Classic Princess Cake

with a light sponge, pastry cream, raspberry jam, and marzipan

Mar 05, 2026

You might’ve seen the classic Swedish cake, princess cake–or prinsesstårta–when it went viral last year. It’s a three-layer cake filled with raspberry jam, vanilla pastry cream, and whipped cream, and it's covered with a thin sheet of green marzipan.

The cake looks fancy and extremely decadent, but it’s very light in flavor and texture, and is surprisingly not as difficult to make as it looks. The most challenging part is placing the marzipan layer on top without it breaking (which I struggled with here–not pictured), but I’ve included a few tips below to help you succeed.

Notes:

When making a princess cake, always use marzipan instead of almond paste. Marzipan contains less almond and more sugar than almond paste, giving it a smoother texture and making it easier to work with. Its forgiving nature allows it to stretch when covering the cake, while almond paste tends to crack and break.
Make sure you whip the eggs and sugar together for the full recommended time, as this step provides most of the cake’s leavening.
To make in advance, bake the cake layers up to 2 days ahead; wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store in a sealable plastic bag. Store at room temperature. Make vanilla pastry cream up to 2 days ahead and store it in a sealable container in the fridge. Assemble the cake the day before and store it in the fridge overnight. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, then dust with powdered sugar.
When placing the marzipan layer on top, slide your hands underneath and hover it over the cake to make sure it’s centered before draping it over. Make sure you use enough powdered sugar when rolling out so it doesn’t stick to the counter or parchment.
Marzipan is expensive, and while you can get away with just using 1 package, I do reccomend using at least 1 1/2 (or up to 2). This will help you get a thick enough layer, which will help prevent tearing and make it easier to both drape and shape into a smooth dome.