Battenberg Recipes

BATTENBERG CAKE

Steps:

• If you are using a special Battenberg tin that comes with dividers to make four strips of sponge, grease and line the tin with butter and baking paper. Alternatively, you can make your own: cut a 20 x 28cm rectangle of parchment-lined foil, set it paper-side up on the worktop and fold it in half along the long length. Open it out, then push the centrefold upwards to make a pleat 4cm high. Crease it firmly, then press the parchment-lined foil sheet with the centre pleat onto the base of greased tin to line it - the pleat will run down the centre of the tin to divide it into two separate sections each 20 × 10cm. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/Gas 4.
• To make the sponge, put the butter into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a food-mixer and beat until creamy with a wooden spoon or the whisk attachment. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whisk in the sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl where mixture has splattered up, then beat really well for a couple of minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again to get any stray mixture.
• Break the 2 medium eggs into a separate bowl, add the 2 drops of almond extract and beat with a fork until broken up, then gradually beat into the butter mixture a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Add a tablespoon of the 100g self-­raising flour with each of the last two additions of egg to prevent the mixture from curdling.
• Sift the remaining flour, a good pinch of salt and 50g ground almonds into the bowl. Add the 2 teaspoons milk and carefully fold everything together with a large metal spoon. Transfer half the mixture (for this cake it's best to do this by weight, to be really accurate) into a clean bowl. Add the pink or red food colouring a few drops at a time to one portion, mixing it in really well so that it turns pink with no coloured streaks.
• Spoon the uncoloured cake mixture into two sections of the prepared Battenberg tin or into one side of the prepared square tin (check the pleated divider is still straight and dead centre). Spoon the pink cake mixture into the other two sections of the Battenberg tin or the other section of the prepared square tin. Carefully spread each portion so that the surface is level and the corners are evenly filled.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until the sponges are well risen. Check the cake is cooked - it should be springy when gently pressed. Set the tin on a wire rack. Run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the tin to loosen the sponges, then leave to cool until barely warm. Carefully turn out onto the wire rack and peel off the lining paper - the cakes will still be fragile so handle them gently - then leave until cold.
• To assemble the cake, set the sponges on a chopping board. If you used the square tin to bake two sponges, cut each sponge in half lengthways using a serrated bread knife to make four strips of cake - two pink and two yellow. Trim all the strips so that the short sides are exactly square as they may have risen unevenly.
• Make sure the worktop is spotlessly clean and crumb-free, then dust it lightly with icing sugar or cornflour. Knead the 350g white marzipan for a minute so that it is supple, then roll it out to a neat 20 x 30cm rectangle.
• Heat the apricot jam with 1 tablespoon of cold water then push it through a sieve to make a smooth puree. Brush one long side of a pink strip very lightly with jam and set it jam-side down on one short side of the marzipan rectangle, lined up next to the edge. Brush the three other long sides of this piece of cake lightly with jam.
• Now brush one long side of a yellow cake strip with jam and set it jam-side down onto the marzipan next to the pink strip and touching it. Brush the top of this strip with jam.
• Set the other yellow strip on top of the pink strip that is in place on the marzipan.
• Lightly brush one long side of the second pink strip with jam and set it next to this second yellow strip, so that it sits on top of the yellow strip that's on the marzipan. You will now have created the familiar checkerboard pattern.
• To finish the cake, brush the top and long sides of the assembled cake with the apricot jam (gently re-warmed), then roll the cake or wrap the marzipan neatly around and over the cake, leaving the checkerboard ends visible. Press the marzipan join to seal it (it should be along one bottom edge). Gently smooth the marzipan with your hands to neaten it up and press out any air pockets, then trim the ends and crimp the top edges of the marzipan by pinching it gently at regular intervals.
• Dust lightly with icing sugar just before serving.Photography: David Munns © Hodder & Stoughton

BATTENBERG CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
• Grease a 20cm/8in square, loose-based cake tin with butter.
• Take a 30cm x 20cm/12in x 8in strip of baking parchment and make a 8cm/3in fold in the centre. This will create a division in the cake so that the two differently coloured sponges can be cooked at the same time.
• Line the tin with the baking parchment, keeping the division in the centre.
• Put the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and vanilla in a food processor and pulse until well combined.
• Transfer the batter to a bowl set on scales, remove half of the batter and put it in a different bowl.
• Add a small dab of red food colouring to one bowl and fold it into the batter until it is well blended.
• Spoon the cake batters into each side of the prepared tin and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.
• Bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the sponges have risen. Cool in the tin for five minutes, then slide a knife around the outside of each sponge and turn them out onto a wire rack. If the sponges have risen unevenly, press the surface gently until level. Leave until completely cold.
• To assemble the cake, first place one sponge on top of the other and trim off the crusty edges so they are both the same size. Cut the sponges in half lengthways to make four long rectangles.
• Warm the apricot jam in a saucepan then press through a fine sieve.
• Brush the long side of one of the sponges with jam and sandwich together with a sponge of a contrasting colour. Do the same with the other two sponges.
• Sandwich the two pairs of sponges together like a checker board and brush the top and sides with jam.
• Place the marzipan on a surface dusted with icing sugar and roll into a rectangle of about 40cm x 20cm/16in x 10in; it should be large enough to wrap the cake completely, leaving the ends exposed, and be about 5mm/¼in thick.
• Turn the cake upside down on the marzipan and brush the underside of the sponges with jam.
• Wrap the marzipan around the cake, pressing it gently onto the surface of the sponges, and press the edges together to make a firm join.
• Turn back over with the seam underneath, trim a thin slice off each end and place on a serving plate.

BATTENBURG CAKE

Steps:

• Cream butter and 1 cup sugar together. Beat in 3 eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt gently. Add milk if needed.
• Divide batter into 2 equal parts. Add food coloring to 1 part to make a deep pink color. Grease two 7 inch square pans. Spread batters into pans.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until an inserted wooden pick comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand in pans 5 minutes. Turn out on racks to cool.
• Trim edges from both cakes. Cut each cake lengthwise into 4 strips as wide as the cake is thick. Trim to make strips match. Heat jam slightly. Spread on sides to glue 2 pink and 2 white strips together checkerboard fashion. Spread all 4 sides of completed cake with jam. Repeat with remaining pink and white stripes. Makes two cakes.
• To Make Almond Paste: Mix almonds, confectioners' sugar, egg, lemon juice, and almond extract together. Knead until smooth, adding a bit of lemon juice or water if too dry to roll. Add only 1/2 teaspoon at a time. It will be stiff. Divide into 2 equal parts.
• Roll 1/2 of paste 1/8 inch or so thick on a surface lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar. Cut to fit length of cake, and long enough to cover 4 sides leaving ends uncovered. Lay cake on one end of paste. Wrap to completely enclose all 4 sides of cake pinching paste to seal. Roll in granulated sugar. Place with seal underneath on serving plate, or store in plastic bag. Repeat for second cake. Chill. Slice thinly to serve.