Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Daring Bakers - Battenberg Cake - Going Batty for the Jubilee


On 2 June 2012, it was 60 years since Queen Elizabeth II was crowned as Queen of the British Empire, and unless you have been isolated from the media for the last month, you could not have missed all the celebrations that have been taking place for the Diamond Jubilee.  This month also marked the 70th birthday of Sir Paul McCartney from The Beatles on 18 June.  Accordingly, being a huge Beatles fan, I have made this month's Daring Bakers challenge both to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and for Sir Paul's birthday.

Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

Battenberg Cake was first made for the wedding of Princess Victoria, Queen Victoria's granddaughter, on her marriage to Prince Louis of Battenberg.  The four checks in the pink and white checkerboard pattern represent the four princes of Battenberg.  I have never made a Battenberg cake before, although I have always wanted to try, so I went with the traditional colours (pink and white) and flavours (almond and vanilla) suggested in the recipe.

Without more ado, here are my two cakes fresh out of the oven, one pink and one white:



Here are the trimmed cakes lined up and glued together with apricot jam:

And finally, here is the finished cake with its marzipan coating and scored top:


This cake was absolutely scrumptious served with a hot cup of English Breakfast tea:



The lovely tea towel which forms a backdrop to my cake comes from Anthropologie at The Grove in West Hollywood - it is mint green with a tea set print and embroidery.  I love it!

To see how the other Daring Bakers fared with this month's challenge, take a look at the slideshow on the Daring Kitchen website on reveal day (27 June 2012).

18 comments:

Jane said...

Mmm-mmm, nice and fluffy! Your first Battenberg and what a beauty. Love the cupcake serving dish, tea towel and that cute cup and saucer combo!

. said...

Your battenberg looks so pretty! Well done once again on your DB challenge! I've been so slack with joining in lately, need to get back on track!

Unknown said...

Beautiful battenberg! Perfect with that cup of tea!

Kari said...

How beautiful - you did brilliantly! I have always wondered what held the different colours / slices together and never thought of jam (although goodness knows why, as it does seem sensible now it's pointed out).

Anonymous said...

That is just one impressive looking cake! I'm doubly impressed by your smooth marzipan coating.

QembarDelites said...

That looks beautiful! I admired how you managed to get all four so perfectly in line! I would definitely made a mess!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Your Battenberg cake is perfect! I thought that this was such a fun challenge! :P

Olguta said...

Beautiful cake!! The colors are so pretty and the slice looks perfect ;)

Cher Rockwell said...

Very nice.
This was a fun one - I had not heard of Battenberg cakes before this challenge. I love how DB keeps introducing me to new things.

Johanna GGG said...

your battenberg cake looks gorgeous - I've never made one but I would love to - did you buy the marzipan - I have made marzipan once but am not sure if it would roll out very well. Love your teatowel - am jealous you got to visit anthropologie

Mary said...

Your cake looks perfect, and that is a great tea towel!

Unknown said...

Didn't make the challenge this month, I'm just not a huge fan of fondant!!

Cakelaw said...

Hi Johanna, There was no way I was making marzipan! I bought Blackwells from the supermarket.

Elaine said...

I have never made a battenberg cake either. What a wonderful cake for a celebration. It is so beautiful with the pink and white. I love your tea set! I also love your tea towel. I have a similar one I bought from Anthropologie a few years ago. I'll have to use it in a post soon so you can see it. Their tea towels are so pretty.

Cakelaw said...

Hi Elaine, I'd live to see your tea towel. Anthropologie had so many gorgeous ones that it was hard to choose - I really love one that they had with daschunds on too.

chef_d said...

Beautiful cake! Love the teacup and the towel too!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Beautifully done! I should have come out of DB's retirement for this one :)

Kayte said...

What a beautiful little cake...I am marking this to try as it seems just so different from anything I make. Just so you know...the Queen and I have a lot in common, yes we do. LOL. Our birthdays are both on April 21st and our anniversaries (my wedding anniversary, her coronation anniversary) are both on June 2, so you see...the Queen and I are just this close...lol. Each year between April 21 and June 2 I sign all my emails to my close friends "Kayte, Queen of...." whatever I think of that day, Queen of Laundry, Queen of Errands, Queen of Mopping the Floor, Queen of Happy Attitudes...you get the drift. LOL. So now you know...the Queen and I...oh yeah, I need to make this cake.