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Peek-a-boo Battenberg cake

By Sarah Cook

A stunning rose and almond sponge in the distinctive checkered pattern, hidden in sweet marzipan icing

Prep:1 hrs 20 mins
Cook:1 hrs
Plus chilling

A challenge

Nutrition per serving

kcal 964
fat 51g
saturates 22g
carbs 113g
sugars 89g
fibre 2g
protein 13g
salt 1.1g

Ingredients

225g very soft salted butter, plus a little extra for greasing
225g golden caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
85g ground almonds
3 large eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
1 tbsp milk
225g very soft salted butter
225g golden caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
85g ground almonds
3 large eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp rosewater
1 tbsp milk
a little artificial pink food colouring (see tip, below)
jar of apricot jam
1 tsp rosewater
a little icing sugar, for dusting
2 x 500g packs white marzipan (you'll have trimmings, but better to have leftovers than leave yourself short)

Tip

The perfect fit
Use a piece of string to measure across the top and down the sides of the cake, then mark the string with a pen. When you roll out the marzipan to a large circle, use your string to check it is big enough.Secrets of success
Natural food colourings lose some of their colour during baking, so for the most dazzling results it’s best to use artificial ones. Be brave, work quickly (adding a little at a time) and don’t be afraid if the cake batter appears a rather shocking colour – the end result will be just right.

Method

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease and line the base of 2 x 18cm round sandwich tins with baking parchment.
Start with the almond sponge: put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat with an electric whisk until the mix comes together smoothly. Weigh the mixture and spread exactly half into each tin. Bake for 30 mins – when you poke a skewer into the middle, it should come out clean. Cool in the tins for 15 mins, then carefully turn out onto wire racks to finish cooling while you make the second sponge.
Clean the tins, then grease and line as above. Beat together the butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, eggs, vanilla, rose water and milk as above. When smooth, beat in a little pink food colouring, bit by bit, until you get a nice colour – it will fade a little during baking, so you can go slightly stronger than you want the finished sponge. Weigh, divide between the tins and bake as above. Cool in the same way.
Once the sponges are cool, cover gently and chill for 30 mins – this will make cutting them easier and neater.
Unwrap the sponges and, if they have domed in the centre, trim to flatten. Cut a 6cm diameter circle out of the centre of each sponge (a 6cm biscuit cutter is ideal, or make yourself a paper template) and set aside. Then cut a 12cm diameter circle from the centre of each sponge by tracing a knife around a plate of the same diameter (or use another paper template). So from each sponge you should end up with a 6cm circle, a 12cm ring and an 18cm ring.
Swap the middle rings of the almond sponges with the middle rings from the rose sponges, and fit the cut pieces back together. Handle the sponges very gently, to avoid cracking or crumbling up the edges too much. You should end up with 4 sponges that look like targets.
Heat the apricot jam to melt, then sieve and stir in the rose water. Brush some over the top of one of the sponges and top with an alternating sponge. Repeat to stack up all the layers. Sit the cake on a serving plate or cake stand.
Dust your work surface with a little icing sugar and roll out your marzipan until big enough to cover the cake (use a piece of string to measure the cake; see tip below). Brush some more jam all over the top and sides of the cake. Use your rolling pin to lift up the marzipan onto the cake, then ease it down the sides, pressing to stick. Trim the marzipan from the base, then decorate the cake as you like. Cut into wedges and serve with tea. Will keep for 3 days in an airtight container.