Instructions
Preheat your oven to 180C (160C fan) or gas mark 4, and prepare a 20cm square tin by lining it with baking parchment. The easiest way is to cross two 20cm strips over the base and up the sides, ensuring the parchment sticks out over the edges for easy cake removal. Start by making the almond sponge: place the butter, caster sugar, self-raising flour, ground almonds, baking powder, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric whisk, beat the mixture with enthusiasm until it comes together into a smooth, silky batter. Pour the batter evenly into your lined tin, spreading it gently right to the corners. Pop it into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. To check for doneness, gently insert a skewer into the sponge; it should come out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Once baked, allow the sponge to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely. For the pink sponge, line the tin again as you did before. Combine the same ingredients, but omit the almond extract this time. Stir in enough pink food coloring to achieve a gentle rosy hue. Pour this batter into your prepared tin, bake, and cool it following the almond sponge's method. When both sponges are cool, gently warm the apricot jam in a small pan until it becomes liquid, then sieve it to remove any fruit pieces for a smooth finish. Carefully trim two opposite edges from the almond sponge to create straight sides, then trim a third edge well to get a neat firm edge. Using the trimmed side, roughly measure the height of the sponge; slice this side into 4 equal slices, each slice the same width as the sponge's height. Repeat this precise slicing with the pink sponge as well. Select two almond and two pink slices, trimming the lengths to match each other perfectly; nibble or discard any leftover sponge. On a clean surface lightly dusted with icing sugar, roll out one block of marzipan to just over 20cm wide and approximately 0.5cm thick. Brush the surface generously with the apricot jam to act as a sticky base. At one end of your marzipan sheet, lay one pink and one almond sponge strip side-by-side, brushing apricot jam between them to ensure they stick well. Leave about 4cm of marzipan clear at the end. Brush more jam over the sponges and sandwich with the remaining two slices on top, arranging colors alternately to create the signature checkerboard effect. Trim the marzipan neatly to match the length of the cake. With gentle hands, lift and smooth the marzipan over the assembled cake. Leave a small fold of marzipan along the bottom edge before sealing the first side. Trim the opposite side to match this fold, then carefully crimp the edges using your fingers or press with the tines of a fork for an elegant finish. If desired, lightly mark the ten slices with the fork prongs for easy serving. Repeat the assembly process with the second Battenberg if desired. Store your finished cake in an airtight container or wrapped well in cling film at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, the cake freezes beautifully for up to one month—simply thaw before serving to enjoy the perfect teatime indulgence.
