RHUBARB AND ROSE BATTENBERG CAKE

Tea pairing: BRW Society Raspberry Mojito
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 6-8

For the sponge

250g unsalted butter

250g SpinneysFOOD Extra Fine Caster Sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp rose water

200g SpinneysFOOD Self-Raising Flour

Pinch of SpinneysFOOD Salt

100g ground almonds

4 tsp milk

A few drops pink or red food colouring

To assemble

500g marzipan

100g rhubarb jam

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4, and line two 23cm x 33cm rectangular baking tins with baking paper and grease with baking spray. Alternatively, bake the mix in batches. 

2 To make the sponge, cream the softened butter  and sugar for 8-10 minutes in the bowl of a  stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. 

3 Make sure the eggs are at room temperature before adding them one at a time, beating well in between each addition. Then add the rose water.

4 Sift the flour, a good pinch of salt and the ground almonds into the bowl.

5 Add the milk and carefully fold everything together with a large metal spoon.

6 Transfer half the batter into a clean bowl. Add the pink or red food colouring a few drops at a time to one portion, mixing it in really well so that it turns pink with no coloured streaks.

7 Spoon the uncoloured cake batter into one lined baking tin. Spoon the pink cake batter into the other lined tin or set aside.

8 Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the second tray.

9 To assemble the cake, set the sponges on a chopping board. Cut each sponge in 6 equal strips, approx. 4cm each. Trim all the strips so that the short sides are exactly square as they may have risen unevenly.

10 Make sure the worktop is spotlessly clean and crumb-free, then dust it lightly with icing sugar or corn flour.

11 Knead the marzipan for a minute so that it is supple, then roll it out to a neat  20cm x 30cm rectangle.

12 Heat the jam with  1 tbsp of cold water then push it through a  sieve to make a smooth purée.

13 Going with one strip of sponge cake at a time, brush the length of each strip on all sides with the jam. 

14 Alternating colours, place three strips of cake on the marzipan ensuring that the ends are at the short side of the rolled out marzipan. Then layer another 3 strips of cake on top of the first layer, ensuring that each colour is matched with

the opposite colour. Do this until you have a 3x4 sized cake made up of alternating colour strips.

15 To finish the cake, brush the top and long sides of the assembled cake with the rhubarb jam (gently re-warmed) again, then roll the cake or wrap the marzipan neatly around and over the cake, leaving the checkerboard ends visible.  16 Press the marzipan to seal it (it should be along one bottom edge). Gently smooth the marzipan with your hands to neaten it up and press out any air pockets, then trim the ends and crimp the top edges of the marzipan by pinching it gently at regular intervals. 17 Slice the cake and serve with BRW Society Raspberry Mojito tea.