Battenberg Cake 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:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base and sides of a 20cm square tin with baking parchment (the easiest way is to cross 2 x 20cm-long strips over the base). To make the almond sponge, put the butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and almond extract in a large bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until the mix comes together smoothly. Scrape into the tin, spreading to the corners, and bake for 25-30 mins - when you poke in a skewer, it should come out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling while you make the second sponge.
• For the pink sponge, line the tin as above. Mix all the ingredients together as above, but don't add the almond extract. Fold in some pink food colouring. Then scrape it all into the tin and bake as before. Cool.
• To assemble, heat the jam in a small pan until runny, then sieve. Barely trim two opposite edges from the almond sponge, then well trim a third edge. Roughly measure the height of the sponge, then cutting from the well-trimmed edge, use a ruler to help you cut 4 slices each the same width as the sponge height. Discard or nibble leftover sponge. Repeat with pink cake.
• Take 2 x almond slices and 2 x pink slices and trim so they are all the same length. Roll out one marzipan block on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to just over 20cm wide, then keep rolling lengthways until the marzipan is roughly 0.5cm thick. Brush with apricot jam, then lay a pink and an almond slice side by side at one end of the marzipan, brushing jam in between to stick sponges, and leaving 4cm clear marzipan at the end. Brush more jam on top of the sponges, then sandwich remaining 2 slices on top, alternating colours to give a checkerboard effect. Trim the marzipan to the length of the cakes.
• Carefully lift up the marzipan and smooth over the cake with your hands, but leave a small marzipan fold along the bottom edge before you stick it to the first side. Trim opposite side to match size of fold, then crimp edges using fingers and thumb (or, more simply, press with prongs of fork). If you like, mark the 10 slices using the prongs of a fork.
• Assemble second Battenberg and keep in an airtight box or well wrapped in cling film for up to 3 days. Can be frozen for up to a month.

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.

TRADITIONAL BRITISH BATTENBERG CAKE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• In a large baking bowl beat together the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
• Slowly add the eggs, continuing to beat with the butter and sugar mix; resist the temptation to add the eggs too fast to avoid curdling the cake.
• Add the vanilla extract and stir.
• Sift the flour into the baking bowl, along with the milk, and continue beating until smooth.
• Place half of the mixture in another bowl, add the food coloring a little at a time until you have a color you like. Stir well.
• Grease a 6-inch square cake tin and divide into two by placing a thick layer of aluminum foil down the center. Put the pink mixture on one side and the plain cake on the other.
• Place in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed lightly.
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
• Cut each cake to the same size, then cut each cake in half lengthways.
• Take a pink cake and brush one side with the warmed jam. Place a yellow piece next to it, jam side together and push gently together.
• Brush the top surface with jam and place a piece of yellow cake atop a pink piece and vice versa.
• Brush all the outside edges with more jam.
• Brush the rolled marzipan with a little jam and wrap it all around the cake, hiding the seam underneath. Trim away any excess.
• Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Serve and enjoy!

BIRTHDAY BATTENBERG

Steps:

