The Princess Cake By Michelin Star Chef Emma Bengtsson Recipes

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Sauce and meatballs, part 1: Start the sauce by adding beef stock to a saucepan over medium-high heat; boil, uncovered, until reduced by half, 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the meatballs: In a medium bowl, whisk together bread crumbs, milk, allspice, salt, and mustard. Add the egg and whisk again. Allow liquid to absorb into the breadcrumbs, 10 minutes.
• Meatballs, part 2: Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place beef and pork in a large bowl (or just beef, if you aren't using pork); add the milk and breadcrumb mixture, and combine well with your hands. Roll into balls, about 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) each, and set aside on the baking sheet. (Use a cookie scoop to measure out the balls, if you wish.) Chill 45 minutes to one hour.
• Sauce, part 2: Add cream to the reduced beef stock. Leave over medium heat, uncovered, until reduced by ⅓, about 30 minutes. (Stay nearby to make sure the sauce doesn't boil over.)
• Potato purée: Add potatoes to a medium saucepan with a big pinch of salt and enough cold water to cover. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook until very soft and almost falling apart, 20 minutes. When potatoes are cooked, drain well; then place them back into the hot pot (with the heat turned off) to evaporate any residual moisture, 30 seconds. Run potatoes through a food mill or ricer into a mixing bowl. Add butter and stir well to combine; then pour in the warm milk and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add salt to taste and place back into the the saucepan. Over very low heat, whisk again to release extra moisture in the potatoes. Set aside, uncovered, while making meatballs.(Note: Potato purée can be made a day ahead and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator. To reheat, add to pot with a splash of milk and stir over low heat until hot.)
• Sauce, part 3: When the cream has reduced by ⅓, finish the sauce by stirring in the lingonberry jam. Add salt to taste. (Chef Bengtsson suggests adding salt to all sauces after they have reduced.)
• Meatballs, part 3: Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. When butter is foamy, add first batch of chilled meatballs in an even layer. Reduce heat slightly to medium-high and cook on all sides until browned on the outside but still slightly pink in the middle, about 5 minutes. Cook remaining meatballs in 1-2 more batches, adding more butter if necessary. If butter browns too fast or starts to burn, wipe out the pan and use fresh butter. (Meatballs can be made in advance up to this point and refrigerated for 5-6 days or frozen in zip-top bags for up to 2 weeks.)
• Assembly: Strain cream sauce into a bowl through a fine-mesh strainer to ensure smooth consistency. Place a big spoonful of potato purée on a plate, along with 6-8 meatballs and a dollop of lingonberry jam. Spoon cream sauce over the meatballs and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

PRINCESS CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease four 8-inch springform pans and line with parchment paper.
• Combine 1 cup plus 6 tablespoons butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour in gradually and add the vanilla extract, beating until smooth. Distribute batter evenly between the 4 prepared pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove rings and transfer cakes to wire racks. Cool completely before decorating, about 1 hour.
• Cut out a 2-inch hole from the center of each cooled cake using a round cutter of glass, large enough for the doll to fit through.
• Glue cake board onto a revolving cake stand using a small amount of frosting. Spread 2 tablespoons of frosting on the cake board and lay the first cake on top. Repeat with remaining cake layers, aligning the holes in the center; cake should reach the hips of the doll. Insert 4 straws 1/2 inch from the hole, piercing all the way through the layers, to add stability. Cut off the ends of the straws sticking out from the cake with scissors.
• Measure 1/2 inch from the top edge of the cake using a ruler, rotating the cake and making marks with a skewer. Trim off the edge at an angle to create a dome-shaped skirt.
• Color 2/3 of the vanilla frosting in a bowl with a few drops of pink food coloring. Frost entire cake with a thin layer of frosting, including inside the hole in the center using a thin spatula. Refrigerate cake for 30 minutes to 1 hour to set the first coat.
• Fill a piping bag with a large flat tip with frosting. Pipe frosting around the cake, working from the bottom up, until it is fully covered. Immerse a long icing spatula in hot water and dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel. Smooth frosting with the warm spatula for a polished, smooth finish. Repeat process until frosting is smooth. Chill cake in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• Wrap the doll's legs with plastic wrap and insert doll into the hole, adding frosting to the hole if necessary to keep the doll in place.
• Divide remaining frosting into different bowls and color pink, green, and/or leave some white. Use the skewer to trace where you intend to pipe any patterns, bows, or other design elements over the frosting.
• Fit a small star tip on a piping bag and fill it with white or light pink frosting. Holding the bag almost perpendicular to the cake, make rows of small stars for the front of the dress. Work from the bottom up. Pipe more stars directly onto the doll from the waist up to make the top of the dress.
• Use a ruffle tip to create ruffles, ribbons, and bows. Use a small star tip to create rosettes all over the skirt of the dress. Use a leaf tip with green icing to add leaves. Keep completed cake in the refrigerator until serving.

