Battenberg Cake

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base and sides of a 20cm square tin with baking parchment. To make the almond sponge, put the butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and almond extract in a large bowl.

2. 2

   Beat with an electric whisk until the mix comes together smoothly. Scrape into the tin, spreading to the corners, and bake for 25-30 mins – when you poke in a skewer, it should come out clean.

3. 3

   Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling while you make the second sponge.

4. 4

   For the pink sponge, line the tin as above. Mix all the ingredients together as above, but don’t add the almond extract. Fold in some pink food colouring. Then scrape it all into the tin and bake as before. Cool.

5. 5

   To assemble, heat the jam in a small pan until runny, then sieve. Barely trim two opposite edges from the almond sponge, then well trim a third edge. Use a ruler to help you cut 4 slices each the same width as the sponge height. Repeat with pink cake.

6. 6

   Take 2 x almond slices and 2 x pink slices and trim so they are all the same length. Roll out one marzipan block on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to just over 20cm wide and 0.5cm thick.

7. 7

   Brush with apricot jam, then lay a pink and an almond slice side by side at one end of the marzipan, brushing jam in between to stick sponges. Brush more jam on top, then sandwich remaining 2 slices on top, alternating colours for a checkerboard effect.

8. 8

   Trim the marzipan to the length of the cakes. Carefully lift up the marzipan and smooth over the cake with your hands. Trim opposite side and crimp edges using fingers or a fork.

9. 9

   Assemble second Battenberg and keep in an airtight box for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month.