Battenberg Cake

Desserts from the United Kingdom are more popular than ever, thanks in part to The Great British Baking Show. The bake-off has introduced viewers in the United States to all kinds of intriguing British recipes, including Victoria sponge cake, Bakewell tarts and sticky toffee pudding. But one of the most visually stunning bakes that has seen the spotlight is this Battenberg cake recipe.

Word has it that the late Queen Elizabeth II requested a Battenberg cake for her platinum jubilee celebration, which marked 70 years on the throne. It’s just one of the foods the Queen loved to eat.

What is Battenberg cake?

Battenberg Cake was created in 1884 to serve as the royal wedding cake for Princess Victoria, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and her husband Prince Louis of the Battenberg family. Though the prince eventually changed his name to Mountbatten during World War I, the name of this cake stayed the same, and has since become a classic British food. The most recognizable feature of a British Battenberg cake is the checkerboard pattern revealed when the cake is sliced, traditionally made with pink and yellow cake. The strips of almond-flavored sponge are held together with a generous brushing of apricot jam, and then are wrapped in a layer of rolled marzipan.

Ingredients for Battenberg Cake

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• Flours: Our cake batter is made with a mix of all-purpose flour (for strength and stability) and almond flour (for a nutty flavor and extra moisture).
• Butter: Working with room temperature ingredients is important in baking, especially for the emulsification of a cake batter. Soften your butter to room temperature before getting started.
• Sugar: Use white granulated sugar to sweeten the cake. Don’t use brown sugar or you’ll discolor the white and pink hues.
• Baking powder: You’ll only need 1 teaspoon of baking powder to help the cake rise.
• Eggs: Bring the three eggs to room temperature to avoid the beaten room-temperature butter from seizing up and lumping. You can take the eggs out of the fridge at the same time you take the butter out; that way they both can come to room temperature.
• Extracts: Vanilla and almond extract are traditional in a Battenberg cake recipe. Almond extract carries the almond flavor through the cake in addition to the marzipan and almond flour. Vanilla rounds out the flavor with its delicate floral sweetness.
• Milk: We thin the cake batter with just a touch of room-temperature 2% milk.
• Food coloring: Use a store-bought pink food dye, or try a natural food dye that will turn your batter pink—like freeze-dried raspberries or concentrated beet juice. If you go the natural route, know that the color won’t be as vibrant as store-bought food dye.
• Decor: To assemble and decorate the Battenberg cake, you’ll need warmed apricot preserves, a bit of confectioners’ sugar and two packages of marzipan.

Directions

Step 1: Prepare the parchment and foil

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Cut a piece of parchment paper to a size of 16×7-1/2 inches. Fold the parchment in half by bringing the two short ends together and making a crease in the middle. Set the parchment paper aside.

Cut a piece of foil to 12×7 inches. Bring the two short sides together to fold it in half. Then fold again by the new short side into thirds to create a 6×2-inch folded piece of foil.

Step 2: Line the pan

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Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

Drape the parchment over the baking pan with the crease facing upwards. Slide the folded foil under the crease. Press the parchment down into the pan on either side of the foil so that it sticks to the greased surface of the pan. This will create a dam to divide the pan into two sections. Smooth the parchment paper over the bottom and up the sides. Adjust the dam so it’s sitting in the center of the pan.

Step 3: Make the batter

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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the all-purpose flour, almond flour and softened butter until a cookie batter-like mixture forms.

Sprinkle the sugar, baking powder and salt over the butter mixture and run the mixer on low until they’re incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing briefly after each one. Add in the almond extract, vanilla extract and the milk, and beat the batter until the ingredients are incorporated and the batter looks smooth, two to three minutes.

Step 4: Add food coloring to half of the batter

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Divide the cake batter in half between two bowls. Add a few drops of pink food coloring to one of the bowls and gently stir until it’s incorporated.

Editor’s Tip: Measure the batter using a kitchen scale or divide it into two glass Pyrex measuring cups so you can see the amounts.

Step 5: Add batters to the pan and bake

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Pour the pink cake batter into one side of the prepared cake pan, and pour the untinted batter into the other side. Smooth the batter to fill the spaces completely.

Place the pan in the oven and bake until a tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, 33 to 35 minutes. When done, place the pan on a rack to cool completely to room temperature.

Step 6: Trim the cakes

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Once cooled, run a knife around the outside edges of both the pink and yellow cakes. Remove the cakes from the pan, peel off the parchment and put the cakes on a cutting board. Use a serrated knife to slice across the top of each cake, removing any doming to make the tops flat.

