Battenberg Cake

I love Battenberg. Or maybe I just like marzipan and cake. Same difference. Anyway, whilst Alice is away (she doesn't like it, tsh) I decided to try to make a Battenberg Cake, for the very first time. And I am very happy with the results. Yum.

Battenberg Cake

Prep time: 30 mins to 1 hour

Serves: Ten

Cooking temp: Gas 5, 190C

Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

175g very soft butter

175g golden caster sugar

3 medium eggs

175g self-raising flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

red food colouring paste/gel

6tbsp apricot jam

500g ready-to-roll golden marzipan

Icing sugar, for rolling

Method

1. Preheat the oven.
2. Grease a 20cm square cake tin.
3. Cut out a strip of baking paper with the dimensions 30cmx20cm. If you use a slightly different sized tin, increase/decrease paper size accordingly (one dimension has to be about 10cm longer than one side of the tin) 
4. Make a fold in the centre. This is the division so that the two coloured cakes can cook at the same time.
   
5. Press into the tin, keeping the fold in the middle. Make sure it is high enough so that when the cake rises it will not go over the top (5cm high fold or more)
6. Put the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together. 
   
7. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat.
8. Mix in flour until combined. 
   
9. Transfer batter to a bowl on a set of scales. Remove half of the batter and put back in original bowl. 
10. Add red food colouring to one bowl until you have achieved a good colour: a light pink is ideal.
    
11. Spoon the two cake batters in either side of the divide and smooth down with the back of a spoon.
    
12. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes, until they are risen and firm. Cool in the tin for five minutes.
    
13. Turn the sponges carefully out onto a rack. If they are of different sizes, press down on the cakes gently with the flat side of a cake/spreading knife.
14. Peel away baking parchment and leave the cakes to cool completely.
15. To assemble: Place one cake on top of the other. Use a sharp knife to trim off the uneven edges so both cakes are the same width and length. Cut the sponges in half lengthways, to make four long rectangles of cake.
    
16. Set aside. Heat the apricot jam in a pan for a few minutes, until the large lumps have melted down. Do not over heat.
17. Press the jam through a sieve to get a sort of thick apricot juice.
18. Using a cooking paintbrush, apply jam liberally to the long side of a cake rectangle, and sandwich with another rectangle of the other colour. Repeat with the other two.
19. Add more jam to the top of one of the pairs, and place the other on top to create a checked design. Add more jam to the top and long sides.
20. Dust a clean surface with icing sugar and roll out the marzipan to 40cmx20cm, and about 5mm thick. It should be able to cover the cake completely.
    
21. Put the cake upside down on the marzipan and add jam to the underside. Brush a bit onto the marzipan as well.
22. Carefully wrap the marzipan around the cake and press all sides firmly to make sure it has stuck. 
23. Turn the cake over so the join is on the bottom of the cake.
24. Trim off the ends of the cake if the marzipan is hanging over to create a neat, even face. 
    
25. Serve on a plate and enjoy!