Prinsess Cupcakes
A Swedish classic in cupcake format.
Princess cake is truly a Swedish classic used for celebrations of all types. About half a million of them are sold in Sweden every year. This recipe combines all the classic flavors of a princess cake, but in a smaller format. I wish it was me who came up with this idea but I got inspiration from mykitchenstories / Camilla Hamid who also has some really nice pictures so feel free to go go there and see how they do it. It takes some time to make these, but they are very good and are certainly appreciated by everyone who tries them.
The name princess cake has been around since the end of the 19th century, but then referred to other recipes than what we today consider to be a princess cake. The first time a recipe was published in a cookbook was in 1948 and it was compiled by Jenny Åkerström. In that cookbook, the cake was called "green cake". Even though all the varieties I have eaten over the years have contained raspberry jam, it is not actually part of the original recipe. The original coating was not marzipan either, but almond paste. Jenny Åkerström was a food writer and home economics teacher who held a housewife school in Stockholm in the early 20th century. Some of her students were Princesses Margaretha, Märtha and Astrid. Jenny collected the recipes used in the training in the cookbook "Prinsessornas kokbok: husmanskost och helgsdagmat".
The marzipan coating is normally green and powdered with a little icing sugar. A red or pink rose of marzipan is also a common decoration. The cake comes in many other varieties, including yellow (prince cake), pink or red (opera cake) coating.
Princess cake week takes place September 20-26. During this week, SEK 10 of each purchased princess cake (SEK 2.50 of each princess cake pastry) goes to Victoriafonden which works to provide support to chronically ill and disabled children and young people.
If you want to cheat a little, you can also buy ready-made green marzipan in many major Swedish grocery stores. I think I have seen finished decorations of marzipan as well and everything that makes it easier is positive. Especially small decorations required in this recipe can be a bit tricky.
As for the amount of marzipan used in this recipe, I usually buy a whole package of 400g, but only about half actually end up on the pastries. It all depends on how thick a layer of marzipan you want and it makes it easier to have a little extra to bake with.
I have experimented with replacing some of the flour in the batter with potato flour to more mimic the classic cake base, but thought it got a little too dry so I did not. I have also tried to freeze the finished pastries, which actually works quite well even if fresh is better. However, it only makes them better if they get a few hours in the fridge before they are served and you can absolutely make them the day before.
One of the trickier parts of the recipe is to handle the marzipan in a good way. I use a lot of cornstarch to prevent the marzipan from sticking to the rolling pin and then try to brush off most of it before I cover each cupcake with it. If the marzipan gets a little dry, it will crack easily - especially if you roll out really thin and then it can help to moisten the dough with a little water. A little water can also help shape the marzipan, but too much water makes it sticky and difficult to handle, so it is important to balance that a little.
Ingredients
Directions
- Add egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla powder and milk to a small saucepan.
- Heat on medium heat and whisk constantly.
- Remove the pan from the heat when the cream has begun to thicken.
- Add the butter, let it melt and stir until smooth.
- llow to cool completely and then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- In a small saucepan - heat butter, milk, vanilla powder and oil on the lowest heat until the butter is melted. Turn off the heat and put on a lid so the mixture stays warm while the rest of the batter is being prepared.
- Whisk eggs and sugar in a bowl until thick and glossy. It takes about 7 minutes.
- Sift baking powder and flour into another bowl and add in 3 batches to the egg/sugar mix. Only mix for 5 seconds with the whisk at the lowest speed after each batch is added - I want to keep as much air as possible in the batter.
- Take some of the batter (1-2 dl) and add to the milk/butter mix. Whisk a bit so everything mixes - it's ok to whisk properly here.
- Slowly pour the milk/butter mixture into the rest of the batter while the whisk is running at the lowest speed. It takes about 15 seconds.
- Use a spatula on the edges of the bowl so that all the batter is mixed and whisk one last time at the lowest speed for another 10 seconds.
- Place muffin tins in a muffins pan.
- Distribute the batter evenly between 12 tins. It should be filled to about 2/3, no more.
- Bake in the oven at 180°C, 22 minutes until golden brown. If necessary, test with toothpicks (ready when it comes out dry).
- Let it rest at room temperature for 2 minutes and then pick out all the individual tins and let them cool on a wire rack. If you leave the tins in the pan, baking continues and there is a risk that they will be overbaked and dry.
- Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Mix a small amount of marzipan with the red household color, mix the rest of the marzipan with the green color. Feel free to wear thin gloves here. Store the marzipan in the fridge until it's time to use it.
- Dig a small hole in the muffin (I use a 2.5 cm punch) and fill the hole with raspberry jam and vanilla cream.
- Whip the double cream. Add the remaining vanilla custard (I used about half for the filling, the rest ended up here) and stir gently.
- Pipe the cream/custard mixture in an even layer on top.
- Roll out the colored marzipan and cut it into circles. Use cornstarch to prevent the marzipan from sticking to the rolling pin and table.
- Place a circle of green marzipan on top and shape it carefully so that it covers the cream. If the marzipan is very dry, you can use a little water.
- Drizzle melted chocolate on top.
- Powder with a little icing sugar.
- Make a small rose from the red/pink marzipan by punching out a few small circles and rolling them around each other. Place this on top of the pastry.
Nutrition Facts*
| Total | Serving | 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 6104.7 kcal | 508.73 kcal | 380 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 519.38 g | 43.28 g | 32.33 g |
| Fat | 421.87 g | 35.16 g | 26.26 g |
| Protein | 78.08 g | 6.51 g | 4.86 g |
| Sugar | 355.36 g | 29.61 g | 22.12 g |
| Salt | 3.37 g | 0.28 g | 0.21 g |
* The nutritional information provided is approximated and calculated using the ingredients available in the database. Info will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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Drygast
Foodie, amateur cook, software developer, dog owner and generic old guy.
