Happy Easter everybody! No matter where you are, I hope you have a wonderful holiday with family and loved ones.

To celebrate this year, I did an Easter-inspired take on a truly classic Swedish dessert, Prinsesstårta (Princess Cake). In Sweden this is our go-to cake for any big celebration – birthdays, graduations, weddings, you name it. For me, it tastes like home and brings back so many happy memories with family and friends.

Oh, and it’s amazing.

Princess cake is different from your typical buttercream cake. Between layers of light, airy base (often with a hint of orange or lemon zest) you’ll find raspberry jam and vanilla custard. On top of that you have a thick layer of whipped cream. And if that’s not enough, the whole thing is covered with marzipan.

Typically, princess cake is green or pink and decorated with a small marzipan rose. I made mine yellow, and instead of the traditional rose, I built a bird’s nest out of layers of chocolate. I then added chocolate candy eggs to the nest with a touch of gold leaf. As a finishing touch, I speckled chocolate around the base of the cake to mimic a bird’s egg.

You’ll find a recipe and a step-by-step guide for the Princess cake below. It takes a little effort, but it’s so worth it. As we say in Swedish, Lycka till (Good luck)!

Cake base

from Buffé

4 eggs
180 g sugar
60 g flour
80 g potato starch (Bob’s Red Mill carries it)
1 tsp baking powder
zest from half a lemon
zest from half an orange
butter and flour for the cake pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 345 degrees.

Butter and flour a 9 inch springform pan.

Whip eggs and butter with until fluffy, about three minutes.

Mix flour, potato starch and baking powder in a bowl.

Sift the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Add the zest. Gently fold with a spatula until a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the lower part of the oven for about 30 minutes.

Let cool before slicing into three layers.

Raspberry jam

500 g frozen or fresh raspberries

270 g sugar

Directions:

Pour berries and sugar into a saucepan. Over medium heat, bring to a boil and let boil for about 10 minutes. Pour into a bowl and let cool.

Vanilla Custard
from Leila Lindholm

500 g milk (3%)
1 vanilla pod
135 g sugar
7 egg yolks
40 g corn starch
50 g butter, softened

Directions:

Split the vanilla pod in half, scrape out the seeds and put both seeds and the pod in a sauce pan with the milk. Bring to a boil.
Whip the egg yolks with sugar and corn starch. Pour in the hot milk, while whisking.
Pour the mixture back into the pot and carefully heat the liquid, while whisking. As soon as the vanilla cream has started to thicken, take the pot off the heat and pour the crème into a cold bowl.
Add the butter, stir until fully melted, and let it cool in a refrigerator. Stir occasionally to prevent a skin to form.

500 ml heavy whipping cream

1,5 tsp vanilla sugar (small bags by Dr. Oetker sold in many grocery stores by the spices section)

Start whipping the heavy cream, and add the vanilla sugar halfway through. Make sure that the whipping cream is not too lose or too firm. It is made just right when you can turn your bowl upside down and the whipped cream doesn’t move.

600 g marzipan (sold in baking isles by brand Odense)

A couple drops of gel food coloring

Knead the marzipan and add the food coloring. Continue to knead until the color has been fully incorporated. Cover the marzipan in plastic wrap until ready to use.

To make the Princess cake:

1. Using a sharp knife, divide the cake into three layers. Insert the knife in the side and gently work your way around the cake until you’ve reached full circle.

2. Spread the jam on the bottom layer.

3. Place another cake layer on top of the jam. Spread a generous amount of vanilla custard on top.

4. Add a third cake layer, and top with whipped cream.

5. Once cake is covered, add extra cream on top to create a dome.

6. Make sure the surface of the whipped cream is smooth. This will help you layer the marzipan evenly. Let the cake chill in the fridge for 15 mins to set.

7. In the meantime, melt dark chocolate over a water bath or in the microwave. Using a pastry bag (or ziplock with a hole cut in one corner), pour the chocolate into circles on parchment paper. Refrigerate until set, approximately 10 minutes.

8. Color the marzipan with a color of your choice. Using a rolling pin, roll out the marzipan on a non-stick surface (I use a silicone mat). Remove the cake from the fridge, and cover with marzipan.

9. Gently press down the sides of the cake, making sure to smooth out any bumps. I like using disposable gloves, so my hands don’t stick to the marzipan.

10. Trim the edges of the cake using a sharp knife.

11. To make speckles, mix powdered cocoa with a little water, and using a clean paint brush, splatter onto the bottom of the cake. You should cover up with parchment paper any part of the cake you don’t want speckled.
12,  Remove the chocolate from the fridge, and stack them on top of the cake, to create a bird’s nest. Fill the nest with chocolate candy eggs.

Happy Easter, and Glad Påsk!

This article was originally published on April 16, 2017, and has since been edited. The recipe is from Eve’s Fika.  

Vardagslyx! Have you ever heard of that word? It directly translates to “everyday luxury” in Swedish and is something the Swedes will loudly exclaim when we treat ourselves to something without any real reason to.

Today, however, is undeniably a cause for celebration, especially in Sweden’s Småland region, where the first Thursday of March holds a special significance. Most Swedes partake in the tradition by indulging in marzipan treats, often opting for the iconic princess cake. As they enjoy these delicacies, they also make a concerted effort to commemorate the occasion, ensuring everyone knows it’s the first Thursday in March while embracing the local Småland-dialect – ‘fössta tossdan i mass’.

