Battenburg Cake

How to make a delicious battenburg cake

• Pre-heat oven to 170°C/Gas 3. Grease and line an 18 cm/7 inch shallow square baking tin with buttered greaseproof paper.
• Whisk together the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
• Add the beaten eggs gradually with a little of the flour.
• Fold in the remaining sieved flour, ground rice, flour, baking powder and a few drops of almond essence.
• Spoon half the mixture into one half of the prepared baking tin.
• Use a strip of buttered greaseproof paper to create a barrier.
• Add a few drops of the red food colouring to the remaining mixture to turn it a rich pink colour.
• Spoon into the other half of the tin, smoothing the surface.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes or until well risen and is springy to the touch and has shrunk slightly in the tin.
• Turn out and cool on a wire rack.

Finish the cake

• When cool, trim the edges and cut lengthwise into four equal parts.
• Place the jam into a saucepan and heat gently to melt.
• Brush the portions of cake with the jam to stick them together so it forms a chequerboard effect.
• Roll out the almond paste into a rectangle, make sure it is long enough to wrap around the cake.
• Brush the outside of the cake with jam.
• Press the almond paste around the battenburg cake, dampening the edges lightly to form a neat join at one of the corners of the cake.