Then, place one cake on top of the other, lining up the edges. Use your knife to slice down along a long edge through both cakes—this is to trim and make both cakes have a clean, even edge. Repeat this on the other long side. (Don’t worry about the short edges for now.) Finally, cut down through the middle of the cakes, parallel to the long side, to cut them in half. This will create four long pieces of cake, two pink and two yellow.

Step 7: Roll out the marzipan

Dust a large cutting board and rolling pin with confectioners’ sugar. Open the marzipan packages and combine them into one large ball of marzipan. Roll out the marzipan into a 1/4-inch-thick layer.

Editor’s Tip: Marzipan is very sticky, so dust your cutting board, hands and pin often, as well as the marzipan. Roll it out gently—every time you do, pick up and rotate the marzipan to make sure it doesn’t stick to the board. Add more confectioners’ sugar underneath as needed.

Step 8: Cut the marzipan

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Using a paring knife and ruler, cut a rectangle of marzipan big enough to wrap around the cake.

To measure accurately, stack your cake strips, two on the bottom and two on top. Measure the length of the cake, and add 2 inches—this will be the short side of your rectangle. Measure the width and height of the four sides of your cake; add these together, then add another 2 or 3 inches to account for the thickness of the marzipan—this is the long side of your rectangle.

Keep this marzipan rectangle on your cutting board because the cake will be assembled right on top!

Step 9: Assemble the cake

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Use a pastry brush to brush the tops and long sides of one yellow cake strip and one pink cake strip with warmed apricot jam. Place them top-down on the marzipan rectangle, with the long sides of the cake parallel to the short side of the marzipan, and push them together. Brush these with more apricot jam. Brush the top and sides of the other pink and yellow cake strips and place these on top, yellow on pink and pink on yellow.

Push the pieces all together to make a tight checkerboard pattern. Go over the top and long sides with more jam to make sure they’re coated.

Editor’s Tip: Warm up the apricot jam in a small dish in the microwave, just until it’s loose enough to brush.

Step 10: Wrap it in marzipan

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Fold up the sides of the marzipan rectangle and snugly wrap it over the cake. Fold it up over the top, and press the seams together, trimming away any extra.

When finished, carefully pick up the wrapped cake and turn it over so that the seam sits underneath. Gently smooth out any wrinkles or tears, and use a moistened paper towel to dab away any streaks of confectioners’ sugar.

Editor’s Tip: The marzipan tears easily, so be gentle when wrapping the cake.

Step 11: Slice the ends and decorate

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Carefully move the wrapped cake to a serving platter. Use a sharp knife to slice off 1/2 inch of each short end; this makes both ends look clean and sharp. Use a sharp knife to cut slices of the cake to serve your guests.

Editor’s Tip: You can decorate the top if you wish with molded pieces of marzipan or fresh flowers, or by using a paring knife to decoratively score the marzipan.

Mark Derse for Taste Recipes

Recipe Variations

• Dye with different colors: Though pink and yellow are the traditional colors, it’s fun to swap in different dyes. Dye the batter whatever two colors you want, whether they’re your favorite colors or ones that fit your party’s theme.
• Change the cake flavors: The 2020 season of the Great British Baking Show featured Battenberg cakes for Cake Week and bakers had intriguing cake flavor combinations, like lemon with orange, chocolate espresso, lemon and rose, and pomegranate with pistachio. The cake is a great canvas for blending flavors together.
• Switch up the jam: Just as you can change the cake flavor, you can also substitute different flavors of jam. For example, we found that raspberry jam was delicious with the almond cake. Or skip the jam altogether and use frosting between the cake layers.
• Cover with fondant: If you’re not a fan of almonds in general, skip the marzipan and use fondant to cover the cake, rolling and measuring it the same way as directed above.

How to Store Battenberg Cake

To keep the marzipan and cake from drying out, cover the cake tightly with storage wrap. The cake will keep at room temperature for three to seven days.

Can you freeze Battenberg cake?

Yes, you can freeze Battenberg cake. Wrap the cake very well with a few layers of storage wrap and stash it in the freezer for up to eight months. Allow it to thaw in the refrigerator before serving.

Battenberg Cake Tips

Mark Derse for Taste Recipes

What is marzipan?

Marzipan is a sweet confection made from a blend of ground almonds and sugar. Look for tubes of the thick paste from producers like Odense, which are stocked in the baking aisle of stores. Marzipan is thick enough to cover cakes, much like fondant. It’s also used to add sweet almond flavor to other baked goods, like apple tarts.

What can I do with leftover marzipan?

Tightly wrap any leftover marzipan to prevent it from drying out. Keep it in the fridge for two weeks or in the freezer for up to three months. It’s delicious in all kinds of marzipan candy recipes, gorgeous marzipan cake recipes and marzipan cookies!