Battenberg Cake
Serves 8 • Prep 15 mins • Cooking 25 mins
Checkerboard prints are everywhere right now, from trendy homewares to the latest fashion. It is not exactly surprising then, to see the Battenberg Cake make a comeback. A classic treat, there is something delightful about revealing the signature pretty pink and yellow squares of light sponge, once sliced.
What you’ll need
230g butter, melted
1 cup Sunshine Sugar Caster Sugar
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup The Healthy Baker Plain Flour
2 cups The Healthy Baker Self Raising Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
couple drops pink food colouring
1 cup jam
500g ready to roll marzipan
Preheat the oven to 180oC and grease and line two 8-9 inch square baking tins.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, eggs, oil, milk and almond extract and whisk until smooth.
Sift in the flours and add the baking powder and salt. Stir until a smooth batter forms.
Divide the batter in half, and add pink food dye to one half of the mixture.
Add the batters to their tins and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until cakes spring back when touched.
Allow to cool briefly in the tin before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Cut one cake in half one way, and then into 4 pieces along the other edge, to make 8 even rectangles. Do the same with the other cake.
Roll the marzipan out to 1/4-1/2cm thickness.
Add the jam to a bowl and microwave briefly to thin slightly. Spread this onto the marzipan.
Lay one of the pink rectangles on the marzipan, with a plain cake rectangle next to it. Then alternate colours on the next layer to form a checker pattern, using jam between the cakes to secure as needed.
Shape the marzipan around the cake and trim the excess to use again.
Complete with remaining cake and marzipan until you have 4 mini Battenberg cakes.
