-5 minutes. Fold in the flour mixture. Fold in the melted butter
- Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until lightly golden on top and bounces back when lightly pressed, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- The cake layers can be made ahead. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To make the pastry cream:
- In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, warm the milk, 1/4 cup sugar, salt and vanilla bean seeds until barely steaming, stirring occasionally.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and cornstarch. Add warmed milk mixture in a slow steady stream while whisking constantly. Once fully incorporated, return mixture to the saucepan and set over medium high heat. Stir constantly until mixture is thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat and cook for 1 minutes more. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla extract.
- Pass through mesh strainer to remove any cooked egg bits, then chill completely in the fridge.
- The pastry cream can be made ahead, stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To make the whipping Cream:
- With an electric mixer, beat whipping cream until it starts to thicken. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat to stiff peaks.
- Can be made ahead, but for best results use within 24 hours.
To assemble the cake:
- Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Cover with the raspberry jam, leaving a 1 inch border around the edge.
- Top with pastry cream. If pastry cream is too thick to spread, add a little whipped cream to loosen it up.
- Top with another cake layer.
- Pile about half of the whipped cream on top, shaping it into a dome.
- Place the last cake layer on top, carefully pressing it down around the dome of whipped cream (it helps if the cake is at room temperature). The top of the cake should have a slightly domed appearance.
- Cover the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
To cover the cake with marzipan:
- Use your hands to knead the marzipan into a ball. Sprinkle a clean work surface with powdered sugar. Roll marzipan out into a large disk about 1/4 inch thick. Be careful you don't roll it too thin or it could tear. If it sticks, add more powdered sugar.
- Carefully roll the marzipan onto the rolling pin (using more powdered sugar to prevent it sticking to itself), then unroll it over the chilled cake.
- Use your hands to smooth marzipan over cake. Trim the edges of the marzipan at the base of the cake with a knife and set them aside. Dust cake liberally with powdered sugar. If desired, pipe some more whipped cream around the base to cover up any marzipan imperfections (that's what I did!).
- To make a rose for the top (optional), tint some of the marzipan trimmings with pink gel food coloring and knead with your hands until color is even. Roll into 5 marble-sized balls, then squish them flat with your fingers. Roll one disk (petal) up, then wrap the remaining petals around it, flaring them out slightly as you get to the last few. Pinch the bottoms together and then pinch off any excess. Tint more of the trimmings green, then roll out and cut into leaves. Stick leaves to rose and press gently on top of the cake.
Notes
- Look for marzipan in the baking aisle of a well-stocked grocery store. You can also purchase it online.
- I found this video very helpful with assembly.
Tools for this recipe
This is a beautiful cake. If I made one that looked anywhere as good as this one does, I would never cut it.
Thanks Karen! It was pretty hard to cut, but too good not too. 🙂
This is such a beautiful cake and I just love that you made it in honor of you mom. Gorgeous!
Thanks so much Sues!
You are brave. Lovely cake. So glad to see it can be done and beautifully, at that.
Amazing looking cake. Can’t imagine how good it must taste as well! Such detail in help for making this! Very sweet to have made this in honor of mom, and that she would buy the princess cake, knowing too that YOU liked it!
In the ingredients for the whipped cream you list granulated sugar, but in the instructions you say powdered sugar. Which do you mean? Can’t wait to put it all together. Nervous about the marzipan. I too, have tried this before, and hoping this times a keeper!
I would love to make a cake like this, especially one topped with marzipan. I’m just so intimidated by the rolling out of the marzipan. I’ve never tried rolling out marzipan, but am very unskilled at even rolling out pie crusts.
What makes me really love the idea of this cake is that it reminds me a of my wedding cake from just over 20 years ago. I had a three-level white sponge cake with white vanilla cream and raspberry filling and white marzipan covering. It was delicious, but I remember only having one slice at the end of my reception dinner, and it was a very small slice, unfortunately.
I was married in the beautiful city of Prague in Czech Republic. My Czech husband’s sister, who lived near Prague, kept the small top layer in her freezer for a year (a custom the bride usually keeps). My husband and I could not take it to our home because we lived in the US. It was so nice that my sister-in-law stored it for us. Then one year later we returned, and my sister-in-law defrosted it. At that dessert there was my husband and I, and five others, including my mother-in-law. The top layer was small to the degree that it hardly fed us all. My sister-in-law gave the largest pieces to her sons, husband, and my husband, and my piece was so small it couldn’t even stand up. I know I sound ungrateful to her, but when it comes to a bride’s desires, things matter so much. I was sad. Later I told my husband that, and he sort of scolded me.
I would love to make this cake for my husband and I, with a white sponge cake, and eat as much of it as my heart desires.
Rolling out marzipan is intimidating! I’d watch a few youtube how-to videos to give you some tips – that’s what I did. Happy anniversary!! 🙂
Awwww Elaine. I would feel the same as you. And poo on your lovely husband, he shouldn’t have scolded you. I agree you should have gotten a fair sized piece! Definitely! Now go and make this and enjoy every bite!
Did you make the cake? I hope so! ❤️
You say Granulated sugar in your whip ingredients. Thank goddess I had e xtra cream ?
This is my all time favorite cake. I’m going to attempt this for Christmas this year. Your step by step makes me think I can even pull it off! I’m from Seattle, curious where your mum used to get hers? Thanks for putting this together. I’ll let you know if I’m successful. Merry Christmas!!
The cake was a little hard and eggy but if that is true to the Swedish recipe than I can’t judge.
Annalise,what a gorgeous cake! Your directions make this seem like such an easy approach, too. I would love to make this soon!
Annalise, it’s really awesome! This will quickly become a favorite in our house!
Annalise, this cake looks amazing. Especially this time of year. I make something similar, I need to make this on the weekend. Delicious.
It will be so much more fun to make
I have wanted to make one of these for years, and finally attempted it with your recipe. Alas, the custard, tho it seemed thick, leaked out of the sides. It also seemed like too much jelly: maybe I should have used less? Anyway, the layers didn’t work for me. Any idea what I did wrong? Perhaps I shouldn’t have tried to use all of the jelly and custard? Giving it five stars because I’m sure the fault is mine and I’m dying to try it again.
Dang why is the recipe so long my only complant.
Because a princess cake is special! And there is a lot going on. If you want a traditional princess cake, it has all of these components. But if you are looking for something simpler, I have a lot of other easier cake recipes too. 🙂