Battenberg cake

I'm back with a second inspiration from London: Battenberg cake!  You've no doubt seen this cake before.  There's a whimsical quality to it, with its alternating colors and checkerboard pattern.  I know I've seen it and smiled, thinking maybe I'll give it a try one day but never quite finding the motivation to actually take action.  Well, traveling and the desire to recreate good food that you had along the way is a great motivator.

Battenberg cake is an almond sponge cake (though we're referring to British sponge cakes like the Victoria sponge, which are buttery batter cakes) fused together with apricot jam, and wrapped in marzipan.  It was reportedly created in honor of the marriage of Princess Victoria to Prince Louis of Battenberg back in 1884.  

Being a classic British afternoon tea cake, it was one of the desserts we sampled during afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason in London a few weeks ago (I ate a lot of delicious things there during that tea). The cake was one of several desserts we could choose from following the tiers of finger sandwiches, scones, and desserts we were served at the table; we were stuffed by the time it came to choose from the dessert trolley but somehow managed to make room for a few more bites, and I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty the Battenberg cake was. 

So that got me seriously thinking about trying my hand at making Battenberg cake at home. Surprisingly, the cake is not all that hard to make!  You make one almond sponge cake batter, color half of it in pink, and bake both colors in one pan (using a makeshift divider).  Once baked, it's a matter of slicing the cake into logs, fusing them together alternately with apricot jam, then rolling out marzipan and wrapping the cake in it.  

It's not just fun to look at, this cake tastes good as well!  You have buttery almond sponge cake with the extra flavor and moisture from apricot jam that goes so well with it, wrapped in the sweetness of the marzipan, which also adds a lovely chewiness to the bite.  It really is a great cake to enjoy with a cup of tea.  And I can't help but think it would be a lovely bake for Mother's Day coming up!

To be honest, I didn't think I'd find a lot of cooking inspiration that I could tackle at home from London and I'm glad I was wrong.  I'm really happy I made this cake; I'm not sure I ever would have if not for tasting it on the trip.  It felt great to be able to recreate it at home and I think my family was pretty happy with my efforts, too.  It's wonderful to be able to extend your vacation and travels by reminiscing with food. And the only thing better than making something is watching it disappear quickly as everyone enthusiastically polishes it off!

Shall we get into the details of making the Battenberg cake?  I found a gorgeous rendition of it and followed it best I could.  Appropriately, it's an adaption of English baker, Mary Berry's recipe. 

Interestingly, this cake uses an "all-in" method.  Quite literally, all the wet ingredients get added to the dry and it's all mixed together until just combined.  I thought I'd give it a try.  

It looks a bit frightening at first but with just a little mixing, you have a smooth, thick cake batter as shown below.  Just make sure your butter is softened and your eggs are at room temperature so that it incorporates easily and you don't over-mix the batter.

The cake is baked in an 8-inch square pan.  Line it with parchment paper, making a divider in the center that's reinforced with some folded aluminum foil.  Since the batter is thick, it stands up well on its own.  Though not necessary, it helps to have someone hold the middle divider for you while you fill in the batter; my husband was a most willing and excellent helper!  Place half the batter into one side of the pan, then color the other half with pink (or red) food coloring before doing the same.  I used a deep rose pink gel paste food coloring; I lost count after a while but I think I used a good dozen drops to get the color you see here.

The cake needs to bake for about 25 minutes or so.  It should spring back lightly when touched and a cake tester should come out clean when it's done.  

Unfortunately, the center of my yellow cake sunk a bit.  I wish I had a good explanation for why.  The recipe calls for self-rising flour and I DIY'ed it; I could say that might have had something to do with but the pink cake did not have the same issue.  Since it's always the case to "make it work", I didn't sweat it too much since the issue wasn't major and the cakes will be trimmed.

Stack the two cakes on top of each other and trim the sides using a serrated knife to even it out.  Cut the cakes lengthwise as evenly as possible so you have 4 equal logs. Then, they get stacked alternately and "glued" together using apricot jam (warm the apricot jam/preserve and press it through a sieve to remove any lumps).  

