Prinsesstårta
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 140 g caster sugar
- 200 ml (2 dl) self-raising flour
- 25 g butter, melted
- 6 egg yolks, 600 ml double cream, 600 ml milk, 1 vanilla pod, 3 tbsp caster sugar and 4 tsp cornstarch, for the vanilla custard
- 300 g raspberries (frozen is fine)
- 600 ml double cream, whipped, for the filling and dome
- 600 g green marzipan
- 50 g pink marzipan, for the rose
- Icing sugar, for dusting
The prinsesstårta comes from a 1929 cookbook written for the daughters of Prince Carl of Sweden, and its green marzipan dome is instantly recognisable on any Swedish coffee table. A fatless sponge — eggs and sugar whisked warm over a water bath until thick, flour folded in — is cut into three layers. Vanilla custard, raspberries and whipped cream are stacked between them, with the cream piled into a hill on top, and the whole cake is draped in a thin sheet of green marzipan, dusted with icing sugar and finished with a pink marzipan rose.
Method
Heat the oven to 180°C (355°F) and grease and flour a 24 cm springform tin. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a bowl set over simmering water until the mixture reaches 60°C, then keep whisking off the heat until cool and very fluffy, about 10 minutes. Fold in the flour gradually, then the melted butter. Bake for about 30 minutes until set, and cool completely.
For the custard, combine the yolks, cream, milk, split vanilla pod, sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan and heat over medium, stirring, until thickened. Strain through a fine sieve and cool in a water bath, whisking, until thick and cold.
Slice the cooled sponge into three layers. Spread the bottom layer with custard, scatter with raspberries and a little whipped cream, and cover with the second layer.
Spread the second layer with more custard and cream, add the top layer, then pile the remaining whipped cream on top and shape it into a smooth dome.
Roll the green marzipan into a thin round large enough to cover the cake, lay it over the dome and smooth it down the sides, trimming the base.
Dust with icing sugar and decorate with a rose shaped from the pink marzipan and leaves cut from green marzipan trimmings. Chill until serving.
