A Royal Treat: Baking the Swedish Prinsesstårta

If there’s one cake that truly knows how to make an entrance, it’s the Swedish Prinsesstårta. Bright green, filled with layers of custard, jam, and whipped cream—this cake doesn’t just look royal, it tastes like it too.

This weekend I decided to take on the challenge of baking it myself, partly because I wanted cake (obviously). And honestly? It turned out pretty great.

For anyone not familiar with Prinsesstårta: it’s basically a sponge cake, layered with raspberry jam, homemade vanilla custard, and a big fluffy dome of whipped cream, all wrapped up in a blanket of green marzipan. It’s usually topped with a marzipan rose, but that’s optional—unless you’re going for bonus points in “most Swedish fika moment of the year.”

So here’s how I made it:

Ingredients

Sponge Cake Base

• 4 eggs
• 50 g sugar
• 1 dl (55 g) flour
• 1 dl (55 g) potato starch or corn starch
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar

Vanilla Custard

• 1 vanilla pod
• 250 ml heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 50 g sugar
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 25 g butter (room temperature)

Garnish

• 400 ml whipped cream
• 400 g green marzipan (or yellow for Easter vibes)
• 200 g raspberry jam

Instructions

Step 1: Bake the Cake Base

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Butter a round cake tin (around 20 cm) and line the bottom.
Whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, starch, baking powder, and vanilla sugar.
Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.
Pour into the tin and bake on the lower rack for about 40 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack.

Step 2: Make the Custard

Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and heat them with the cream—let it simmer for about 5 minutes, then remove the pod.
Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla sugar, and corn starch.
Slowly pour the warm cream into the egg mixture while whisking constantly.
Pour it all back into the pot and heat gently (keep stirring!) until the custard thickens.
Remove from heat, stir in the butter, and let it cool completely.

Step 3: Assembly Time!

Once the cake and custard are cool, slice the cake into 2 or 3 layers (ideally 3, but 2 works just fine too).
Then it’s time to stack:

1. Bottom layer of sponge cake
2. Raspberry jam
3. Middle cake layer
4. Vanilla custard
5. Top cake layer
6. Whipped cream—pile it high in the center and spread it into a dome (don’t forget the sides!)

Roll out your marzipan nice and thin, then carefully cover the whole cake. It helps to dust your surface with powdered sugar or cornstarch so it doesn’t stick. Trim the edges and you’re done!

If you’re feeling fancy, pop a marzipan rose on top and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Final Thoughts + Creative Tips

• Green is traditional, but pastel pink or yellow makes it extra cute—especially for spring.
• Don’t feel stuck with raspberry jam. Try strawberry, lingonberry, or even apricot if you want to mix it up.
• A little elderflower syrup in the whipped cream makes it super fresh.

So that’s it—my version of Sweden’s most iconic cake. It takes a bit of time, sure, but it’s very much worth it. Plus, there’s something incredibly satisfying about slicing into that bright green dome and seeing all the layers you just built like a little edible monument to fika.