Daring Bakers - May 2013

So, another month, another challenge!
Oh, I really did enjoy this one!

It was hosted by one of my favourite food bloggers Korena from Korena in the kitchen.

Our challenge..... Swedish Prinsesstårta !!!!
A really impressive dessert, that you can play a lot with and make endless flavour combinations.
I had seen this before, but I thought it was intimidating, because of the process. I was wrong. It is worth it!

It is a dessert that you "build", in this manner, from top to bottom:

• Marzipan
• Sponge cake
• Whipped cream
• Custard/pastry cream
• Sponge cake
• Custard/pastry cream
• Raspberry jam
• Sponge cake

These are the layers for the traditional cake. Yet, we were able to get creative!
At first I thought of chocolate. Well, I always think of chocolate first for every challenge and how I can make a chocolate dessert...
I did use some white chocolate this time, but what essentially made me go the way I went, was the apple - thyme jam I made a couple of days earlier. I thought apple - cinnamon - custard.... Great!

So, here is mine:

• Marzipan egg-free
• Cinnamon sponge cake
• Whipped cream unsweetened
• White chocolate custard cream
• Cinnamon sponge cake
• White chocolate custard cream
• Apple - thyme jam
• Cinnamon sponge cake

Let us start....

White Chocolate Custard

240ml heavy cream, divided
4 egg yolks
15 gm cornstarch
30 gm granulated white sugar
1 tsp vanilla vanilla extract
150gr white chocolate melted

- Whisk together the cornstarch, sugar and egg yolks. Gradually whisk in 120 ml heavy cream until smooth.

- In the mean time in a saucepan over medium heat, combine the remaining 120 ml of heavy cream and the vanilla extract and bring just to a boil. Add the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Slowly whisk the hot cream mixture into the bowl with the egg mixture to temper the eggs.

- Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and comes to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, remove it from the heat. I didn't have to pour my custard through a mesh sieve because luckily it was smooth!

- Pour the custard into a bowl and press a piece of cling film directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until completely cold. I made it a day earlier and kept it in the refrigerator. 

Cinnamon Sponge Cake

4 large eggs
225 gm granulated white sugar
70 gm all-purpose flour
65 gm cornstarch
5 gm baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon

- Preheat the oven to 180°C with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Thoroughly butter a round pan, line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper, then butter the paper. Dust the buttered pan with flour (i didn't do the breadcrumbs). Set aside.

- Mix the eggs and granulated white sugar and beat on medium-high speed until the eggs are tripled in volume and very light coloured and fluffy, about 5 minutes. The mixture should fall from the beaters in thick ribbons. 

- Sift the flour, corn starch ans baking powder into a bowl, add the salt and then sift the flour mixture over the whipped eggs. With a balloon whisk, fold the flour into the eggs until blended. Once mixed, the batter should be quite thick and smooth.

- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread it out evenly, and bake for about 40 min until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with a few crumbs sticking to it.

- Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 min, then remove it from the pan, invert it onto a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper.

Marzipan egg-free

115 gm white almonds
225 gm icing sugar
60 ml corn syrup
15 ml lemon juice 

- Put the almonds and icing sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to break and mix the almonds.

- Add the corn syrup and pulse again to combine. Do not be afraid of how the mixture looks, just keep going.

- With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the lemon juice. Stop when the mixture starts to come together and looks like a dough.

- Knead the marzipan into a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill for a couple of hours.It is enough to cover the cake and nibble as you assemble it.....

Whipped cream

2 cups (480 ml) heavy cream, chilled
1 tsp white granulated sugar

I always use a chilled mixing bowl and whisk before I make my whipped cream.
Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and continue whipping the cream until stiff. Be carefully to stop when it is stiff. If you over-whip, you get butter. Put it in the fridge until ready to assemble the cake.

Now for the critical part: assembly!

- Cut the sponge cake in three disks and reserve the middle disk for the end.
- Put one disk on your serving platter.
- Spread it evenly with the apple - thyme jam.
- Spread half the chocolate custard over the jam in an even layer, but don't go all the way  to the edges.
- Top the chocolate custard with another layer of cake.
- Spread the remaining custard evenly over it.
- Reserve ½ cup of the whipped cream and pile the rest into a mound on top of the custard. Spread it with an off-set spatula at an angle to shape the whipped cream into a dome, piling it up in the middle of the cake.
- Place the third disk (the middle one) on top of the whipped cream. Gently tuck the edges of the cake layer into the whipped cream, so that there is a smooth dome on top.
- Take the rest of the whipped cream and crumb-coat the cake.
- Put it in the fridge for a while to help it set.
- Roll the marzipan on a surface dusted with icing sugar in a circle large enough to cover the cake.
- Cover the cake carefully, smooth the marzipan and cut the excess at the bottom of the cake with a sharp knife.
- Decorate and put it in the fridge again for a couple of hours.
- Take it out about 30 min before you serve it.

This is the jam layer.

This is the white chocolate custard.

This is my dome...

Covered....

Ready!

My comment on this is that I will make it again for the next family lunch. I am already thinking:

• Modelling white chocolate
• Milk chocolate cake
• Whipped cream unsweetened
• White chocolate custard cream
• Milk chocolate cake
• White chocolate custard cream
• Salted caramel
• Milk chocolate cake

 (I am drooling...)


Thank you Korena for giving us a real challenge!!!


Louise