The Best Swedish Princess Cake

I was trained to bake this cake by a very dear Swedish friend who grew up baking it with her mother in Sweden. It might have slightly less cake and whip cream as other recipes, but I think that is why this recipe is so delicious. In order to not change the recipe, units are in deciliters and grams. I will also include cups and ounces, but they will not be even numbers. I will now reveal to you, the very Best Swedish Princess Cake.

As the story goes... Three princesses took cooking classes together in Stockholm. Princess Margareta later became Princess of Denmark, Märta Crown Princess of Norway, and Astrid went on to become Queen of Belgium.

The three princesses were dedicated a cookbook that became much appreciated and famous; The Princesses Cookbok. In the cookbook, each princess had a cake dedicated to her. All three were richly decorated and difficult to make. But the princesses had another favorite cake, which initially was called “green cake”. It’s the cake that today is called Princess Cake, and can be found in most bakeries throughout Sweden.

Below is the shopping list with the total ingredients needed with rounded up amounts to make purchasing easier. For each section, I'll break down ingredients again. The Swedish recipe uses deciliters and grams which I have converted to cups and ounzes if you would prefer the imperial system.

• 6 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cups potato starch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup raspberry preserve
• 1.5 cup half and half
• 1 tbl potato starch
• 2 tsp gelatin
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
• 7 oz almonds
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1.25 tbl butter
• green and red food coloring
• 1/4 bar dark chocolate

• 200g (7.05 oz) almonds
• 1 dl (0.42 cups) sugar
• 1 dl (0.42 cups) powdered sugar
• less than one egg white
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1.25 tablespoons butter
• 2.25 tablespoons flour
• 3 dl (1.27 cups) powdered sugar

• green and red food coloring

Pour the almonds into boiling water. Wait until the water boils again and the almonds rise to the surface, it shouldn’t be more than a couple of minutes at most. Drain the almonds from water and let them cool. Peel the almonds (the peel should come off easy) and then let them dry (this can be done a day before making the rest of the cake). When dry, mix them with 1 dl (0.42 cups) sugar in a food processor until fine grained. Add 1 dl powdered sugar and just enough egg white to turn the mix into a smooth paste. For a bit more grown up flavor, you can add a tablespoon of brandy to the almond paste. Mix water, butter, and flour in a pot and heat until thickened. Mix with the almond paste and add 3 dl (1.27 cups) powdered sugar, or enough to make the marzipan smooth and less sticky. Take out a lump large enough to make roses, and add red food color to it and knead it into the marzipan until distributed evenly. Add green food color to the large part of the marzipan and knead that in.

Cake base

• 3 eggs 1.5 dl (0.64 cups)
• sugar 0.75 dl (0.32 cups)
• flour 0.75 dl (0.32 cups)
• potato starch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Heat the oven to 350°F. Whisk eggs and sugar together until the mix is white and fluffy. Mix flour, potato starch and baking powder together in a separate bowl. Stir the flour mix into the egg and sugar mix. Butter a mold and cover it in bread crumbs. Pour the batter into the mold and place it in the over for 30 minutes. Let it cool.

Filling:

• 1-2 dl (0.42- 0.85 cups) raspberry preserve
• 3 dl (1.27 cups) half and half
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon potato starch
• 2 teaspoons gelatin
• 2 dl (0.85 cups) heavy whipping cream
• 0.5 teaspoons vanilla sugar or vanilla extract

Mix half and half, yolks, sugar, vanilla extract and potato starch in a pot. Heat it up to a simmer while stirring until it thickens. Mix the gelatin in a bit of cold water and add it to the hot custard. Set aside to cool. Raspberry will be used for the next step.

Divide the cake base into two pieces, and spread raspberry jam on one half.

Whip the heavy cream until fairly thick. You can either stir the whipped cream into the custard once it’s cold, or add them to the cake separately (I prefer the latter).

Spread custard on the other side of the cake and place it on top of the raspberry covered cake, custard side down.

Cover sides and top of cake with whipped cream, making a slight mound in the center.

Garnish:

• 300g (10.58 oz) marzipan
• green and red food coloring
• powdered sugar
• a few pieces of dark chocolate

Roll out the green marzipan on a sheet of wax paper into a circle with a diameter larger than the cake. Flip the marzipan on top of the cake and remove wax paper. Fold the marzipan into the sides of the cake and cut away excess marzipan.

Melt chocolate and spritz over cake.

Form the pink marzipan into roses. Roll out a thin piece of pink marzipan. Cut out a 5" x 2" strip. Pinch one long edge of the strip to create a crescent shape. Roll the non-pinched long edge to form the rose as shown in the photos.

Form excess green marzipan into leaves. Cut a tear drop shaped strip in the shape of a leaf. Gently press the knife half way through the leaf to create the veins.

Place the roses and leaves on top of the cake and finish off with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Enjoy a slice of Swedish heaven!