Battenberg Cake

Ingredients

• 175g Butter
• 175g Caster Sugar
• 140g Self-raising Flour
• 50g Almonds
• ½ tsp Baking Powder
• 3 Medium Eggs
• ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
• ¼ teaspoon Almond Extract
• ½ tsp Pink Food Colouring
• 200g Apricot
• 1kg Marzipan
• Dusting Icing Sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Line the base and sides of a 20 cm square tin with baking parchment, crossing two long strips over the base for full coverage.
2. To make the almond sponge, place the butter, caster sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract into a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and well combined. Spread the mixture evenly into the tin and bake for 25–30 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. For the pink sponge, line the tin again with parchment. Mix the ingredients in the same way as before, omitting the almond extract. Stir in the pink food colouring until evenly coloured. Bake as before and allow to cool fully.
4. To assemble, gently heat the apricot jam in a small saucepan until runny, then pass it through a sieve. Trim two opposite edges of the almond sponge lightly and trim a third edge more neatly. Measure the height of the sponge, then cut four strips of equal width from the neatly trimmed edge. Repeat with the pink sponge.
5. Trim two almond and two pink strips so they are all the same length. Lightly dust a work surface with icing sugar and roll out one block of marzipan to just over 20 cm wide, then continue rolling lengthways until it is about 5 mm thick.
6. Brush the marzipan with apricot jam. Place one pink and one almond strip side by side at one end of the marzipan, brushing jam between them to help them stick, leaving about 4 cm of marzipan clear at the end. Brush the tops with more jam and place the remaining strips on top, alternating colours to create a checkerboard pattern. Trim the marzipan to match the length of the cake.
7. Carefully wrap the marzipan around the cake, smoothing it gently with your hands. Leave a small fold along the bottom edge before sealing it. Trim the opposite side to match, then crimp the edges with your fingers or the prongs of a fork. Mark portion guides with a fork if desired.
8. Assemble the second cake in the same way. Store the Battenberg in an airtight container or well wrapped for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

instructions_source: editorial-classic