To celebrate the day, we wanted to share the recipe for this out-of-world, amazing Princess Rulltårta. The perfect marriage between a Swiss roll and a Swedish princess cake. 

Ingredients

• • • 3 eggs
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1 cup of flour
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1 cup of whipping cream
    • A large pinch of vanilla powder
    • 3 tsp of icing sugar
    • 1/2 cup of raspberry jam
    • 200g of pink marzipan (almond paste)
    • 3 tsp icing sugar (for garnish)
    • 125g of fresh raspberries

How to

1. 1. Set the oven to 480 degrees Fahrenheit/ 250°C.
   2. Beat/whip the eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer.
   3. Mix the flour and baking powder. Carefully fold it into the eggs and sugar mix.
   4. Spread the batter out on an oven sheet with parchment paper on top of it. Set in the oven for about 5 minutes.
   5. Let it cool down entirely.
   6. Pick up the parchment paper and flip the cake off of the baking sheet. Carefully remove the parchment paper.

1. Whip up the whipping cream and mix with vanilla powder and icing sugar.
2. Spread the raspberry jam on the cold cake bottom. Then spread half of the vanilla cream on top of it.
3. Take the long end of the cake and roll it into a flattened-out sheet of marzipan. Cut the excessive marzipan out.
4. Powder some icing sugar on the cake as garnish and serve with the rest of the vanilla cream together with fresh raspberries.

This article was originally published on Aug 9, 2018, and has since then been edited.

The semla is the most popular pastry in Sweden during January and February. As we previously mentioned in our article about the history of the semla, over 40 million semlor are bought in Sweden every year.  So you can imagine how crazy the Swedes are about this sweet little bun.

What simply started out as a bun, soaked in hot milk, grew into a yearly craze among the Swedes with bakeries all around Sweden trying to create different varieties of the pastry.

The classic semla is a wheat bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream, made from scratch. However, for all of you who have yet to find the baking genius withing yourself, we’ve included a simple recipe for you to enjoy this delicious pastry “the lazy way”.

For those of you living on the wild side, we encourage you to try the adventurous recipe, which is a mix of semla and another Swedish favorite, the chocolate mud cake (kladdkaka). Either way, all three recipes will give you a taste of the Swedish delicacy!

Interested in learning more about the history behind this traditional Swedish pastry? Read our article about it here.

The Traditional Way
It might take some time to do semlor the traditional but it’s definitely worth it!

Makes: 15-18 buns. Time: 2 hours

Buns
2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup melted butter
1 tsp salt 1 egg
1 tsp cardamom
4 cups all purpose flour (more if needed)
3 cups whipping cream
powdered sugar for topping

Glaze
1 whipped egg

Almond Paste
7 oz sweet almonds without skin
7 oz sugar
2 tbsp whole milk, or more

How to make it 

1. Add the yeast to the lukewarm water and stir gently.

2. Mix the milk, the melted butter, and the egg together, and add to the yeast mixture.

3. Add the flour, the cardamom, the sugar, and salt, and mix it all together.

4. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise for 45 min or until doubled in size.

5. Cut pieces of the dough and shape into round balls, and place onto a greased cookie sheet. Cover with the kitchen towel and let it rise for another 45 min. Preheat the oven to 350º F.

6. Brush the buns with the glaze. Cook the buns for 15-20 minutes, or until they get a golden brown color.

7. Mix the almonds in a mixer. Add the sugar and mix until it gets a creamy texture. Then take it away from the mixer and gently add a little milk and stir with a spoon.

8. When the buns are out from the oven, let them cool.

9. Slice into each bun with a sharp knife, cut down into the center to create a space for the almond paste. You can make circular or triangular cuts and it’s up to you if you want the top big or small. Then put a teaspoonful (or more) of the almond paste into the center. Top with whipped cream and put the sliced top back on. Finish with a dust of powdered sugar. Enjoy!

The Easy Way
If you’re tight on time or just don’t want to do the whole recipe from scratch, it’s easy to buy these ingredients from your local grocery store and put together the semla in a quick and simple way!

Time: 5 min

Ingredients
brioche buns
whipping cream
almond paste
powdered sugar for topping

How to make it
Slice into each bun with a sharp knife, cut down into the center to create a space for the almond paste. You can make circular or triangular cuts and it’s up to you if you want the top big or small. Then put a teaspoonful (or more) of the almond paste into the center. Top with whipped cream and put the sliced top back on. Finish with a dust of powdered sugar. Enjoy!

The Adventurous Way – Semmel-Kladdkaka
If you want to explore a new way of making a semla you should try this recipe- This cake is really easy to make and it tastes amazing!

1 cake (8 pieces), time: 30 min

Ingredients
5.3 oz butter
3.5 oz almond paste
2 tsp cardamom seeds
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp vanilla sugar
0.5 tsp salt
2.5 oz almond flakes
1 cup whipping cream
Powdered sugar for topping

How to make it

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F.

2. Melt the butter, tear the almond paste into small pieces, grind the cardamom seeds and mix the ingredients together in a bowl.

3. Put a greased parchment paper in the baking tin, (it should be about 8 inches in diameter).

4. Pour the batter into the baking tin and cook for 20-25 min. Then let the cake cool.

5. Meanwhile roast the almond flakes till they get a brown touch, and let them cool as well.

6. Whip the cream and spread it over the cake, sprinkle the almond flakes or dust some powdered sugar and it’s ready to eat!

This article was originally published on February 3, 2018.