Princess Cake Video Recipe - 3 Tips for Decoration Ideas w/ Marzipan (Swedish Prinsesstarta in 4k)

Watch 3 easy-to-follow tips for decorating with marzipan and for a perfect airy sponge. The Swedish Princesstårta, princess cake, is a celebration cake ideally suited for a birthday or festive event. The dome of luxurious diplomat cream (pastry and whipped cream) lays atop layers of airy sponge cake complemented with a fruity jam. Everything is covered by a bright green coating of marzipan, a magical confection of sugar, honey, and almond meal.


Pastry Cream
16 oz. (470ml) milk
4 oz. (120g) caster sugar
2 tsp. (10ml) vanilla bean paste
3 Tbs. (23g) cornstarch
Pinch salt
3 large eggs (room temperature)
1 Tbs. (13g) unsalted butter

Chiffon cake sponge
2 oz. (60ml) vegetable oil
4 oz. (120ml) water
2 tsp. (10ml) vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
8 oz. (227g) cake flour
3 oz. (85g) caster sugar
2 tsp. (10ml) baking powder
4 egg whites (room temperature)
¼ tsp. (1.25ml) cream of tartar
4 oz. (115g) caster sugar

Snowflake
4 oz. (113g) confectioner’s sugar
1 Tbs (20g) corn syrup
2 tsp. (10ml) water

For the dome, diplomat cream and decoration
20 oz. (600ml) heavy whipping cream
4 oz. (120g) seedless raspberry jam
28 oz. (800g) marzipan (store-bought​)
green food gel
red food gel
white fondant

Method:
1. Make the pastry cream by mixing half the sugar with the milk and vanilla bean paste in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Mix the other half of the sugar with the cornstarch and salt and add to the eggs and whisk till combined. The fine cornstarch particles will coat the sugar crystals and allow for even mixing and a lump-free paste once eggs are added. Only whisk eggs into the sugar mixture right before adding cream. Combining sugar and eggs too early will cause the eggs to “cook” because the sugar (it’s hygroscopic!) will pull water from the eggs leaving them curdled looking. Pour the simmering milk mixture over the eggs while whisking and pour back into the pot and cook over medium-low heat till thickened while continuously stirring. The pastry cream should be thick but be careful not to scorch the pastry cream. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a clean metal bowl and stir in room temperature butter. Place the bowl in an ice bath to quickly cool and stir to release heat. A pastry cream that uses whole eggs is sure to set because the egg whites will cook/coagulate at a lower temperature than egg yolks. The pastry cream coagulates/cooks between 180-185oF.

2. For the chiffon, mix the oil, water, vanilla and egg yolks in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, sugar, and baking powder. Now mix the dry ingredients with the wet yolk mixture to a thick and smooth paste. Make a cold meringue by whipping the room temperature egg whites to a froth and then gradually adding the sugar till meringue forms glossy, stiff peaks. Fold half of the cold meringue into the cake batter. Now fold the remaining half of the cold meringue, taking care not to deflate the batter. Pour batter into an ungreased, parchment lined 8 x 3 inches (20 x 7 cm) round cake pan. Bake at 350oF for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan before running a knife around the edge to remove cake. A traditional Princess cake uses a genoise sponge. I opted for a chiffon sponge for two reasons, taste and reliable baking (living at 6000 ft. elevation seriously affects the rise on a genoise).

3. To assemble the cake, use a long serrated knife to slice 3 – 1inch tall layers. Place the first layer on an 8-inch round cake board and spread with a thin layer of pastry cream. Place some pastry cream in a piping bag fitted with ¼” round tip and pipe a border around the edge of the cake to act as a dam to prevent the raspberry jam from leaking out the sides of the cake. Spoon a layer of jam on the pastry cream and evenly spread. Chill the cake for at least an hour, so the pastry cream layers firm making it easier to frost.

4. Whip the cream to soft peak and fold ½ of the cream with the pastry cream. Diplomat cream is a fancy cream that has plain whipped cream folded into the pastry cream. Spread a layer of the whipped pastry cream(diplomat cream) over the jam layer and then top with the middle cake layer. Spread another layer of the whipped pastry cream (diplomat cream) on the middle layer and add the last top cake layer. Spoon the plain whipped cream over the top of the cake to create a dome and crumb coat the sides with the plain whipped cream. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

5. Color a small amount of rolled fondant with green food gel and more with red food gel. Roll the green fondant out and using a small holly leaf cookie cutter to make holly leaves. Roll a few red berries to pair with the holly leaves.

Additional recipe information at: https://www.bakealong.com/blog/swedis...