Princess Cake-Sweden #133

Princess Cake- Sweden #133 

A traditional layer cake consisting of alternating layers of sponge cake, pastry cream, and a thick-domed layer of whipped cream. The cake is covered by a layer of marzipan, giving it a smooth rounded top.

       

Sponge Cake:

• 8 eggs, separated
• 1 c. Sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Salt]2-1/2 c. Flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
• 2 oz. melted butter

Pastry Cream:

• 2 c. Milk
• 1 split vainilla bean 
• 2 eggs
• 5 T. Cornstarch
• 1/2 c. Sugar
• Pinch salt

Whipped Cream:

• 5 c. Heavy cream
• 10 T. Sugar

Simple Syrup:

• 1 c. Water 
• 1 c. Sugar

8 oz. Raspberry Jam (Purchase)

Marzipan Dome: (Purchase)

• 1-1/2 lbs. marzipan
• Green food coloring
• Confectioners’ sugar for rolling

1. Sponge Cake: Preheat oven 350F. Grease 2-10” cake pans.
2.  Whip the egg yolks until they are pale yelllow and doubled in volume.
3. In another bowl, whip the egg whites until frothy gradually adding the sugar until the foam becomes stiff.
4. Fold half of the whipped egg whites into the yolks.  Fold in the remaining egg whites thoroughly, until uniform in color,. 
5. In 4 batches, fold in the sifted flour and the baking powder then the butter.
6. Immediately pour the batter into the cake pans. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Allow the cakes to cool on a rack.  After they have cooled, run the tip of a knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen them from the pans and remove. 
8. Using a long serrated knife, slice both cakes into 1/2” thick disks. Only 3 will be needed.
9. Simple Syrup: Bring water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan, frmove from heat and allow to cool.
10. Pastry Cream: Bring the milk and vanilla bean to a simmer in a medium saucepan.
11. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes to infuse.
12. Remove vanilla bean.
13. Whisk the eggs, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a bowl until smooth.
14. Add half of the milk into the bowl containing the eggs, whisking constantly, then return the mixture to the saucepan containing the remaining milk, whisking over moderate heat.  Continue whisking until the mixture is thickened and begins to simmer.  Allow cream filling to simmer, whisking for an additional 2 minutes.  Transfer into another bowl, cover and allow to cool completely.
15. Whipped Cream:  Whisk heavy cream with sugar until it firm and holds its shape, being careful not to over whip.
16. Fold 1/5th of the cream into the cooled pastry cream and refrigerate, covered, until chilled (approx. 1 hr.)  Reserve the remaining whipped cream in the refrigerator, covered.
17. Assembling:Place a 10” springform pan without a bottom on a 12” cake board. 
18. Place 1 layer of the sponge cake on the bottom, and generously brush with syrup.
19. Spread the jam evenly over the syrup.
20. Place a second layer of sponge cake on top of the jam. Brush with syrup and spread the prepared Pastry cream on this layer.
21. Top with a third layer of sponge cake and again, brush with the syrup.
22. Using your hands , press lightly on the cake to ensure cake is level.  Refrigerate 1 hour.
23. Remove the springform mold from the cake and generously frost the sides with the reserved Whipped Cream.
24. Pour the remaining Whipped Cream directly on the center of the top of the cake and using a spatula, make a mound, working from the center out. The Whipped Cream should be approx. 1-1/2” in the center and about 1/2” on the edges
25. Marzipan:  Color a walnut size piece of marzipan with the green food coloring until it is deep green. Reserve.
26. Using a sifter, dust a scrupulously clean work surface with confectioners’ sugar.
27. Tear off a pea-sized piece of green marazipan and knead it with the remaining marzipan until it is uniform in color.  Add additional pieces until it achieves a light green color, like a Granny Smith apple.
28. Dust a work surface again with confectioners’ sugar and roll the light green marzipan to 1/10” thick circle, using as much confectioners’ sugar as necessary during rolling to prevent the marzipan from sticking to the work surface. The marzipan should be large enough to cover the entire cake and sides.
29. Roll marzipan on a rolling pin and gently lay it down on top of the cake, smoothing out the dome and lightly pressing on the bottom edges of the cake to form a perfect dome.
30. Decorate with leftover marzipan or simply dust the entire cake with confectioners’ sugar.

Results: Whew! This actually took me about 5 hours to complete. The directions said 1-1/2 hours. Ha! First of all, I only made 1/2 the recipe. a 10”- 3 layered cake would have been way too much, even for our neighborhood. I hate to throw away cake. I used a 6”round x 3” deep pan. It was tall enough to slice into 3 layers. Pastry Cream can be tricky so make sure you watch it closely. It can become too thick and lumpy. I bought the marzipan, which is a bit expensive but makes life easier. Be careful with the food coloring. A little goes a long way. I thought the cake was delicious, as did most of the tasters. However, one person discovered they don’t like marzipan.

Bottom Line: Even though it was delicious and made a lovely presentation, it was a lot of work and took a lot of time.  Moving on.

Please share this blog with the Princesses in your life and those that serve. LOL