Name: Battenburg Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: Butter, softened - 1 cup; White sugar - 1 cup; Eggs - 3; Vanilla extract - ¼ teaspoon; All-purpose flour - 2 cups; Baking powder - 1 teaspoon; Salt - ⅛ teaspoon; Red food coloring - 2 drops; Apricot preserves - 1 cup; Ground almonds - 2 cups; Confectioners' sugar - 3 cups; Egg, room temperature - 1; Lemon juice - 1 ½ teaspoons; Almond extract - ¼ teaspoon

Ingredients for - Battenburg Cake

1. Butter, softened 1 cup

2. White sugar 1 cup

3. Eggs 3

4. Vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon

5. All-purpose flour 2 cups

6. Baking powder 1 teaspoon

7. Salt ⅛ teaspoon

8. Red food coloring 2 drops

9. Apricot preserves 1 cup

10. Ground almonds 2 cups

11. Confectioners' sugar 3 cups

12. Egg, room temperature 1

13. Lemon juice 1 ½ teaspoons

14. Almond extract ¼ teaspoon

How to cook deliciously - Battenburg Cake

1 . Stage

Cream butter and 1 cup sugar together. Beat in 3 eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt gently. Add milk if needed.

2 . Stage

Divide batter into 2 equal parts. Add food coloring to 1 part to make a deep pink color. Grease two 7 inch square pans. Spread batters into pans.

3 . Stage

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until an inserted wooden pick comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let stand in pans 5 minutes. Turn out on racks to cool.

4 . Stage

Trim edges from both cakes. Cut each cake lengthwise into 4 strips as wide as the cake is thick. Trim to make strips match. Heat jam slightly. Spread on sides to glue 2 pink and 2 white strips together checkerboard fashion. Spread all 4 sides of completed cake with jam. Repeat with remaining pink and white stripes. Makes two cakes.

5 . Stage

To Make Almond Paste: Mix almonds, confectioners' sugar, egg, lemon juice, and almond extract together. Knead until smooth, adding a bit of lemon juice or water if too dry to roll. Add only 1/2 teaspoon at a time. It will be stiff. Divide into 2 equal parts.

6 . Stage

Roll 1/2 of paste 1/8 inch or so thick on a surface lightly dusted with confectioners' sugar. Cut to fit length of cake, and long enough to cover 4 sides leaving ends uncovered. Lay cake on one end of paste. Wrap to completely enclose all 4 sides of cake pinching paste to seal. Roll in granulated sugar. Place with seal underneath on serving plate, or store in plastic bag. Repeat for second cake. Chill. Slice thinly to serve.