Battenburg Cake 4 oz butter, softened 4 oz caster sugar 2 eggs 2 oz ground rice 4 oz self raising flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1-2 drops almond extract 1-2 drops red food colouring 4 tablespoons apricot jam 8 oz almond paste Pre-heat oven to 325 F. Grease and base line an 18 cm ( 7 inch) shallow square cake tin with buttered greaseproof paper. Place the butter, sugar, eggs, ground rice, flour, baking powder and almond essence in a large bowl and beat well for approximately 2 minutes until smooth. Spoon half the mixture into one half of the prepared tin as neatly as possible. Add a few drops of red food colouring to the remaining mixture to turn it a deep pink colour, then spoon this into the other half of the tin. Try to get the join between the two mixtures as neat as possible. Smooth the surface. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is well risen, springy to the touch and has shrunk slightly from the sides of the tin. Turn out and leave to cool on a wire rack. Trim the edges of the cake and then cut into 4 equal strips down the length of the colours. Gently heat the apricot jam in a small pan and stick the stripes of cake together, one plain piece next to one coloured one, and then vice versa to make a chequerboard effect. Brush the top of the assembled cake with apricot jam. Roll out the almond paste into a rectangle the length of the cake and sufficiently wide to wrap around the cake. Invert the cake on to the almond paste, then brush the remaining 3 sides with apricot jam. Press the almond paste neatly around the cake, arranging the join in one corner. Score the top of the cake with a criss-cross pattern and crimp the edges with your fingers to decorate. Easy Almond Paste 4 oz ground almonds 4 oz sugar 4 oz icing sugar egg to bind Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly and bind with egg. Use as above. or: Marzipan 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar 1/2 cup sugar 2 cups blanched almonds 2 T brandy or sherry (or more, as needed) Lemon juice can be substituted for the brandy, but the flavour will not be the same. If you do this, you should use the almond extract. 1 extra large egg 1 tsp almond extract (optional) Set blender running and slowly add almonds, about half a cup at a time. As they form a stiff paste in the bottom of the blender, stop and scrape them out into a bowl and continue until all the almonds are ground and in the bowl. They should be as fine as fine breadcrumbs. Break up any stiff mass that has formed, and add the sugar. Rub the mixture through your hands, or with a pastry blender until uniform. Remove any large pieces of unground almond. Then sift in the confectioner's sugar and stir well . In another bowl beat the egg with the brandy and add the almond extract if used. Set the bowl over a pan of hot water, or cook in a double boiler, beating until the custard thickens slightly. Pour the custard onto the almond mixture in the bowl, and work the two together. It may take a little time for the sugar to dissolve and the oils in the almonds to emerge, so that the whole can be worked into a smooth workable paste. If there really is not enough liquid, you can add more brandy. It should mould easily. If it is too soft to form a ball, you can add more almonds and sugar. It is important at this point to wrap the ball of marzipan tightly in wax paper or cling film to stop it drying out. Marzipan can be rolled out, using confectioner's sugar on the board and rolling pin, to stop it sticking. Back To Recipe Index. Back To My Main Page.