Battenburg Cake Recipe

How to Make a Battenburg Cake with Step-by-Step Picture Guide Recipe

Batternburg cake is a sponge cake that is divided into two colours; pink and yellow, then cut into four and arranged into a chequered rectangle cake. The cake is spread with jam and covered in marzipan.

Any typical British household will have shared a battenburg cake amongst family and friends at one time or another.

My recipe is a very rich cake so you only need a small piece of battenburg cake per person which is great because there is plenty to share around with loved ones.

Cooking your very own homemade battenburg recipe is so much fun and easy to bake.

I only ever use apricot jam for my battenburg cake but in this recipe I have used strawberry jam as the person I made it for requested it.

Apricot jam is the traditional way of making a battenburg cake because it compliments the almond marzipan in such a fantastic way.

If you are trying a battenburg cake for the first time I would only use apricot jam as with apricot jam you will be tasting the delicious battenburg cake at its very best.

Ingredients for This Blog Battenburg Cake Recipe
3 Medium Eggs
6oz Self Raising Flour
4oz Sunflower Margarine
4oz Caster Sugar
Pink Food Colouring
Yellow Food Colouring
Almond Essence
Vanilla Essence
Jeenas Marzipan
Apricot Jam
Powdered Sugar (to dust)
Caster Sugar (to dust)

How to Make a Battenburg Cake Recipe

Use a whisk to cream together the 4oz margarine and 4oz caster sugar.

Add the flour and eggs, whisk well.

Separate the battenburg cake mixture equally into two separate bowls.

In one bowl add add a few drops of vanilla essence and a few drops of pink food colouring.

Use a tiny spoon to drip little drops of the pink food colouring into the cake mixture so that you do not add too much colouring.

Mix well.

Repeat the same process in the other bowl using yellow food colouring and almond essence.

Take a large loaf tin.

Take two pieces of grease proof paper, place both pieces into the loaf tin.

Very lightly grease each paper in the loaf tin.

Pour each battenburg cake batter into the separate paper casing.

Cut around the edges of the loaf tin to make the paper more neat.

Place the battenburg cake into a hot oven at 180C for 30-40 minutes.

Do not open the oven for at least 25 minutes to check.

Your cake is ready when it is springy to the touch or a skewer comes out clean.

Take the cakes from the loaf tin.

Remove the grease proof paper.

Leave cake to cool down completely on the rack.

Do not cut the battenburg cakes whilst still warm or else the cakes will fall apart.

Once the cakes have cooled down use a sharp knife to carefully cut around the edges.

You want a square/rectangle shape.

Now carefully cut the cakes in half down the middle.

You want to layer two on top of two in a chequered pattern.

Test the cake peices by stacking them together to see how it looks or if any more cake needs slicing off to even the cakes out.

You can eat the left over cake peices or add them to a russian slice cake recipe with other cake peices.

Lightly spread apricot jam between the middle of the bottom two cakes.

Lightly spread some jam on top of the bottom layer.

Take the top layer of cakes and lightly spread jam inbetween the middle.

Layer the top cakes on top of the bottom cakes.

Roll out a large sheet of grease proof paper.

Dust with powdered sugar.

Roll out the marzipan.

Lightly spread the left hand side of the battenburg cake with jam and face the cake jam side down at the bottom of the marzipan.

Lightly spread arounf the rest of the battenburg cake with jam.

Lift up the sheet of grease proof paper and gently fold the marzipan around the cake.

Gently press the marzipan against the cake so that it sticks to the cake.

Do not worry if any marzipan tears just take some from the edges and gently press it together.

Use a sharp knife to carefully slice around the edges.

Place the battenburg cake botom side down onto a serving plate.