Princess Cake Ice Cream

With super creamy no-churn ice cream, raspberry jam, vanilla wafers & marzipan

For anyone who’s been around for the past year or so, you might already know how much I love princess cake. I grew up eating it for birthdays, my sister’s baptism, holidays, and when I would go for fika with my grandmother. If you’re not familiar, princess cake is a domed cake made with layers of genoise sponge, filled with raspberry jam, vanilla custard, and lots of whipped cream, all covered in a blanket of green (or pink) marzipan. It sounds decadent, but it’s an incredibly light cake that completely melts in your mouth.

Even though I now live in Brooklyn and not Sweden, I still end up with lots of Swedish content on my Instagram since I follow a handful of creators and bakeries. One unexpected benefit of that is getting to see when something is trending there. I very rarely recreate viral recipes, but when I saw that an ice cream shop in Stockholm was making a princess cake ice cream that was starting to gain popularity, I couldn’t resist giving it a shot. I’m so glad I did.

While homemade ice cream can sound intimidating, I designed this recipe to feel more accessible–especially since you already have to go through the process of rolling out the marzipan lid. The ice cream itself is a no-churn version made with whipped cream, sweetened condensed milk, lots of vanilla bean paste to mimic the flavor of vanilla custard, and a splash of vodka to keep it from getting too icy. I build it directly in a baking dish (I used the medium one from this set) and, rather than adding pieces of sponge, fold in crushed vanilla wafers and swirl in raspberry jam. Then I finish with the marzipan lid, a dusting of powdered sugar, and a few pink roses.

This would be perfect for any of the upcoming summer holidays, or as an alternative to a traditional ice cream cake for a birthday! I’ve also included a downloadable recipe card in case that’s helpful.

Serves: 12 to 16, depending on size

Tips:

• Marzipan is really sticky and clings easily to surfaces, especially on hot days, so sometimes I’ll knead some powdered sugar into the marzipan before rolling it out to help dry it a little. You can also roll it out between two pieces of parchment.

• If you mess up rolling it out the first time, just ball it back up and try again. It’s very forgiving.

• Easily halve the recipe and assemble it in a loaf pan or smaller baking dish.