There’s just something about a princess cake we’ve always loved. The soft chiffon, layers of custard, whipped cream, jam, and marzipan make it feel like the ultimate special-occasion cake. But let’s be honest, store-bought versions rarely deliver. They’re usually a little artificial, skimpy on custard, and the marzipan dries out before you’ve even sliced it.
So we set out to make our own. Ours is everything we crave in a princess cake: tender chiffon layers, thick vanilla bean custard (yes, thicker than tradition, we can’t help ourselves), the pillowy-est mascarpone whipped cream, a bright layer of homemade raspberry jam, and that signature green marzipan dome—made with California almonds.
It’s not entirely traditional, but it is the best princess cake we’ve ever had. We’ve adapted this from Hannah Zinskin’s incredible recipe.
Princess Cake
Ingredients
Marzipan
- 8 oz green marzipan
Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream
- 1 packet powdered gelatin 7 g
- 2 ½ tbsp water 40 g
- 2 cups whole milk 500 g
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- ½ tsp salt 3 g
- 2 ½ tbsp cornstarch 20 g
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar 130 g
- 5 egg yolks 75 g
- 4 tbsp salted butter room temp (60 g)
- 1 cup heavy cream 250 g, folded in after cooling
Raspberry Jam
- 12 oz raspberries fresh or frozen
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 150 g
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
Chiffon Cake
- 3 egg yolks 55 g
- ¼ cup light brown sugar packed (55 g)
- 3 ½ tbsp olive oil 50 g
- ¼ cup water 50 g
- ¾ cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour 110 g
- ¾ tsp baking powder 3 g
- ½ tsp kosher salt 3 g
- 4 large egg whites 120 g
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar 55 g
Mascarpone Cream
- ½ cup mascarpone 130 g
- 1 ⅔ cups heavy cream 400 g
- ½ cup powdered sugar 60 g
- ⅛ tsp salt 1 g
Sweet Milk Soak
- 125 g milk
- 25 g sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt 1 g
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream
- Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl. Let bloom 5 minutes.
- Heat milk, vanilla paste, and salt in a saucepan just to a boil.
- Whisk cornstarch, sugar, and egg yolks in a bowl. Slowly temper in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return everything to the pan.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking until thick, smooth, and glossy.
- Off heat, whisk in gelatin and butter. Transfer to a bowl, press plastic wrap on top, and chill until set (overnight if possible).
Chiffon Cake
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together.
- In another bowl, whisk yolks, brown sugar, oil, and water.
- Sift in dry ingredients; whisk until smooth.
- In a mixer, whip egg whites + cream of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually stream in sugar; whip to stiff, glossy peaks.
- Whisk ⅓ of meringue into yolk mixture to lighten, then fold in the rest gently.
- Pour into an ungreased 16×10” sheet pan. Bake at 325°F ~15 min, until golden and springy.
- Drop pan from 6 inches (helps prevent sinking). Cool completely before releasing.
Raspberry Jam
- Combine raspberries, sugar, lemon juice + zest, salt, and vanilla paste in a pot. Toss to coat; macerate 30 minutes.
- Cook over medium-high heat until jam reaches 220–225°F, stirring often to prevent burning.
- Transfer to a container, cool, and refrigerate until set.
Sweet Milk Soak
- Whisk milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla until dissolved.
Mascarpone Cream
- Whip mascarpone, heavy cream, powdered sugar, and salt together until stiff peaks form.
Assembly
- Whip the reserved 1 cup cream and fold into chilled pastry cream.
- Cut chiffon into three 5.33"x10” rectangles. We then like to make an acetate cake collar that we shape to the size of our layers to help keep it all intact.
- Place first layer on serving dish. Brush with milk soak, spread ⅓ jam, then half the pastry cream. Repeat with second layer.
- Finish with the last cake layer + remaining jam. Chill overnight.
- Pile mascarpone cream into a dome on top.
- Roll marzipan on a powdered-sugar-dusted counter into a thin sheet. Drape over the cake, smoothing gently, and trim excess.
- Chill until ready to serve. Slice and enjoy!
This was seriously the hardest recipe ever. Did not turn out. Mostly due to my incompetence, but 10/10 challenging recipe NOT for beginners.
Aside from my marzipan layer, everything turned out just as pictured. Absolutely delicious cake. For inexperienced bakers I would suggest visiting the original recipe post by Hanna Zinskin as she provides some additional details in each step that may help.
This is NOT the original Swedish recipe. The original recipe is from 1929 and was simply called “Green Cake” back then. A teacher by the name of miss Jenny Åkerström created the recipe when teaching a group of upper class and royal girls how to cook (yes…girls that most certainly never would cook anything…)Among those girls were three princesses, Margaretha, Märtha and Astrid, the daughters of Swedish prince Carl and his wife, the Danish princess Ingeborg. Miss Åkerström later wrote a cookbook withe the recipes and called it “Prinsessornas Kokbok” (The Princesses’ Cook Book) It became known that the three princesses loved “Green Cake” and so it was renamed “Prinsesstårta” (Princess cake) in their honor and became the most popular cake in Sweden. The original recipe is not difficult at all and it is fit for royalty!
It is a “sponge cake” sliced in three layers. In between one put vanilla custard and if one like red jam (preferably good quality/home made). On top one put well whipped cream and then a “coat” of green marzipan. Decorate with a pink rose made of marzipan and green marzipan leaves. Then sprinkle with icing sugar with the help of for example a tea strainer. That is all!