Battenberg Cake

Ingredients

• 6 ozbutter, for almond sponge
• 6 ozsuperfine sugar, for almond sponge
• 5 ozself-rising flour, for almond sponge
• 1 3/4 ozalmonds, ground; for almond sponge
• 1/2 tspbaking powder, for almond sponge
• 3eggs, medium; for almond sponge
• 1/2 tspvanilla extract, for almond sponge
• 1/4 tspalmond extract, for almond sponge
• 6 ozbutter, for pink sponge
• 6 ozsuperfine sugar, for pink sponge
• 5 ozself-rising flour, for pink sponge
• 1 3/4 ozalmonds, ground; for pink sponge
• 1/2 tspbaking powder, for pink sponge
• 3eggs, medium; for pink sponge
• 1/2 tspvanilla extract, for pink sponge
• 1/4 tspalmond extract, for pink sponge; omit when making pink sponge
• 1/2 tsppink food coloring, for pink sponge
• 7 ozapricot jam, instructions use it as apricot jam for gluing sponge layers
• 2 1/4 lbmarzipan, for wrapping; two blocks of 500g each
• powdered sugar, for dusting surface when rolling marzipan

Method

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 350°F/325°F fan/gas 4 and line a 20 cm square pan, crossing two 20 cm strips of parchment over the base so you can lift the sponge out.

2. 2

   For the almond sponge, put the butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and almond extract into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth.

3. 3

   Scrape it into the pan, push it into the corners and bake for 25–30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack.

4. 4

   Line the pan again and make the pink sponge the same way, leaving the almond extract out and folding the pink coloring in at the end. Bake and cool it as before.

5. 5

   Warm the apricot jam in a small pan until runny and push it through a strainer.

6. 6

   Barely trim two opposite edges of the almond sponge and trim the third properly. Measure its height, then cut four slices from the trimmed edge, each as wide as the sponge is tall. Do the same with the pink one.

7. 7

   Take two almond and two pink slices and trim them all to the same length. Roll one block of marzipan on a surface dusted with powdered sugar to just over 20 cm wide and about 0.5 cm thick.

8. 8

   Brush the marzipan with jam and lay one pink and one almond slice side by side at one end, jam between them, leaving 4 cm of marzipan clear at that end.

9. 9

   Brush jam over the top of the pair and sit the other two slices on them with the colors swapped, so the cut end reads as a checkerboard. Trim the marzipan to the length of the cake.

10. 10

    Lift the marzipan and smooth it around the cake with your hands, leaving a small fold along the bottom edge before you press it onto the first side. Trim the opposite side to match the fold.

11. 11

    Crimp the edges between finger and thumb, or press them with fork prongs, and mark the ten slices across the top with the prongs if you like.

12. 12

    Build the second Battenberg the same way from the remaining slices and marzipan. They keep in an airtight box for three days, or a month in the freezer.