| Princess cake | |
| Alternate Name: | Prinsesstårta, Grön tårta, Prinstårta, Prinsessbakelse |
| Country: | Sweden |
| Creator: | Jenny Åkerström |
| Type: | Cake |
| Main Ingredient: | Sponge cake, whipped cream, raspberries, pastry cream, marzipan, powdered sugar |
Princess cake (Swedish: prinsesstårta) is a traditional Swedish layer cake or torte consisting of alternating layers of airy sponge cake, pastry cream, and a thick-domed layer of whipped cream. The cake is covered by a layer of rolled marzipan, giving it a smooth, rounded top. The marzipan overlay is usually green, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and often decorated with a pink marzipan rose.[1] While the original recipe did not contain any fruit, modern versions usually include layers of jam or fresh fruit, usually raspberries.
The original recipe first appeared in the 1948 Prinsessornas kokbok cookbook, which was published by Jenny Åkerström (1867–1957), teacher of the three daughters of Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland.[2]
The cake was originally called grön tårta (green cake), but was given the name prinsesstårta or "princess cake" because the Swedish princesses were said to have been especially fond of the cake. The princesses were Princess Margaretha (1899–1977; later Princess of Denmark), Princess Märtha (1901–1954; later Crown Princess of Norway), and Princess Astrid (1905–1935; later Queen of the Belgians).[3] [4] [5]
Variants with other colours of marzipan are occasionally called prinstårta (prince cake) for yellow marzipan and operatårta (opera cake) for red or pink marzipan.