Monday, May 27, 2013

Daring Bakers' Challenge: Swedish Princesstårta



Korean of Korena in the Kitchen was our May Daring Bakers' host and she delighted us with this beautiful Swedish Princesstårta!

This amazing layered masterpiece was created in the 1930's by a Swedish home economics teacher named Jenny 
Åkerström, who taught the three Swedish princesses of the time.  She published a series of four cookbooks called "The Princess Cookbooks" and in one of the editions, there was a recipe for "Grön Tårta" (green cake).  One story is that this later became known as "princess cake" (princesstårta) because the three princesses are said to have loved it so much.  Another story is that Ms. Åkerström actually created three very elaborate "princess cake" recipes - a different one for each princess - and that the current version is a simplified combination of all three.  That explains the princess connection, but not the reason that the cake is green.  That seems to be a mystery.  It's so popular today, that the third week in September is officially Princesstårta Week.



We were given some freedom to tweak this cake a little so I made a pink cake instead.  Natural food colors are not as bright and only come in primary colors, so pink was a lot easier than green.   I also used strawberry jam instead of raspberry.  This cake is meant to be a regular 9" size but I make a mini version by cutting the ingredients in half.

Here's what the cake looks like on the inside, layers of sponge cake, strawberry jam, pastry cream, whipped cream, and topped with marzipan.  Everything is dairy and egg free.


I'll show you how this goes together.  First you need to make a sponge cake.  Since I couldn't use the recipe provided because it is full of eggs, I used this sponge cake recipe,  except that I used rice milk instead of soy milk.  This makes two cakes that  you'll need to split in half.  One of the four pieces won't be used but I'm sure that you'll find someone who will eat the left over piece.  (It's quite good with caramel sauce poured over the top).  Next you cover one piece with strawberry jam.


You cover the strawberry jam with pastry cream.  I also couldn't use the pastry cream recipe provided, so I used this vegan pastry cream recipe.  It calls for coconut milk but I used soy creamer since I didn't want the coconut flavor.  I also used rice milk in place of hemp milk. 


After the pastry cream, you add another layer of cake.


Then, another layer of pastry cream followed by a layer of whipped cream.  I used Soyatoo non dairy whipped topping straight from the box.  (do not use the canned version, it won't hold up)  I know I could have made my own from coconut milk, but this stuff is so delicious and easy to use.  You'll need two boxes for a full sized cake.


When you spread out the whipped topping you need to dome it in the center of the cake.


Next, add the third layer of cake.


You spread the remaining whipped topping over the whole cake.


The final step is to make a marzipan cover.  You can buy marzipan or make it yourself.  I used this recipe:

Marzipan
4 oz almond meal
8 oz powdered sugar
1/4 cup organic corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Put the almond meal and powdered sugar in a food processor
Pulse to combine
Add the corn syrup and combine, it will be dry and crumbly
Add the extract and just enough lemon juice to make it come together.
Knead into a ball and chill before dying etc.


Sprinkle with powdered sugar and decorate with a marzipan flower and leaves.




10 comments:

  1. What a cute little version of the Princesstårta! I love the muted pink and white theme going on there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful cake! I love seeing how you veganized the whole thing. Thanks for baking along with me this month!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the pink color and the strawberries!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the pink marzipan..looks so cute and you got such lovely layers, mine melted away in the heat!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It looks lovely and you were very successfull at switching all the ingredients to vegan alternatives. Well done.

    You can have a look at mine over here.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful!! Great job on the vegan cake!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I admire this article for the well-researched content and excellent wording. I got so involved in this material that I couldn’t stop reading. I am impressed with your work and skill. Thank you so much. Online cake delivery in Delhi

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post, and great website. Thanks for the information! unique domain

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am definitely enjoying your website. You definitely have some great insight and great stories. low obl

    ReplyDelete