Week 126: Battenberg Cake
A Battenberg cake is a checkered-sponge cake filled with jam and covered in a layer of decadent marzipan.
The recipe is from England, and it’s said that the cake was created to celebrate Princess Victoria and Prince Louis of Battenberg’s marriage.
Interestingly, later during World War II, the Battenberg cake was mass-produced and sold in grocery stores as a popular treat.
I think there are a lot of fun ways to be creative with this cake. You can customize the color of the checkers and also the flavor of the jam. Feel free to experiment!
RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1/4 cup raspberry jam
Marizpan
2 1/2 cups almond flour
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons water
STEPS:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and line an 8-inch cake pan with parchment paper. Place a layer of aluminum foil in the middle of the pan to create a divider.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, milk, and almond extract. Then, add the flour and baking powder. Divide the batter into two bowls. Leave one as is, and in the other add two drops of red food coloring. Pour the pink batter on one side of the divider of your pan and pour the plain batter into the other side of the divider. Bake for 30 minutes and set aside to cool to room temperature.
To make the marzipan: in a food processor, mix the flour, sugar, almond extract, and water until a dough forms.
Once the cake is cooled, trim the edges of both layers so that they are identical. Stack them on top of each other, and cut it lengthwsie down the middle to create four logs. Brush jam on the sides of each log and assemble the logs to form a checkered pattern.
Roll out marzipan so that it is 2 inches thick and is big enough to cover your cake. Wrap the marzipan over the cake and cut slices to serve.
Enjoy!
The Bored Baker 👩🏽🍳
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