PRINCESS CAKE

Steps:

• Whip the egg yolks until they are pale yellow and doubled in volume. In another bowl, whip the egg whites until frothy, gradually adding the sugar until the foam becomes stiff. Fold half of the whipped egg whites into the yolks. Fold in the remaining egg whites thoroughly, until uniform in color. In 4 batches, fold in the sifted flour and the baking powder then the butter.
• Immediately pour the batter into two 10-inch greased cake pans and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool on a rack. After they've cooled, run the tip of a knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen them from the pans and remove. Using a long serrated knife, slice both cakes into 1/2-inch thick disks. Only 3 will be needed, reserve the rest for future use.
• Place a 10-inch springform pan without a bottom on a 12-inch cakeboard. Place 1 layer of the sponge cake on the bottom, and generously brush with the syrup. Spread the jam evenly over the syrup and place a second layer of sponge cake on top of the jam. Brush with syrup and spread the prepared cream on this layer. Top with a third layer of sponge cake and again, brush with the syrup. Using your hands, press lightly on the cake to ensure cake is level. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Remove the springform mold from the cake and generously frost the sides with the reserved Whipped Cream. Pour the remaining Whipped Cream directly on the center of the top of the cake and using a spatula, make a mound, working from the center out. The height of the Whipped Cream should be approximately 1 1/2-inches in the center and about 1/2-inch on the edges.
• Dust a work surface again with confectioners' sugar and roll the light green marzipan to a 1/10-inch thick circle, using as much confectioners' sugar as necessary during rolling to prevent the marzipan from sticking to the work surface. When you're finished rolling, marzipan should be stretched enough to cover the entire cake and sides. Roll marzipan on rolling pin and gently lay it down on top of the cake, smoothing out the dome and lightly pressing on the bottom edges of the cake to form a perfect dome. Decorate with leftover marzipan, making a braided border on the edge of the cake or simply dust the entire cake with confectioners' sugar.
• Bring the milk and vanilla bean to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes to infuse. Remove vanilla bean. Whisk the eggs, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a bowl until smooth. Add half of the milk into the bowl containing the eggs, whisking constantly, then return the mixture to the saucepan containing the remaining milk, whisking over moderate heat. Continue whisking until the mixture is thickened and begins to simmer. Allow cream filling to simmer, whisking for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer into another bowl, cover and allow to cool completely.
• Whisk heavy cream with sugar until it is firm and holds its shape, being careful not to over whip. Fold one-fifth of the cream into the cooled pastry cream and refrigerate, covered, until chilled (approximately 1 hour). Reserve the remaining whipped cream in the refrigerator, covered.
• Bring water and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan, remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Color a walnut size piece of marzipan with the green food coloring until the marzipan is deep green. Reserve. Using a sifter or a fine mesh strainer, dust a scrupulously clean work surface with confectioners' sugar. Tear off a pea-sized piece of green marzipan and knead it with the remaining marzipan until it is uniform in color. Add additional pieces from the green marzipan until it achieves a light green color (it should be the color of a Granny Smith apple). Discard the leftover deep green marzipan.

PRINSESSTåRTA (PRINCESS CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare 3 baking sheets, greased and lined with baking parchment.
• Beat together the eggs and sugar on high speed in a stand mixer or using a hand-held electric whisk. Beat until the mixture reaches ribbon stage-you will be able to see the traces of the mixture when you move the whisk.
• Use a 8-inch diameter plate to draw three circles on baking parchment. Cut these out and place one parchment circle on each of the three baking sheets. Set aside.
• Combine the flour, salt and vanilla in a separate bowl. Sift into the egg mixture, bit by bit, carefully folding using a figure-of-eight movement until incorporated. Pour the cooled melted butter down the side of the bowl and fold carefully again, trying not to knock out air.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the parchment circles on the baking sheets spreading right to the edges of each circle with the back of a spoon. If they go over a bit, don't worry, you can cut these bits off afterwards.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing the baking parchment. If the parchment sticks, slightly dampen the paper side with cold water and the paper will come off easily. Trim any untidy edges using a sharp knife.
• In a saucepan, heat the milk with the scraped out seeds from the vanilla bean.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar and add the cornstarch.
• When the milk has just reached boiling point, take off the heat and pour one third into the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
• Once whisked through, pour the egg mixture back into the remaining hot milk. Return to the stove and bring to the boil, carefully. Whisk continuously as the mixture thickens, for just under a minute, then remove from the heat and stir in the salt and butter.
• Pour into a cold bowl and place a sheet of baking parchment on top to prevent the cream from forming a crust as it cools. The mixture will keep well in the refrigerator for a few days.
• If using homemade marzipan instead of store-bought, blend the ingredients together in a food processor until you have a smooth marzipan.
• Roll the mixture into a log and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before using.
• Whip the cream with the confectioners' sugar until stiff. Spoon two thirds into a separate bowl. Mix the remaining one third of the whipped cream with the prepared pastry cream.
• Make sure your prepared layer cake bases are completely even in size. If not, trim to fit. Place the bottom layer on your chosen serving plate; you won't be able to move the cake once assembled.
• Spread the raspberry jam/jelly evenly onto the base layer of the cake, then add half of the pastry cream mixture. Top with the second cake layer. Repeat with the remaining jam/jelly and second helping of the pastry cream mixture. Add the top cake layer.
• Using a cake spatula, spread three quarters of the remaining stiffly whipped cream in a thick layer on the top and the sides of the cake. Make sure the cake is covered evenly all over to prevent jam/jelly from seeping out. Some people prefer to shape the cream into a dome; I quite like more of a level top on my princess cake, but it is up to you.
• Next, roll out the green marzipan on a surface lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar or over the top of baking parchment (to prevent sticking). Roll out into a large, even circle, big enough to cover the top and sides of the cake (around 14 inches in diameter).
• Carefully drape the marzipan on top of the cake and peel back the baking parchment, if using. Pull gently around the edges to bring the marzipan down to cover the cake, taking care not to overstretch. Once the marzipan is smoothed over and touching the base all the way around, trim away the excess. Press the edges gently in at the base.
• To make the rose decorations, mold the pink royal icing or marzipan into ¾-inch tall teardrop shapes for the inside buds. Then roll out small round petal-shaped pieces of icing around ¾ x ¾-inch and wrap each one around the bud in layers. Cut the base off and fix the roses on top of the cake. Lastly, roll out the green royal icing or marzipan and cut out leaf shapes to fix by the sides of the rose. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.