Battenberg Cake
Battenberg Cake is a British teatime cake made from two colors of sponge — traditionally pink and yellow — arranged in a checkerboard pattern and wrapped in a layer of marzipan. The sponge sections are held together with apricot jam, which also helps the marzipan adhere. Assembly takes patience, but the total baking and building time is around 1 hour 30 minutes.
Equipment
- 8-inch square cake pan
- Mixer
- Parchment Paper
- Knife
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs preferably free-range
- 1 cup self-rising flour sifted
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 1 drop pink food coloring as needed
Assembly Ingredients
- 3 tbsp apricot jam warmed and sieved
- 8 ounces marzipan ready to roll
Instructions
Preparation Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and line an 8-inch square cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, and mix until combined.
- Gently fold in the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt until the batter is smooth.
- Divide the batter in half. Add a drop of pink food coloring to one half, and mix gently to incorporate.
- Pour the plain batter into one side of the prepared pan and the pink batter into the other side. Use a parchment paper divider if needed to keep them separate.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
Assembly Instructions
- Once cooled, trim the cakes to remove any browned edges. Cut each cake into four equal strips.
- Join alternate colored strips together using the warmed apricot jam as glue to form two checkerboard patterns.
- Roll out the marzipan into a rectangle large enough to wrap the cake, about ¼-inch thick.
- Brush the assembled cake with apricot jam and wrap tightly with the marzipan, pressing gently to secure. Trim any excess edges.
Notes
- To enhance the almond flavor, consider using a drop of almond extract in the marzipan as well.
Nutrition
Calories: 231kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 4gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 71mgPotassium: 65mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 326IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 26mgIron: 1mg
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