Korena of
Korena in the Kitchen was our May Daring Bakers’ host and she delighted us with this beautiful Swedish Prinsesstårta!
This was one of those challenges that I wasn't sure if I'd have enough time to make. However, David was working in the ER the first weekend and I found out they were bringing food one night...so, I made this that weekend. K helped with the cake and kept asking if she was going to eat "birthday cake." don't you know...ALL cakes are birthday cakes! :-)
I decided to go simple and just make a quick fondant instead of marzipan (not a big fan anyway!). K had to taste every color because obviously the different colors taste different. I make the logo of our hospital for the decoration and it was a hit in the ER. They ate half overnight and I took the other half to the lounge the next day. It was gone by the time I went home. I'd say people liked it!
Vanilla Custard
Ingredients
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream, divided
4 egg yolks from large eggs
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) cornstarch
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (30 gm) (1 oz) granulated white sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract)
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and egg
yolks. Gradually whisk in ½ cup (120 ml) of heavy cream until smooth. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat until just boiling. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the bowl with the egg mixture to temper the eggs.
2. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low
heat, whisking constantly, until it becomes thick like pudding and just
comes to a boil. The mixture must hit a boil for the cornstarch to
properly thicken the custard, and also to cook out any starchy taste. If
it starts to look curdled or lumpy, remove it from the heat and whisk
vigorously until smooth, then return to the heat. As soon as it comes to
a boil, remove it from the heat. If using vanilla extract, add it now.
(If desired, pass the custard through a fine mesh sieve before continuing.)
3. Pour the custard into a clean bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap
directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate
until completely cold. Can be prepared a day ahead and kept in the
refrigerator.
Sponge Cake
Ingredients
Fine dry breadcrumbs for the pan (such as crushed panko)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (240 ml) (225 gm) (8 oz) granulated white sugar
½ cup (120 ml) (70 gm) (2½ oz) all-purpose (plain) flour
½ cup (120 ml) (65 gm) (2¼ oz) potato starch (or cornstarch)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 with a rack in
the lower third of the oven. Thoroughly butter a 9” (23 cm) round
springform pan, line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper, then
butter the paper. Dust the buttered pan with enough breadcrumbs to coat
the bottom and sides, just like flouring a cake pan. Set aside.
2. Place the eggs and granulated white sugar in a mixing bowl and beat
on medium-high speed with an electric mixer or stand mixer with whisk
attachment until the eggs are tripled in volume and very light coloured
and fluffy, about 5 minutes. The mixture should fall from the beaters in
thick ribbons. Don’t overbeat the eggs – once they form thick ribbons
and stop growing in volume, stop beating.
3. Sift the all-purpose (plain) flour, potato starch, baking powder, and
salt into a bowl, then sift the flour mixture over the whipped eggs.
With a balloon whisk, fold the flour into the eggs until blended,
keeping as much air in the batter as possible. Use large, gentle yet
confident strokes, bringing batter from the bottom of the bowl to the
top. Once mixed, the batter should be quite thick and smooth.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread it out evenly, and bake
in the lower third of the preheated moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4
oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown on top, springy to the
touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist
crumbs sticking to it. Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes then run a knife around
the edge and remove the sides of the springform pan. Don’t worry if it
sinks a bit in the middle. Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper. If
the cake is lopsided, press gently to make it level, then allow it to
cool completely before continuing. The cake can be made a day ahead and
stored, well-wrapped in plastic, at a cool room temperature.
Prinsesstårta Assembly
Ingredients
2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream, chilled
granulated white sugar, to taste (scant 1 tablespoon is plenty)
Sponge Cake, cooled
1/3 cup (80 ml) seedless raspberry jam (or regular jam pressed through a sieve to remove seeds)
Vanilla Custard, chilled
Marzipan Covering and Rose
Icing sugar, for rolling and dusting
Optional: melted chocolate, royal icing, or piping gel
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add
sugar to taste (keep in mind that the rest of the cake components are
sweet, so the whipped cream should be very lightly sweetened at most)
and continue whipping the cream until stiff. You want it to be sturdy
enough to provide structure to the cake, but not over-whipped enough to
make butter. Set the whipped cream aside.
2. With a long serrated knife, slice the sponge cake into three even
layers. This cake is very delicate, so do this as carefully as possible.
Use a gentle sawing motion to move the knife through the cake instead
of trying to pull it through the cake. Use a spatula to help you lift
off each layer after you cut it. Set aside the middle layer – this will
become the top layer of the assembled cake as it is the most flexible
and therefore easiest to bend into a dome over the whipped cream.
3. Place one of remaining layers on a cake board or serving platter and
spread it evenly with the raspberry jam. Spread or pipe half the chilled
custard over the jam in an even layer, leaving enough room around the
edges so that it doesn’t spill over the sides of the cake.
4. Top the custard with another layer of cake. Spread or pipe the
remaining custard evenly over it, again leaving some room around the
edges.
5. Reserve ½ cup (120 ml) of the stiffly whipped cream. Pile the rest
into a mound on top of the custard. Spread it into a thick layer with a
thin, flexible spatula or off-set spatula, then hold the spatula at an
angle to shape the whipped cream into a dome, piling it up in the middle
of the cake as much as possible.
6. Place the final layer of sponge cake (the one cut from the middle of
the cake) on top of the whipped cream. Do not press on the top of the
cake – instead, gently tuck the edges of the cake layer into the whipped
cream, so that they are flush with the cream. This will create a
smooth, seamless dome on top of the cake.
7. Gently spread the reserved ½ cup (120 ml) of whipped cream over the
entire cake to fill in any cracks and even out the surface. If
necessary, refrigerate the cake to firm it up before continuing.
8. Use the rolling pin to drape the rolled-out marzipan or fondant sheet over the
cake and smooth it around the cake gently with your hands. If it seems like it wants to fold or buckle around the cake, gently lift
and stretch it away from the cake with one hand while smoothing it down
with the other.
Enjoy!