And so onto the multi ingredient, multi stage, multi tasking Swedish Princess Torte. Only last week was I thinking that I’m not a fan of stage cooking and this one has 14 to go through. In fairness though, each stage has to be completed before putting the final build. One is not dependent on another stage to be completed, in the sense that the custard custard could only be cooked once the tart was half baked etc, if you catch my drift.
Not wanting this weekend to be completely consumed by baking I decided to get up early to get a start on this in a systematic manner. First things first, way out the numerous ingredients, this alone took about 30 minutes!
Crème pâtissière
Similar to last week, although this week we have the addition of cornflour so that it becomes a thick set custard that holds it shape and can be piped. The milk had to be boiled with the vanilla pod while the eggs, are whisked with the sugar and cornflour until you have a thick, pale paste. The hot milk it poured over the eggs and the whipping continued the whole time. This can be a little difficult and cack-handed as trying to whisk without the bowl moving can be a little demanding! When all the milk was mixed into the eggs the mixture is then poured back into the saucepan, to be whisked and heated until really thick and can hold it shape on the whisk. The final stage for the crème pât was to transfer it to a bowl and cover the top with a layer of cling film,to prevent a rubbery skin from forming. Crème pât complete it was onto the next stage….
Raspberry Jam
As I was trying to do everything together I had the jam bubbling away while I was making the custard. I’ve not really made jam before, which is surprising as it is pretty easy, and my mum makes the best apricot jam I have ever had. For this raspberry jam, its just the fruit, jam sugar and water all boiled together until it reaches 104°C. thank fully I had a sugar thermometer for this measurement so I didn’t have to rely on my spidey senses! When the jam was done, it was given a final mix to make sure all the fruit was broken down then transferred to heat proof bowl to cool down.
Genoise Sponge
I was in two minds at the start of the weekend as to whether I was going to make this sponge on the same day as the everything else, including the panettone. However seeing as the panettone had failed I thought it was best to get this torte over with! The most important part of the sponge is the eggs. You need to get as much air in them as possible as this helps to create the light airy sponge, and to create the height needed to be able to slice the cake into 3 layers. As I still had the ol’ kenwood chef out I used this as my substitute to the bake off kitchenaids! With the eggs whisking away I sifted and combined the dry ingredients, while also melting some butter.
It took a lot longer than I thought it would to get the eggs whisked to the right consistency, but I decided I would follow Martha’s advice. To ensure you have the the right consistency it’s important to make sure the ribbon, left behind when you remove the whisk from the mix, is visible for 3 seconds before it disappears back into the liquid. After testing the mix a few times it wasn’t until about 8minutes of whisking that I was happy with it. While I carefully folded in the flour etc I decided I really need to get a larger metal spoon! Using a tablespoon takes far too long and you probably end up knocking out the air of the eyes that you have spent so long getting! Moving on, the melted butter was the last thing to fold in before transferring it to the cake tin and baking for 25 minutes. Keeping my fingers crossed that I didn’t end up with a flat sponge like Chetna I kept checking on it through the oven window. Luckily I mana eyed to succeed in keeping the air in the sponge regardless of the size of my spoon and removed it for the oven to cool.
Oddly as it cool the height dropped a little because the upper crust of the cake ended up looking like a deflated balloon! What’s that about?
Marzipan
With the cake cooling it was time to shift my focus from the wrinkly deflated top of the songs and onto the marzipan. I had thought I could cheat on this originally, by buying the pre-made version, but my conscience wouldn’t let me. The search for ground almonds in the local sainsbury’s proved a little tricky as the whole shelf was bare, but for the two 100g bags I found hidden away at the back of the shelf.I had to send the boyfriend out the next day to track down the remaining 200g. It turns out that making the actual marzipan is pretty simple, if a little sticky! The almonds at mixed together with sugars to which beaten eggs and almond essence is added. Once the basic marzipan is formed it was time to get my hands sticky, and knead in the green colouring!
Pink Rose
I’ve not made one of these before so I was winging it for this one. Using the wider end of the a piping nozzles I cut out 10 circles. With the first one I rolled it between my fingers to form a tube. The middle of next circle was placed over the seam of the tube using a little water for glue. This process was continued until the last petal was in place, and the rose was left to rest and dry out until the rest of the cake was assembled.
The slicing!
Now that everything was made and cooled and ready for the build the first thing to do was to slice the cake into three layer. Have done this with and even thinner sponge for the tiramisu, this was pretty simple. Each layer was just over 1cm, cut with a serrated knife while turning the cake at the same time.
The Build – Layer 1
Layer 1 was the bottom of the sponge, onto which a thin layer of the crème pâtissière was spread, and a ring piped around the outside. Inside the piped ring the cooled set jam was spread, making sure it was loosened slightly by mixing with a spoon.
Cream
This cake requires an obscene amount of cream, double whipped cream! It’s important to make sure this is whipped to stiff peaks, but not too whipped that its grainy. Thankfully this wasn’t my problem, my problem was I didn’t really have enough to go on the top of the cake, on the sides and round the bottom! Needless to say there was a few trips to the shops to buy some extra! Half of this whipped cream needs to be added to the remaining amount of crème pât, and folded in. One third of the cream and crème pât mix was them spread of the the jam.
The Build – Layer 2
The Second sponge and the rest of the cream and crème pât mix, and the third layer of sponge placed on the top
The Build – Layer 3
This is where it started to get a little tricky. The remaining cream needs to be spread around the sides and on the top of the cake to form a dome. I chose to do the top first then the sides, which in hindsight was a mistake. The layers were stable but had slight wobble to them and trying to spread the cream on the top made the custard slowly ooze out of the sides! If I had put the cream on the side first and chilled it, before doing the top then it may have held it together structurally.
Chilling
This is the important part of the build, which isn’t shown in the bake off. the recipe states that the creamed cake needs to be chilled to set, for at least an hour before the marzipan is added.
Blanket of Green
Rolling out marzipan is a little tougher than fondant. The main thing was to make sure that the thickness was the same all over, I was aiming for 5mm. I always find the moment when you have to transfer the icing/marzipan to the cake the hardest. You have to be super careful to have an even weight distribution in the lift, otherwise it will stretch and tear. Another this is when you have covered the main body of cake the edges need to be trimmed otherwise the excess icing will weigh it down, and again tear. So many things to do all while trying to smooth the marzipan over the cake! Once its all covered and trimmed the rose needs to be added. I made a hole in the top using a chop-stick, and inserted the hardened rose. Then I placed the whole cake back into the fridge to chill again
More cream and chocolate too?!
The final amount of whipped cream needs to piped around the base of the cake in little flowers. Then the chocolate needs to be piped on the top. Thank the lord when this was the end!
Voila…knackered.
It had clearly defined layers as stated as one of the key points from Mary and Paul, along with a domed top, good chocolate decoration and a pink rose. Its great cake for a party, but other than it’s a lot to try and eat between two people, so I would like to say a huge thank you to my friends and family in helping us finish it! It looked good, tasted good, but overall it is a bit ridiculous.
