Princess Cake

Photo: flickr user hfb

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

cup low-fat milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 lrgs eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

cup orange juice

cup sugar

cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

cup rum, orange-flavored liqueur or cup sugar

teaspoon cornstarch

1 env unflavored gelatin

cup low-fat milk

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1 lrg egg

2 tablespoons rum, orange-flavored liqueur or 1 cup whipping cream

Preparation

Covering:2 packages (7 ounces each) marzipanFood coloring of your choice

For cake: Lightly butter a 9 inch round cake pan with removable rim. In a bowl, mix flour and baking powder.

In a medium pan over medium heat, warm milk with butter until butter is melted, stirring occasionally.

In another bowl, with a mixer on high speed, whip eggs, sugar and vanilla until foamy. Add flour and milk mixtures. Stir to mix, then beat until well blended. Scrape batter into buttered pan.

Bake in a 350-degree oven until cake edge just begins to pull from pan sides and top springs back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Invert cake onto a rack and turn rounded side up. Cool 20 minutes.

For syrup: In a medium pan over high heat, bring to a boil the orange juice, sugar, water, lemon juice, coriander seed and orange peel. Boil until reduced to 3/4 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Pour through a fine strainer into a bowl, discard residue. Add rum, liqueur or orange juice.

For cream filling: In a medium pan, combine sugar, cornstarch, gelatin, low-fat milk and orange peel.

In a small bowl, beat egg. Stir into milk mixture. Whisk over high heat until mixture boils, 3 to 4 minutes.

Immediately nest pan in ice water. Add rum, liqueur or orange juice and stir often until mixture is cool and holds soft mounds when spooned, but is not firm, 8 minutes.

In a deep bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat whipping cream until it holds distinct peaks. Fold cooked mixture into cream. Nest bowl in ice water and stir occasionally until mixture holds soft mounds, 3 to 5 minutes.

With a long, serrated knife, slice cake in half horizontally. Place bottom half, cut side up, on a wide plate. Moisten evenly with two-thirds of the orange syrup.

Spoon all the cream filling onto bottom cake half. If it flows over the sides, refrigerate cake for a few minutes until filling is firm enough to stay in place, then scrape it back on top.

Set remaining cake half, cut side down, on filling. Smooth filling into crevices between the layers with a spatula. Cover with a large inverted bowl.

Chill 1 hour.

With a skewer, pierce top of cake (not filling) at 1/2 inch intervals. Slowly spoon remaining syrup over cake. Cover cake again and chill.

For covering: Knead marzipan into a single lump, adding food coloring a few drops at a time until color is evenly distributed. Pat into a 1/4- to 1/2 inch thick round, keeping edges smooth.

Roll marzipan between 2 layers of plastic wrap to make a round 14 to 15 inches wide, pressing cracking edges together as you go.

Remove top plastic wrap. Supporting marzipan with bottom piece of wrap, invert it over cake, center, lay it on cake and peel off wrap.

Gently press marzipan neatly against sides of cake and plate rim around cake.

Trim marzipan flush with cake base on plate. Shape scraps into decorations for top of cake. Serve or cover and chill.