Battenberg Cake is a British Classic, originating from the marriage of Princess Victoria to Prince Louis of Battenberg. This delicacy is a combination of cherry and almond cake encased in marzipan. Check my other post for a great and easy recipe for the marzipan! This cake is easier than it seems, especially if you have a Battenberg tin. The cake mix is divided into two after its been almost completely made, so you don’t have to make two completely different mixes making it easier than it looks. This is perfect with that afternoon cup of tea and gets better every day! This recipe is taken from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Great British Bake Off: Big Book Of Baking. I baked this on Mother’s Day and had it served with Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne while having a family pub quiz on zoom! Let me know how you enjoy yours!
Ingredients:
- For The Sponge
- 50g glacé cherries
- 100g self-raising flour
- 50g ground almonds
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 2 medium eggs
- few drops of almond essence
- few drops of red food coloring
- 25g of flaked almonds
- Topping
- 350g white marzipan
- 8 tablespoons of apricot jam
- icing sugar for dusting
Directions:
- 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 centerfold upwards to make a pleat 4cm high. Crease it firmly, then press the parchment-lined foil sheet with the center pleat onto the base of the greased tin to line it – the pleat will run down the center of the tin to divide it into two separate sections each 20 × 10cm.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F
- Halve the cherries and rinse under hot water to remove the sticky syrup, drain, then dry on some kitchen roll.
- Chop the cherries finely, then sprinkle with a teaspoon of the weighed flour and toss to separate the pieces. Put to one side.
- Sift the rest of the flour and the ground almonds into a bowl and set to one side.
- Put the softened butter into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a food mixer and beat until very 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. Periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl where the mixture has splattered up, then beat really well for a couple of minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- 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 the sifted flour mixture and fold in with a large metal spoon or plastic spatula. Divide the mixture in half (by weight if possible for even sponges), putting the mixture in separate bowls.
- Add the food coloring, a few drops at a time, to one portion of the mix to give it a pink tint, making sure there are no streaks. Then mix in the chopped cherries. Spoon this mix into two of the sections of the Battenberg tin, equally.
- Add the flaked almonds to the other mixture then spoon into the remaining two sections of the tin, equally.
- Flatten all of the mixtures in the tin to make sure they rise evenly and flat.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the sponges, are well risen and springy when gently pressed.
- Set the tin on a wire rack and run a round-bladed knife around the inside to loosen the sponges. Leave to cool until the spongers are just warm, then carefully turn out on to the rack and peel of the lining paper. Cool completely.
- (Only if you didn’t use a Battenberg tin) When ready to assemble, set cold sponges on a chopping board. If you baked two sponges in a square tin, use a serrated bread knife to cut each in half lengthways, to make 4 cake strips. Trim all the strips so the short sides are exactly square.
- Roll out the marzipan on a worktop lightly dusted with icing sugar to a 20 x 30cm rectangle. Heat the jam just enough so it will spread easily. Brush the left quarter of the marzipan with jam and place one pink sponge on the edge and a yellow cake to its right. Brush jam on the tops of those cake pieces and place the remaining yellow cake on the pink and vice versa.
- Brush the remainder of the marzipan with jam and wrap the marzipan neatly around the cakes to completely encase it. Crimp the edges if you please and trim any marzipan that hangs over the cake if you want it very neat.
- Lightly dust the top of the cake.
- As always, enjoy!
