Mini Princess Cakes
just like the original, only smaller!
Hey my dudes!
Of all the recipes I have made for Bageriet Lördag this is one of the best!
For those who are new here Bageriet Lördag is my one-day-a-week pop-up bakery that I run from my apartment. You can find info about here:
I have wanted to make mini princess cakes for a long time. I ran through so many different versions in my head. Should I use my go-to cake batter? What if I made a green SMBC and flavored it with almond extract? Should I cut the mini cakes in half and fill them with raspberry jam?
When I discussed these ideas with Bageriet Lördag’s Head of Recipe Development (my fiance) he looked at me like I was crazy. SMBC, he said, could not be allowed anywhere near a princess cake. It would be antithetical to its essence. Princess Cake should be light, not rich, very creamy and with just a touch of fruitiness/acidity from the raspberry jam. An oiled based cake and butter based frosting would simply not produce the correct flavor profile, texture or vibe.
His idea: make regular princess cake, just smaller.
I could not wrap my head around it. I had visions of having to individually wrap 90 mini cakes in sheets of marzipan on Saturday mornings. But Axel (my fiance does have a name, actually) had a vision.
The same genoise cake base we always use, baked in the Fat Daddio’s 3in x 3in removable bottom mini cake molds. Homemade raspberry, with just a bit more sugar than normal to help the jam hold its shape. Homemade marzipan, because god forbid I make my life easier (my idea, not his). Last but not least, diplomat cream, a 50/50 blend of vanilla pastry cream and whipped cream; two of the most important elements in a princess cake, combined into one.
As soon as he produced the first version I knew we were on to something special. It took a bit of trial and error to work out the kinks. The diplomat deflated too quickly, so the pastry cream got some gelatin. The jam spread a little too much so it got a touch more sugar so it could be nice and thick and stay in place. And the mini cakes. Oh my god the mini cakes. How much batter to put into each was a small challenge that required several trials. The most difficult part by far was learning how to do all of this at scale. Making 12 was not hard, making 80? Tricky!
We got there in the end and I am so excited to share this recipe with you today! My regular Princess Cake recipe is available for free and I also have a video tutorial on youtube for people like myself who are visual learners.
I am so happy to add this cake style to my repertoire and already have plans to make several other versions this summer!
Xoxo,
Cecilia
