Battenberg Cake

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line a 20cm (8-inch) square baking tin. Create a divider down the center using folded parchment paper to create two equal sections.

2. 2

   In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

3. 3

   Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a tablespoon of flour with each egg to prevent curdling.

4. 4

   Fold in the remaining self-raising flour, ground almonds, vanilla extract, almond extract, and milk until just combined.

5. 5

   Divide the batter equally between two bowls. Leave one portion plain and add the pink food coloring to the other, mixing until evenly colored.

6. 6

   Spoon the plain batter into one side of the divided tin and the pink batter into the other side. Smooth the tops with a spatula.

7. 7

   Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

8. 8

   Once cooled, trim the edges of both cakes to create neat rectangles. Cut each cake in half lengthwise to create 4 long strips (2 pink, 2 plain).

9. 9

   Gently warm the apricot jam in a small saucepan until runny, then strain to remove any lumps.

10. 10

    Brush jam on one side of a plain strip and attach it to a pink strip. Repeat with the remaining two strips. Then brush jam on top of both pairs and stack them in a checkerboard pattern (pink on plain, plain on pink).

11. 11

    On a surface dusted with icing sugar, roll out the marzipan into a rectangle large enough to wrap around the entire cake (approximately 20cm x 30cm).

12. 12

    Brush the top and sides of the assembled cake with apricot jam. Place the cake in the center of the marzipan and carefully wrap it around, pressing gently to seal. Trim excess marzipan from the ends.

13. 13

    Place seam-side down on a serving plate. Use a knife to score a criss-cross pattern on top of the marzipan for decoration. Trim the ends for a clean finish.