Recipe: Spring Battenburg Cake (from Sprinkle Bakes)

I was looking for a fun dessert to make for Teacher Appreciation week (we are doing it a week late at our school), and I cam across this amazing recipe - and I knew it had to happen.

I took a ton of gorgeous pictures of the construction... and then something happened to them and they won't upload!  I am so bummed!  If you have any questions, let me know.. I'll do my best to answer.  Sprinkle Bakes has some good tutorial pics, also.

I made the recipe nearly as written, and made a couple changes in the construction.  Here's how I made it.

Spring Battenburg Cake
(from Sprinkle Bakes * text changed slightly, but mostly from their blog)

1 c butter softened
1 c sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp Fiori di Sicilia (optional - my addition)
2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

Pink gel food coloring
Green gel food coloring

1/2 cup apricot jam

1 tube marzipan (I used one package of Odense)
1 1/2 c or approx. 3/4 lb ready-made white fondant (I used Duff's fondant from Michael's.  It's pretty good.  I would normally make marshmallow fondant, but I didn't have time.)

Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Pearl dragees (I used pale green)
Corn syrup to hold dragees in place
Parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease two 8" square baking pans and line with parchment paper.  (The greasing is to keep the parchment in place)

Cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment.  Beat in the 3 eggs one at a time, then mix in almond extract and fiori di Sicilia.  In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Gently add the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture, and stir on low speed until combined.

Ooooh, pretty!

Divide batter into two equal parts (this recipe makes about 3 1/4 cups batter).  Tint one portion of batter pink, and the other portion green.

Spoon (or pour) pink mixture into one parchment lined pan, and green into the other.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean.  Lift cakes out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

And here's where my pictures stopped uploading properly..

Using a serrated knife, trim each cake evenly into four even long cuboid cakes.  Spread cake surfaces with apricot jam - you can melt it and brush it on, or use an icing spatula.

Stack cakes together two-by-two, creating two squares of alternating colors

On a piece of parchment, roll marzipan thinly with a large rolling pin, making sure there is enough to completely cover the stacked cakes.  Dust with confectioner's sugar if it starts getting sticky.

Roll stacked cake tightly in marzipan, pressing to secure the edges. 

Dust work surface with confectioners' sugar and roll ready made fondant into a large thin sheet - again, making sure there is enough to completely enrobe the cake - I put my two rectangular, marzipan coated cakes length to length to make one long cake.  Roll marzipan coated cake in fondant making sure the seam is placed at the bottom of the cake - trim as needed.

With the back of a knife press criss-cross patterns in the top of the cake (like quilting).  Make a small indention with a lollipop stick where each line meets.  Put a small dab of corn syrup in each hole (use a small paintbrush or toothpick to apply) and place a single pearl dragee in each hole.

See the pretty "quilted" effect?

Slice a small portion of cake off each side, removing the excess fondant and marzipan along with it.

Store in an airtight container or wrap in cling film.