• For the cake batter: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Turn an 8-inch square baking pan into a Battenberg pan: first, fold a long piece of foil onto itself a couple of times to a create a foil barrier to divide your pan in half, making sure that the barrier is at least the height of the pan or even a little more. Then, spray the pan and each side of the foil with cooking spray (to help the parchment stick) and line each half of the pan with two overlapping pieces of parchment paper, one going widthwise and one going lengthwise, with enough overhang to come all the way up the sides and then some. Get your scissors out and trim the parchment so that it lays nicely and doesn't curl around the corners and make you go crazy. Sorry, I know this is a lot of parchment paper (I reuse parchment all the time!). Okay, set this aside.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder, then lightly stir in the salt and set aside. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the heavy cream and sour cream and set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together the butter, coconut oil and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each and periodically scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Reduce the mixer to medium-low and add the dry mixture and cream mixture in 3 alternating additions, mixing until 80 percent combined.
• Divide the mixture in half. In the first half, add a few drops of yellow food coloring and fold in the sprinkles as you mix until the batter is combined. Pour into one side of the pan and use a small offset spatula or a spoon to carefully spread it out evenly. In the second half of the batter, add a few drops of red food coloring and fold it in as you mix until the batter is combined.
• Pour into the other side of the pan and use a small offset spatula or a spoon to carefully spread it out evenly. Bake until the tops of the cakes are browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs on it; begin checking for doneness at 45 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then use the parchment wings to lift them out of the pans and onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Level the cakes and trim off the sides if they're uneven. Halve each cake crosswise to yield 4 equal rectangles that are as wide as they are thick (measure the thickness of the cake once it's leveled, then turn your ruler 90 degrees to measure that same amount on top of the cake and score with an accordion pastry cutter). Enjoy a bite of cake scraps and set these aside.
• To assemble: Knead the marzipan with the blue food coloring to get your desired color, dusting with powdered sugar if it gets too sticky. On a silicone mat (or a big piece of parchment or a counter dusted with powdered sugar, but I strongly recommend a silicone mat so that you don't get powdered sugar all over what will eventually become the outside surface of the marzipan), roll the marzipan out into a rectangle that's about 7 1/2 inches wide by 13 inches long, dusting the top with powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking, and rolling in a scattering of sprinkles at the end. Trim the edges so they're straight. Brush all over with a thin layer of jam and place a rectangle of pink cake at one end. Brush the exposed surfaces with a thin layer of jam. Squish a rectangle of sprinkle cake right next to it and brush the exposed surfaces with a layer of jam. Stack the other two rectangles of cake on top, brushing with jam, to form a checkerboard pattern. Carefully roll it onto its side, pressing the marzipan all over so that it sticks, then continue to roll until the cake is covered. Trim off any excess marzipan, then decorate with additional marzipan decorations as desired.
• Wrap in firmly plastic wrap and let set in the fridge for a couple of hours. Let come to room temperature and enjoy!

LEMON AND LIME BATTENBERG

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F180°C/160°C fan/gas 4, grease the cake tin and line it with baking parchment, allowing the parchment to overhang at the edges. Divide the tin cavity in half by pulling up the center of the parchment and folding a tall pleat to separate the halves. Make sure the pleat is as close to the center as possible.
• Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl for 4-5 minutes, using a stand mixer or an electric hand-held whisk, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding 1-2 tablespoons of the flour if the mixture curdles.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour and ground almonds. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture until a thick batter forms, then scoop half the mixture into a separate bowl.
• Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and a little yellow food coloring to one half of the batter, and do the same to the other half with the lime juice, lime zest and green food coloring, mixing until fully combined.
• Spread the lemon mixture into one half of the tin and the lime mixture into the other half, with the parchment dividing them, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen and golden. Allow the cakes to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Use a serrated knife to trim the edges off the cooled sponges. Carefully cut the sides that have colored in the oven, as they can look off-putting if used in the Battenberg. Measure the height of the baked sponge with a ruler and slice the cake into strips the same width as the height, forming a square cross section. Mine are usually 2x2cm (3/4x3/4 inches). This will create perfect squares that stack properly on top of one another.
• Gently warm the lime marmalade in a small saucepan to loosen it and make it easier to spread, then pass it through a sieve. Stick one lemon strip of cake and one lime strip together using some of the lime marmalade, then stack the alternate color on top of the bottom layer to create the checkerboard effect with the four strips.
• Lightly dust the worktop with confectioners' sugar, then roll out the marzipan into a large rectangle, trimming the edges so the rectangle is approximately 18x20cm (7x8-inches). Brush the top and sides of the assembled cake with the remaining marmalade, then place top-side down on to the marzipan along the short edge. Brush the face-up side of the cake with more marmalade before tightly rolling it up in the marzipan until it is covered. Press in the final section of marzipan or trim if it looks too long.
• Trim the ends of the cake using a serrated knife and transfer the Battenberg to a plate or cake stand. The cake will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container.