{"id":7724,"date":"2015-07-28T23:53:27","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T02:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/culturedarm.com\/?p=7724"},"modified":"2015-08-03T21:03:56","modified_gmt":"2015-08-04T00:03:56","slug":"swedish-prinsesstarta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culturedarm.com\/staging\/5793\/swedish-prinsesstarta\/","title":{"rendered":"Swedish Prinsesst\u00e5rta"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PrincessCake6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Little over a year ago, my partner and I celebrated her birthday in the company of others, and made for the occasion a princess cake: the delirious\u00a0Swedish\u00a0prinsesst\u00e5rta<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/i>This was shortly before\u00a0the dessert appeared on an episode of The Great British Bake Off<\/em>; and I posted briefly about the cake, with a photograph, over on Culturedarm’s Tumblr page<\/a>. Alas, I never posted an accompanying recipe.<\/p>\n

This year the process repeated, and another princess cake was made. The princess cake is layers of sponge with raspberry jam and vanilla custard in between; with whipped cream mounted\u00a0dome-like on top; and the whole then covered by coloured marzipan. Icing sugar is typically sifted on top of the marzipan; and more marzipan may then be added by way of decoration, along with\u00a0more cream, or sometimes melted chocolate.<\/p>\n

The prinsesst\u00e5rta\u00a0first appeared in 1948,\u00a0in a cookbook published\u00a0by\u00a0Jenny \u00c5kerstr\u00f6m, a\u00a0teacher in the service of\u00a0Prince Carl, Duke of V\u00e4sterg\u00f6tland. Originally called ‘gr\u00f6n t\u00e5rta’ (‘green cake’), the dessert received its grander name as it became\u00a0a favourite of Prince Carl’s three daughters, Margaretha,\u00a0M\u00e4rtha, and Astrid.<\/p>\n

Princess cakes are still usually covered with green marzipan. But a variant using pink or red marzipan may be called an\u00a0operat\u00e5rta instead of a prinsesst\u00e5rta – that is, an opera cake rather than a princess cake – while versions with yellow marzipan are known as prince cakes. Swedish children, and adults too, often enjoy miniature princess cakes crafted to resemble the faces of frogs.<\/p>\n

The princess cake has a reputation for difficulty.\u00a0Mary Berry of The Great British Bake Off<\/em> has a vulgar recipe online that sees you purchasing assorted butters, fiddling to construct a fondant rose, and grinding almonds to make the marzipan from scratch. As so often in life – thanks for nothing, Mary Berry!<\/p>\n

In fact the princess cake isn’t complex at all – and it can be made exceedingly simple if you are willing to forego a few nuances of flavour. You don’t absolutely need the vanilla custard, for instance: do away with it if you want, or if you’re pressed for time but still demand to\u00a0go to the trouble of making a cake. Jam and whipped cream alone will suffice. More, feel free to play around with the ingredients: using jams other than raspberry; adding different flavourings to the sponge, cream, or custard; and decorating the realm that lies above the marzipan as much or as little as you prefer.<\/p>\n

A final note:\u00a0the recipe below asks\u00a0for only two layers of sponge. Three are more common. So without changing the quantity of ingredients, simply add another cake tin if you are ready and willing, spreading the sponge mixture more thinly between the three. This obviously allows you also another layer of jam and vanilla custard.<\/p>\n

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Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cake<\/strong><\/p>\n