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Queen of Hearts Battenberg Cake

A classic cake with a wonderland twist!

Course Dessert
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 1 cake

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1 ¼ C. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • ½ C. unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 C. granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • ½ C. milk

Filling and Decoration

  • ½ to 1 C. seedless strawberry jam
  • 7 oz. marzipan
  • red food coloring

Instructions

Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Divide a 9x9 cake pan in half using aluminium foil.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add egg, egg white, and vanilla; beat until blended.
  4. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture, one-third at a time, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour.
  5. Divide the mixture in half and add desired amount of red food coloring to one half.
  6. Pour mixtures into prepared cake pan.
  7. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
  8. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then transfer to rack to cool completely.

Assembly and Decoration

  1. Once cakes are completely cool, cut off edges and the top of the cakes so that all sides are smooth.
  2. Cut each cake into strips. Each strip should be as tall as it is long, making sure each strip is roughly the same size and shape. Choose 2 strips of each color and set aside the rest.

  3. Warm jam in the microwave and stir until smooth. Using a pastry brush or spoon, spread a layer of jam on each side of the cake strips. 

  4. Assemble cake by placing alternate colors of cake strips next to and on top of each other to create a checkerboard pattern. Make sure there is jam between each layer and all around the outside of the cake. 

  5. Place cake in the refrigerator to set.
  6. Knead marzipan until it is soft, adding desired amount of red food coloring. With a rolling pin, roll marzipan into a long rectangle, using a small amount of confectioner’s sugar to prevent stickiness.

  7. Remove cake from the refrigerator and cover all sides with the marzipan.