Battenberg Cake ~ Daring Bakers' Challenge June 2012 | Food ...

This month for the Daring Bakers? Challenge our original host had to bow out unexpectedly but?Mandy?of?What The Fruitcake?!?came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry?s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease. I love the gorgeous checked design of a Battenburg cake. It looks so interesting and feels like you?ll be eating something extra special.

This cake actually has its roots as a special occasion cake,?a wedding cake for royalty in fact.?The first Battenberg cake was made to celebrate the marriage of Queen Victoria?s granddaughter, Princess Victoria, to husband Prince Louis of Battenberg. A Battenberg cake is a sponge cake that is?traditionally flavoured with almond and has the signature yellow and pink squares. The strips of sponge cake are glued together using apricot jam and then the cake is covered in marzipan. Sometimes the edges are crimped and the top is patterned with a knife.

At first glance, this cake may look like it would be a complicated project but I assure you, it?s all about simplicity. It requires one bowl and even though a cake pan does exist specifically for making Battenberg cake, this can be baked in a square baking tin with a simple divider made with foil to separate the two batters. The batter takes mere moments to prepare and the assembly was easy as pie, so to speak. Then just roll out the marzipan and roll your cake onto it like a log until all four sides are covered. Viola!

Of course, I had some help in the kitchen and maybe a little extra clean up than you will.

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What mess, Mom?

The finished product is a cake that is moist and has the distinct taste of sweet almond. Loving the combination of cherry and almonds, I held my Battenberg together with cherry jam instead of apricot. I also love the dainty size of this little cake. It?s the perfect size for dessert after a family dinner with only a little leftover for a nice midnight snack.

Enjoy!

~K

?

One Year Ago: Summer Berry Trifle

?Print This Recipe

? cup (1? sticks) 175gm / 6 oz unsalted butter, softened & cut in cubes

? cup / 175gm / 6 oz caster sugar

1? cups / 175gm / 6 oz self-rising flour

3 Large Eggs, room temperature

? cup / 65gm/ 2 1/3 oz ground almonds

3/4 tsp / 3? gm baking powder

? tsp / 2? ml vanilla extract

1/4 tsp (1? ml) almond extract

Red food coloring, paste, liquid or gel

1/3 cup (80 ml) 100gm /3 ? oz cherry jam

1 cup / 225gm / 8 oz marzipan, natural or yellow

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- Preheat oven to moderate 350?F

- Grease an 8? square baking tin with butter

- Line the pan with parchment paper. Fold over a sheet of foil several times. This will help reinforce the divide.?Fold the parchment in half and put the foil into the crease.?Butter the bottom of the cake pan, this will help ?glue? the parchment to it.?Make sure the divide is in the middle of the pan and stick the excess parchment onto the bottom?OR if you have one, you can prepare Battenberg tin by brushing the tin with melted butter and flouring

- Whisk together the dry ingredients then combine with the wet ingredients in a large bowl and beat together just until the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth.

- Spoon half the mixture into the one side of the prepared baking tin.

- Add a few drops of red food liquid/gel/paste to the remaining batter, stir until the colour is thoroughly distributed, add more color if needed.

- Spoon the pink batter into the other half of the prepared baking tin.

- Smooth the surface of the batter with a spatula, making sure batter is in each corner.

- Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake is well risen, springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick comes out clean. It should shrink away from the sides of the pan.

- Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out to cool thoroughly on a wire rack.

- Once completely cool, trim the edges of the cake with a long serrated knife

- Cut each coloured sponge in half lengthways so that you are left with four long strips of sponge.

-?Neaten the strips and trim as necessary so that your checkered pattern is as neat and even as possible

- Gently heat the apricot jam and pass through a small sieve.

- Brush warmed jam onto the strips of cake to stick the cake together in a checkered pattern (one yellow next to one pink. On top of that, one pink next to one yellow

- Dust a large flat surface with icing sugar then roll the marzipan in an oblong shape that is wide enough to cover the length of the cake and long enough to completely wrap the cake.

- Brush the top of the cake with jam.

- Place the cake on the marzipan, jam side down

- Brush the remaining three sides with jam.

- Press the marzipan around the cake, making sure the join is either neatly in the one corner, or will be underneath the cake once turned over *Tip: If you put the sponge to the one side of the marzipan, I found it easiest to ?roll? the sponge over and over onto the marzipan instead of lifting the marzipan up onto the sponge.

- Carefully flip the cake over so that the seam is under the cake and score the top of the cake with a knife.

- Neaten the ends of the cake and remove excess marzipan by trimming off a small bit of cake on both ends to reveal the pattern.

- Enjoy!

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