Chocolate orange battenburg cake makes such a great change from the classic recipe. Batternburg cake has become a British institution - with it's famous pink and yellow checkerboard pattern, but the marsipan flavours aren't for everyone. So if you're more of a chocolate lover then you have to try this chocolate orange version - featuring everyone's favourite flavour combination - orange and chocolate! The neat squares are a real treat to eat and you'll be surprised to learn just how easy it is to make battenburg, even though it might look a little bit fiddly.
Ingredients
- 225g (8oz) self-raising flour
- 5ml (1tsp) baking powder
- 225g (8oz) golden caster sugar
- 225g (8oz) soft margarine or softened butter
- 4 medium eggs, beaten
- 10ml (2tsp) finely grated orange rind
- 15ml (1tbsp) orange juice
- 15ml (1tbsp) cocoa powder blended with 15ml (1tbsp) hot water
- 60ml (4tbsp) apricot jam, warmed
- 450g (1lb) marzipan
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and add the sugar, margarine or butter and eggs.
- Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Divide equally into 2 bowls and fold the orange rind and juice into one bowl and the blended cocoa powder into the other.
- Spoon each mixture into a greased and base-lined 18cm (7in) square tin and level the surface.
- Bake for 25-30 mins until the cakes are well risen and just firm to the touch. Cool for 5 mins, then turn out on to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Trim the edges from each cake and cut each cake into 4 even-sized strips.
- Using some of the jam, sandwich two chocolate strips with 2 orange-flavoured strips to create the chequered effect.
- Roll out half the marzipan on a surface dusted lightly with icing sugar to an 18 x 30cm (7 x 12in) rectangle.
- Brush the top of the assembled cake with a little more jam and press on to the marzipan. Brush the remaining sides of the cake with jam and carefully wrap the marzipan all around the cake.
- Use your fingers to crimp along the top edges of the cake. Repeat with the remaining cake strips and marzipan to make a second cake.
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