Battenberg or Battenburg is a light sponge cake held together with jam. The cake is covered in marzipan and, when cut in cross section, displays a distinctive two-by-two check pattern alternately coloured pink and yellow.
INGREDIENTS
- 115 g / 4 oz Butter or margarine, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 115 g / 4 oz Caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 115 g / 4 oz Self-raising flour, sifted
- A few drops of pink edible food colouring
- 2-3 tbsp Apricot jam
- 300 g / 10 1/2 Marzipan
INSTRUCTION
Preheat the oven to 180’C / 350’F / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line an 18-cm / 7-inch shallow square baking tin. Cut a strip of double baking paper and grease it. Use this to divide the tin in half.
Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until pale and fluffy. Gently beat in the eggs and vanilla extract, gradually adding in the flour. Spoon half the mixture into a separate bowl and colour it with a few drops of food colouring.
Spoon the plain mixture into half the prepared baking tin. Spoon the coloured mixture into half the prepared baking tin, trying to make the divide as straight a possible. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. Turn out and leave to cool on a wire rack
When cool, trim the edges and cut the cake portions lenghtways in half, making four equal parts. Warm the jam in a small saucepan. Brush two sides of each cake portion with some of the jam and stick them together to give a chequerboard effect.
Knead the marzipan with a few drops of food colouring to colour it subtle shade of pink. Roll out the marzipan to a rectangle wide enough to wrap around the cake. Brush the outside of the cake with the remaining jam. Place the cake on the marzipan and wrap the marzipan around the cake, making sure that the seam is on one corner of the cake. Trim the edges neatly. Crimp the top edges of the cake, if desired, and sprinkle with sugar.
Making & Baking 