Princess cake: 'sexy' Swedish dessert has a moment

"After nearly a century of demure European popularity", the Swedish princess cake (prinsesstårta) is suddenly "everywhere", said The Guardian.

The "dome-shaped" cake – made of neat, alternating layers of chiffon sponge, raspberry jam and vanilla custard, topped with whipped cream and a "smooth layer of green marzipan" – has gone viral, appearing in countless TikTok videos and cropping up on menus at "hip restaurants in Los Angeles and New York".

One of Sweden's "most recognisable and beloved pastries", the princess cake was invented in 1948 by recipe book author Jenny Åkerström, who cooked for the Swedish princesses, said Eater. Originally called gröntårta (green cake, after the marzipan topping), it quickly became known as prinsesstårta because it was such a favourite with the princesses. It's famously difficult to make: Mary Berry's version of the colourful layer cake appeared on "The Great British Bake Off" over a decade ago as one of the early technical challenges.

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For years, it remained a relatively niche dessert. But recently, Americans have started "leaning in" to the "seductive qualities" of this "breast-shaped cake, topped with a rosy marzipan nipple", said The Guardian: it's a "very, very sexy" dessert.

In a sign of its entry to the US mainstream, The New York Times has published a simplified recipe by British pastry chef Nicola Lamb. To make the "intimidating" dessert easier, she reduced the number of layers and included pre-made marzipan. "Still, it all adds up to 22 steps," said Eater.

Instead of toiling over tricky recipes, most people buy their princess cakes. The Swedish bakery chain Fabrique (which has outposts in London and New York) has been selling the dessert as an "off-menu item" for years. Now, with demand soaring, it's "re-envisioned" prinsesstårta as a rolled cake, sold in slices.

"If you can resist finishing it all at once, save a slice for the next day," Sophie Curl, co-founder of Swedish bakery Fika in Sydney, told The Age. "The flavour only gets better."