I thought rolling out the marzipan would be tricky but surprisingly, it was easy!  I rolled it out between a piece of parchment paper, lightly dusted with powdered sugar, and a piece of plastic wrap placed on top.  It should be large enough to cover the entire cake.  Then start by brushing the bottom of the cake logs with jam, placing it down onto the marzipan, then brush the other 3 sides of the cake (the ends will be trimmed so it's not really necessary to brush those).  Finally, bring the marzipan up and press it around to fit the cake. 

When it's done, turn it so that it's seam-side down.  Finally, score the top of the cake with the back of a knife to decorate.

For the moment of truth, slice the cake!  Trim off a bit of the ends to reveal the pattern.

Then, brew some tea!  I indulged in a little shopping while at Fortnum & Mason, bringing home some of the gorgeous blue china I used here.  I seriously hope I don't break any of it because I have the tendency of doing that too often in the kitchen!

I don't know about you but everything seems to taste better on nice china.  That said, this cake is not only fun but tasty even if you eat it off of a plain paper plate.  I'm happy I tackled this baking project!

...On a last note, I thought I'd show you the slice of Battenberg cake we had at our afternoon tea at Fortnum in London.  I know the photo quality is poor but you can see their Battenberg cake in the background.  The desserts on the cart might have looked a bit tired by the time we got to it late in the day but they sure tasted good.  Not only the Battenberg, I also fell in love with the slice of chocolate ganache cake (if/when I get my hands on that recipe, I will totally make it) and my husband really enjoyed the coconut Victoria sponge cake.  There was also an apple tart and loaf cake that we didn't have room to sample but we probably should have given how good the rest of the desserts were...

Recipe:

Battenberg Cake
Adapted from Mandy Mortimer (a beautiful, highly-detailed rendition that I highly recommend), who adapted it from Mary Berry's Baking Bible

- Serves approximately 8-10 -

For cake:
175g/6 oz. (1 1/3 cups) self-rising flour*
175g/6 oz. (3/4 cup) caster/superfine sugar
65g/2 1/3 oz (1/2 cup) almond meal
175g/6 oz. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
3 large eggs, room temperature 
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Pink or red food coloring

To finish:
100g/3 1/2 oz. (1/3 cup) apricot jam
225g/8 oz. marzipan
Powdered sugar, for rolling

*To make your own self-rising flour: For each 1 cup of self-rising flour, sift 1 cup (115g) all-purpose flour together with 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Make cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8-inch square pan and line it with parchment paper, creating a divide in the middle that will separate the two batter colors.  To reinforce the center divide, fold a piece of aluminum foil to fit into parchment divide.

In the bowl of the stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk the flour, sugar, and almond meal together.  In a measuring cup, lightly beat the eggs and remaining wet ingredients (everything except the food coloring) and add it to the bowl along with the butter.  Beat everything together until just combined and the batter is smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.  Evenly spread half the batter into one half of the pan, smoothing the top.  Add pink food coloring to the remaining half of the batter, starting with a few drops and adding more to reach a deep pink color.  Transfer the pink batter to the other half of the pan, evenly spreading and smoothing over the top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cake springs back slightly when touched and a cake tester inserted comes out clean.  Let cool a few minutes in the pan, then carefully remove it from the pan onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Trim and assemble: Once fully cooled, trim the edges (and tops, if necessary) of the cakes with a serrated knife to even them up in size.  Carefully cut each sponge cake in half lengthwise with a serrated knife into 4 even strips.  Neaten and trim the sponge cakes some more, if necessary.

Gently heat the apricot jam and pass it through a sieve to remove any lumps.  Brush the warm jam onto the strips of cake to stick them together in a checkered pattern of alternating color.

Finish the cake: Dust a clean surface lightly with powdered sugar and roll out the marzipan into an oblong shape (I like rolling it between parchment paper and plastic wrap) large enough to cover the entire cake.  Brush the top of the cake with jam and place it onto the center of the marzipan, jam-side down.  Brush the other 3 sides with jam (if you have extra, you can also brush the ends but that will be trimmed before serving).  Gently bring up and press the marzipan around the cake, making sure the seam will be in the bottom when turned, or in a corner.  Carefully flip the cake around so that it's seam-side down.  To decorate, score the top of the cake with the back of a knife.

Finally, neaten the ends of the cake by trimming it slightly to reveal the checkered pattern.  Slice and serve, with tea, of course!