Simnel Battenberg Cake Food

SIMNEL BATTENBERG CAKE

Steps:

• Grease a 20cm square baking tin. Measure a double layer of foil long enough to line the base and 2 sides of the tin with 20cm excess. Fold a 10cm pleat in the centre (step 1). Push the foil into the tin, making sure the pleat is in the centre and the corners are nice and sharp (step 2). Line the 2 halves of the tin by putting a long strip of baking parchment in lengthways over the foil (step 3). Criss-cross another strip widthways to completely cover the foil (step 4). Repeat to line the other compartment. You now have two compartments for the different colours.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and, using an electric whisk, beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the flour, baking powder and almond extract. The batter needs to be dropping consistency (it should fall off a wooden spoon). If it is a little thick, add a drop of milk and continue to beat.
• Halve the batter by weighing and dividing equally into separate bowls. Fold the red colouring through one and the yellow colouring through the other.
• Tip the batters into each side of the prepared tin and bake for about 25 mins, until the sponges have risen and a skewer inserted into each sponge comes out clean. Leave them to cool in the tin, then remove to a rack to cool completely.
• To assemble, neatly trim each sponge, then sit one on top of the other and trim again so they are both the same size. Cut each sponge in half lengthways so you have 4 long rectangles. Warm the jam in a small pan, then brush along a long side of each sponge. Stick the jam sides together to create the chequerboard effect, then brush the sides and top with more jam.
• Dust a work surface with icing sugar. Roll out one of the blocks of marzipan until it is 20cm long, then roll it so it is wide enough to wrap around the sponge. Brush the loaf all over with more apricot jam, then tightly wrap the marzipan around the sponge, trimming it where the edges meet. Smooth the marzipan over the sponge. Sit the loaf on its seam.
• To make the Apostles, roll the remaining marzipan into 11 small balls (you might not need all the marzipan for this, but any excess can be frozen) and sit on the loaf at even intervals. To give the cake a contrast of colour and a classic simnel cake finish, lightly blowtorch the balls on the top of cake. The cake will now keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

BATTENBERG CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base and sides of a 20cm square tin with baking parchment (the easiest way is to cross 2 x 20cm-long strips over the base). To make the almond sponge, put the butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and almond extract in a large bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until the mix comes together smoothly. Scrape into the tin, spreading to the corners, and bake for 25-30 mins - when you poke in a skewer, it should come out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling while you make the second sponge.
• For the pink sponge, line the tin as above. Mix all the ingredients together as above, but don't add the almond extract. Fold in some pink food colouring. Then scrape it all into the tin and bake as before. Cool.
• To assemble, heat the jam in a small pan until runny, then sieve. Barely trim two opposite edges from the almond sponge, then well trim a third edge. Roughly measure the height of the sponge, then cutting from the well-trimmed edge, use a ruler to help you cut 4 slices each the same width as the sponge height. Discard or nibble leftover sponge. Repeat with pink cake.
• Take 2 x almond slices and 2 x pink slices and trim so they are all the same length. Roll out one marzipan block on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar to just over 20cm wide, then keep rolling lengthways until the marzipan is roughly 0.5cm thick. Brush with apricot jam, then lay a pink and an almond slice side by side at one end of the marzipan, brushing jam in between to stick sponges, and leaving 4cm clear marzipan at the end. Brush more jam on top of the sponges, then sandwich remaining 2 slices on top, alternating colours to give a checkerboard effect. Trim the marzipan to the length of the cakes.
• Carefully lift up the marzipan and smooth over the cake with your hands, but leave a small marzipan fold along the bottom edge before you stick it to the first side. Trim opposite side to match size of fold, then crimp edges using fingers and thumb (or, more simply, press with prongs of fork). If you like, mark the 10 slices using the prongs of a fork.
• Assemble second Battenberg and keep in an airtight box or well wrapped in cling film for up to 3 days. Can be frozen for up to a month.

BIRTHDAY BATTENBERG

Steps:

• For the cake batter: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Turn an 8-inch square baking pan into a Battenberg pan: first, fold a long piece of foil onto itself a couple of times to a create a foil barrier to divide your pan in half, making sure that the barrier is at least the height of the pan or even a little more. Then, spray the pan and each side of the foil with cooking spray (to help the parchment stick) and line each half of the pan with two overlapping pieces of parchment paper, one going widthwise and one going lengthwise, with enough overhang to come all the way up the sides and then some. Get your scissors out and trim the parchment so that it lays nicely and doesn't curl around the corners and make you go crazy. Sorry, I know this is a lot of parchment paper (I reuse parchment all the time!). Okay, set this aside.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder, then lightly stir in the salt and set aside. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the heavy cream and sour cream and set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, cream together the butter, coconut oil and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each and periodically scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Reduce the mixer to medium-low and add the dry mixture and cream mixture in 3 alternating additions, mixing until 80 percent combined.
• Divide the mixture in half. In the first half, add a few drops of yellow food coloring and fold in the sprinkles as you mix until the batter is combined. Pour into one side of the pan and use a small offset spatula or a spoon to carefully spread it out evenly. In the second half of the batter, add a few drops of red food coloring and fold it in as you mix until the batter is combined.
• Pour into the other side of the pan and use a small offset spatula or a spoon to carefully spread it out evenly. Bake until the tops of the cakes are browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs on it; begin checking for doneness at 45 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then use the parchment wings to lift them out of the pans and onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Level the cakes and trim off the sides if they're uneven. Halve each cake crosswise to yield 4 equal rectangles that are as wide as they are thick (measure the thickness of the cake once it's leveled, then turn your ruler 90 degrees to measure that same amount on top of the cake and score with an accordion pastry cutter). Enjoy a bite of cake scraps and set these aside.
• To assemble: Knead the marzipan with the blue food coloring to get your desired color, dusting with powdered sugar if it gets too sticky. On a silicone mat (or a big piece of parchment or a counter dusted with powdered sugar, but I strongly recommend a silicone mat so that you don't get powdered sugar all over what will eventually become the outside surface of the marzipan), roll the marzipan out into a rectangle that's about 7 1/2 inches wide by 13 inches long, dusting the top with powdered sugar as needed to prevent sticking, and rolling in a scattering of sprinkles at the end. Trim the edges so they're straight. Brush all over with a thin layer of jam and place a rectangle of pink cake at one end. Brush the exposed surfaces with a thin layer of jam. Squish a rectangle of sprinkle cake right next to it and brush the exposed surfaces with a layer of jam. Stack the other two rectangles of cake on top, brushing with jam, to form a checkerboard pattern. Carefully roll it onto its side, pressing the marzipan all over so that it sticks, then continue to roll until the cake is covered. Trim off any excess marzipan, then decorate with additional marzipan decorations as desired.
• Wrap in firmly plastic wrap and let set in the fridge for a couple of hours. Let come to room temperature and enjoy!

SIMNEL CAKE

Steps:

• Put the sultanas, currants and mixed peel in a bowl with the lemon juice, orange juice, and brandy, if using. Mix well, cover and leave to soak overnight.
• Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Line the base and sides of a 20cm round cake tin with baking parchment.
• Add the rest of the cake ingredients to the soaked fruit and stir until well combined. Spoon half of this mixture into the bottom of the cake tin and level it off so it's as flat as possible. Roll a third of the marzipan into a circle 20cm diameter and put it on the top. Gently add the rest of the mixture, levelling the surface again.
• Bake for approximately 2½ hours until brown, well-risen and firm to the touch. A metal skewer should come out clean when inserted. Allow to cool for 20 mins in the tin and then turn out to cool on a wire rack.
• Warm the apricot jam in a small saucepan and brush on the top of the cake. Roll out half of the remaining marzipan to the size of the top of the cake. Press it down firmly and push the edges down with your thumb to crimp it round the sides.
• Roll the rest of the marzipan into 11 balls (these represent the Apostles). Place the balls evenly on top of the cake in a circle, sticking them down with a little dab of the jam. Gently blow torch the top of the cake until the balls are a light golden brown, alternatively put the whole cake under a hot grill until the marzipan turns a light golden colour.

TRADITIONAL BRITISH MOTHERING SUNDAY SIMNEL CAKE

Steps:

• CHECK LIST: a sifter, nest of bowls, food processor or electric beater, spatula, wooden spoon, 24 cm round cake tin, baking paper, brown paper and twine, rolling pin, thin metal skewer.
• STAGE 1.
• To make your own almond paste you will need a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Don't be tempted to use store-bought almond paste because it contains lots of sugar and few almonds, it will turn to liquid under the grill.
• Place icing sugar and almonds in food processor bowl. Process, slowly dripping in egg yolk, orange juice and almond essence. The mixture should form a pliable paste.
• Set aside a small portion for balls with which to decorate the cake.
• Roll out the remaining paste into 2 circles which are the approximate size of the tin. Set aside.
• STAGE 2.
• Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F.
• Use a sturdy non-stick cake tub or line the buttered base with baking paper. As the baking period is long (1-1 1/2 hours), prevent the cake drying out by wrapping a double thickness of brown paper around the pan and securing it with twine.
• Sift flour, salt and spices together, then stir in fruit and peel.
• Cream butter and sugar thoroughly until light and creamy then beat in eggs one at a time, until the mixture is fluffy. (Reserve a drop of egg yolk for brushing over top layer of almond paste.).
• Stir flour and fruit into creamed mixture (you may need to add a little milk to give the mixture a dropping consistency).
• STAGE 3.
• Place half the mixture into a greased and lined cake tin.
• Place one pre-rolled round of almond paste over the top.
• Cover with remaining cake mixture. Before baking the cake, give the pan of mixture a sharp tap on to a firm surface. This settles the mixture and prevents holes from forming in the cake.
• Bake in the centre of the oven for 1-1 1/4 hours or until a thin metal skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out without a trace of stickiness.
• Level the cake by placing a weighted plate on top of the cooked cake while it is still hot.
• Turn out cake on to a wire rack after leaving it to settle in the cake tin for between 10 and 15 minutes. Peel off paper and leave to cool completely.
• STAGE 4.
• Cover the top of the cake with a second round of almond paste. Roll 11 small balls of paste and place evenly around the top of the cake. Brush the top with a little beaten egg and very lightly brown under the grill until the almond paste turns light golden brown.
• Remove and leave to cool.