Ayanda & Priscilla’s Battenberg

Marzipan

270 g Almond Flour
210 g Icing Sugar
60 ml Water
5-15 ml Almond essence – use bit by bit until desired taste 
Red food gel colouring 

Buttercream

125 g Clover Butter, unsalted & softened 
375 g Icing Sugar
30 ml Clover Fresh Cream

Method

Basic Cake:

1. Switch oven on 160◦C.
2. Grease and line 2 (two) small loaf tins (8x4x2.5inch/20x10x6cm)
3. Whip the egg yolks until you reach the trail stage (you want to incorporate as much air as possible) then add the sugar, give it another good whip.
4. Slowly add the oil and give it another good whip.
5. SWITCH TO PADDLE ATTACHMENT
6. Add the cake flour and Royal Baking Powder and slowly incorporate it into your mix, still with paddle attachment – few seconds.
7. Slowly incorporate the Clover sour cream and Clover plain double cream Greek yoghurt – few seconds until all are blended in well.
8. Divide your mix into two equal separate parts (one half is for matcha cake and the other mix for the black sesame seed cake).
9. For the matcha batch:
   1. Mix the matcha with the milk with a mini whisk (the size you’d use to mix something small in a cup) until well incorporated, add the ginger spice;
   2. Mix the  preserved chopped ginger and pear purée together and add the matcha mix and mix it well until matcha colour is fully incorporated;
10. Add the matcha mixture to one half of the cake batter, give it a quick good whisk until incorporated, pour into 1 (one) loaf tin and into the oven it goes for about 20-25 minutes.
11. For the black seed batch:
    1. Just add the black sesame seeds and nutmeg to the other half of the cake batter, give it a quick good whisk until incorporated, pour into the other 1 (one) loaf tin and into the oven it goes for about 20-25 minutes;
12.  REMEMBER TO TASTE BEFORE BAKES GO INTO THE OVEN (especially tasting the relevant spices involved – you want to taste the spices mentioned in the name of the cake).
13. Test regularly with a toothpick after the 15-18 minutes time slot, it should either still be sticky (bake longer) or come out clean (cake is ready, while still in oven bring pan forward and lightly use your finger to touch the top, if you slightly tap on it, it should be like a sponge and bounce back – it’s ready).
14. Once fully baked, take out of the oven and immediately take cakes out of the pans, onto a cooling rack, wrap in cling wrap and put in the fridge (this helps to retain the moisture of the cake).
15. ONCE CAKES ARE OUT, INCREASE OVEN TEMPERATURE TO 180◦C
16.  For the marzipan:
    1. In a food processor, add the almond flour and icing sugar and grind together for a few seconds until slightly smooth;
    2. Slowly add the water until it creates a ball that starts to form from the sides and can be handled without crumbling;
    3. Pour the marzipan onto the work surface, add the red food colouring gel (about one to three drops, need a bright vibrant red colour ) and almond essence (little drop or two at a time until desired taste). Mix it quickly to make sure it is pliable to work  with, it should not be sticky. (If it is too wet, add some almond flour, if it is too dry, add some water);
    4. Wrap in cling wrap and place in fridge to “rest”
17. For the Walnut Praline:

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper (I love using the silicone baking paper, I find it works better with any bake, much better than usual baking paper);
2. Spread the walnuts out in a single layer on the prepared baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside and cool – switch oven off;
3. Sprinkle the baking soda over the cooled walnuts (when you add bicarbonate of soda to the nuts and then once mixed into sugar syrup, it causes it to aerate slightly and give it a crisper crunch);
4. Place sugar into a small-medium pot and give it a shake to level it out. Slowly drizzle the water all around the sugar. Let it sit for a minute to soak;
5. Turn the heat on very low and let the sugar come to a boil, without touching or moving it. Let it continue boiling until it’s amber in gold. Remove from heat;
6. Grab the sides of the baking paper and tip the walnuts and bicarbonate of soda into the toffee. Stir it through immediately;
7. Place the baking paper back on the tray, then tip the praline out onto the tray. Spread it out with your spoon and let it cool completely to set;
8. Once cooled, roughly grind the praline (don’t need large pieces, just roughly grinded and still have some small bits for texture);
9. Cover with cling wrap and set aside;
10.  For the buttercream:
    1. Using the paddle attachment, soften Clover unsalted butter to a creamy texture;
    2. Add the icing sugar and beat well – if it is not coming together and is dry start adding the Clover fresh cream bit by bit until the correct required consistency (must not be runny – must keep it’s shape;
    3. Add about a cup (250ml) of the crushed praline, mix well and cover with cling wrap and set aside
11.  To assemble:
    1. If cakes have brown crusty texture on the outsides, slightly shave it off;
    2. Using a ruler, cut each cake into 3 equal length parts;
    3. To create the Battenberg effect – place a strip of matcha cake, then a strip of black sesame cake and place a strip of matcha cake (this is done next to one another) – do this again on the side, place a strip of black seed cake, then strip of match cake and place a strip of black sesame cake;
    4. Using the buttercream, light spread buttercream in between the sides of the cakes (bottom layer) – spread some buttercream over the top of the first row (for extra crunch, add a bit of the crushed walnut praline) – add strip by strip with top layer, again buttercream in between the sides of the cake – cover the entire cake with buttercream, smoothing it out to create the perfect rectangular and set aside;
    5. Roll the marzipan out onto a surface dusted with some corn flour (if you use icing sugar, your marzipan will become sticky and eventually affect the texture and sweetness of the marzipan) – it should be about ½cm thick. Carefully lift the marzipan from the surface and immediately add to cover the cake. Use your hands and fingers to make sure it sticks to the cake entirely (should you get cracks, lightly moisten the crack and add some of the marzipan and using cake smoothers, smooth it out so you don’t see the crack anymore;
    6. Place in refrigerator until use for decoration;
    7. Decorate it as to your heart’s desire;
12. VOILA! JAPANESE INSPIRED BATTENBERG CAKE!