This marzipan-topped Swedish layer cake is as visually impressive as it is tasty.

► Watch Finale Week (Season 2, Episode 8)

Swedish Princess Cake was the technical bake for the finale of Season 2 of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

Ingredients

Pastry Cream:

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean pod
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 5 egg yolks
• 1 egg

Cake:

• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 ¼ cups flour
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
• 1 tsp vanilla

Jam:

• 1 cup raspberries
• ¾ cup jam sugar

Rose:

• 30 g prepared fondant
• Red food colouring paste
• Icing sugar for dusting

Cream Filling and Decoration:

• 3 cups 35% cream, divided

Marzipan:

• 4 cups ground almonds
• 2 ½ cups icing sugar
• ⅔ cup caster sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 egg yolk
• Kelly green food colouring paste

Chocolate:

• 100 g semi-sweet chocolate couverture

Preparation

Grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter. Line bottom with parchment and set aside.

For pastry cream:

Place milk in a medium saucepan. Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape seeds into milk. Add pod and heat mixture over medium heat until just steaming. Remove vanilla bean and discard. Remove saucepan from heat.

Meanwhile, whisk together sugar and cornstarch in a large heatproof bowl. Whisk in egg yolks and egg. Slowly stream in milk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook, whisking constantly until mixture thickens and just comes to a boil.

Pour through a fine mesh sieve onto a rimmed baking sheet or bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cooled completely.

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar on high until pale and thick, about 5-7 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.

Fold flour mixture into egg mixture in two additions. Stir in butter and vanilla.

Spoon into prepared springform pan and bake 32-37 minutes until cake is golden and cake tester comes out clean. Cool on rack for 5 minutes.

Remove ring and cool completely before removing base.

For jam:

Mash raspberries. Combine with jam sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring often until berries have broken down and mixture darkens and thickens, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Press through a fine mesh sieve onto a rimmed baking sheet or bowl. Cool to room temperature.

For rose:

Tint fondant with colour by adding red food colouring paste with a toothpick and kneading to combine.

Roll into 10-15 ¼-inch balls and press to flatten, thinning out edges to resemble petals. Roll one piece around itself between fingers to resemble a rosebud, then wrap each petal around bud — overlapping one another halfway — to create a flower.

Trim to flatten bottom and set aside to dry.

For cream:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip 2 ½ cups of cream until stiff peaks form.

Assembly:

Once cooled, cut cake into three equal rounds.

Place one round on serving platter.

Spoon ⅓ cup pastry cream and into a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip. Pipe pastry cream around edge of round, about ½-inch from edge.

Spread round with a thin layer of jam within pastry cream ring. Reserve remainder for another use.

Fold about ⅓ of whipped cream into the remaining pastry cream. Spoon half the pastry cream onto jam, spreading to border. Top with second cake round, pressing down lightly to flatten cake. Spread remaining pastry cream to cake edge.

Top with third cake round and spread sides and top of cake with reserved whipped cream, to create a small dome on top of cake. Freeze for 20 to 30 minutes.

For marzipan and decor:

Whisk together ground almonds and sugars. Stir in eggs and yolk. Turn out onto counter and knead to bring together.

Add food colouring with a toothpick and knead to form a smooth dough. Roll to ⅛-inch thickness.

Place marzipan over cake and smooth to cover completely, trimming any excess.

Whip remaining ½ cup cream until it forms stiff peaks. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small star tip. Decorate edges with cream.

Melt chocolate over a double broiler or in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Decorate top of cake with delicate filigree (a fine design) and finish with rose.

Preparation Time: 90 minutes

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