Norwegian Marzipan Cake (Hvit Dame)

This Norwegian marzipan cake is the epitome of Scandinavian baking: simple, fresh and elegant. With a simple sponge cake base and a raspberry and whipped cream filling all wrapped up in marzipan, this cake is as delicious as it is easy to make.

Unless you’re relatively new to my blog, you’ve probably heard me talk about the almost 5 years I lived in Norway. I’m not going to sugar coat it (like I literally did this cake): it’s a truly beautiful country filled with wonderful people and delicious food (check out the photos at the bottom of this post if you’re interested in seeing a little bit of the town I used to live in).

And for about 2 years of my time in Norway I worked in a little bakery nestled at the end of a fjord. No, literally it was located about as physically close as one could be to the end of a fjord. The view truly could not have been more gorgeous…

Every morning the delicious, warm smell of boller, snegler and skolebrød would waft out the open back door of the bakery into the cold Norwegian day.

But nothing could beat the smell of freshly baked sukkerbrød (sponge cake) and freshly rolled marzipan as we prepared our top selling cake: the hvit dame.

The hvit dame (or Norwegian marzipan cake) is Scandinavian baking at it’s finest: simple, elegant, fresh.

It features the simplest sponge cake you’ve ever made with the most delicate crumb (it’s like the love-child of a traditional sponge cake and an angel food cake), a sweet raspberry filling (strawberry is another common filling if raspberry isn’t your cup of tea), oodles of fluffy whipped cream all wrapped up in marzipan.

How to make this marzipan cake

Marzipan is not only easy to come by in Norway, it’s also relatively cheap (and even comes in pre-rolled sheets). If you’re looking to save some money, you can easily make marzipan with just a few ingredients at home.

To make marzipan, you’ll need almonds or blanched almond flour. If you’re starting with some variation whole, unprocessed almonds, Aysegul over at Foolproof Living has a great tutorial on blanching almonds and making your own almond flour.

Once you have blanched almond flour, you can check out this tutorial on making marzipan.

To make the cake, whip your eggs and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whip until the mixture is frothy and almost white (about 5 minutes).

Fold in the remaining ingredients, mixing until just combined. Pour the batter into a parchment paper lined 8″ cake pan and bake at 325F for 30-35 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine your heavy whipping cream and vanilla. Whip on high until very stiff peaks form (3-5 minutes).

To assemble your cake, cut your cooled cake in half. Spread your jam on the first layer until it’s about 1/2″ from the edge of the cake.

Cover with an even layer of whipped cream. You should use approximately 1/3 of your whipped cream for this step.

Cover with the second layer of cake and use the remaining whipped cream to frost the top and sides of the cake.

Roll the marzipan out to about 1/4″ thick. Gently drape the marzipan over the cake using one hand to gently pull the marzipan away from the cake and the other to smooth it down the side.

Trim away any excess marzipan.

Decorate the top of the cake marzipan flowers or fresh fruit.

Tips for making the perfect marzipan cake

• Don’t grease your cake pan: This sponge cake is very sensitive to oil and greasing your pan may keep it from rising properly. Instead, line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper. To remove the baked cake from the pan, simply run a thin knife around the edge.
• Let your cake cool in the pan: Because this cake is so light and delicate, leave it in the pan to keep the cake from collapsing as it cools.
• Leave about 1/2″ of jam-free cake around the edge: As you spread out your jam, be sure to leave about 1/2″ of jam-free cake around the edge. Any closer to the edge and it may get pulled over the edge and show through your marzipan.
• Make sure your whipped cream has a stiff consistency: This is a very soft cake that will be topped with a heavy piece of marzipan. It needs a very stiff whipped cream to hold it all together.
• Be gentle with your marzipan: It won’t take much to move the layers of cake and whipped cream in this cake around, so be careful when you’re smoothing the marzipan into place.
• Storage: This cake will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Once your cake is cut, you’ll want to protect the exposed cake area. The easiest way to do this is with a piece of plastic wrap or two.

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear how it went in the comments below. Better still, snap a photo and tag it on Instagram with #thesimplesweetlife. I love seeing your creations!

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Oh hey! Welcome to the bottom of this post.

You must be here for the aforementioned photos of Norway. Don’t worry, I won’t bend your ear too terribly long, but just wanted to give you a little context.

This beautiful little corner of the world is a town known as Odda. It sits in the picturesque fjord region of western Norway in the flyke (state…ish) of Hordaland.

You might even catch me in a traditional Norwegian outfit known as a bunad if you scroll long enough… 😉