A delightful twist on a classic British bake. This recipe, for an exquisite chocolate matcha Battenberg cake, features alternating layers of rich chocolate and vibrant matcha sponge cake. The checkered pattern is visually stunning and the whole thing, wrapped in homemade marzipan, is deliciously satisfying.
Mix with a spoon then bring everything together with your hands to form a ball. If it feels too dry or doesn't come together to form a paste, add another splash of water.
Sponge
Sift the flours into a bowl with the baking powder. You can use the same bowl you made the marzipan in - no need to wash it up first.
200 g flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder
Add the sugar, butter and eggs.
200 g golden caster sugar, 200 g unsalted butter, 3 large eggs
Using a hand held mixer, beat everything together until just combined.
Add the yoghurt and beat a little more.
2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
Spoon half of the mixture into second bowl.
Add the matcha to one bowl and the cocoa to the other bowl and mix until each is combined.
2 tsp matcha green tea powder, 3 tsp cocoa powder
Line a 23 cm (9") square cake tin with baking paper or grease an equivalent sized silicone mould. Create suitably sized upright divider out of baking paper and place it in the middle of the tin.
Spoon one mixture into one half of the tin and the other mixture into the second half. Level the tops.
Bake in the middle of a preheated oven at 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4) for 20 minutes or until risen and firm to the touch.
Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
Assembly
Trim the cake to get rid of any baked or raggedy ends, then cut into 4 equal rectangles measuring 4.5 x 21 cm.
In a small pan, warm the jam until its runny, then brush two of the rectangle tops and two of the long sides with it. Make sure one is matcha and the other chocolate.
8 tbsp apricot jam
Then "glue" the jammed slices together to form a rectangle with alternate colour segments resembling a checkerboard. In other words, place a matcha slice on top of a chocolate one and a chocolate one on top of a matcha slice, then press them together, using more jam, if necessary.
Roll out the marzipan to a squarish rectangle measuring 18cm x 21 cm.
Brush the outside of the checkered cake with more jam and wrap the marzipan tightly around it, leaving the short ends bare.
Score a criss-cross over the top of the cake, if liked.
Notes
Please note: American cup conversions are automated and have not been tested. For best results use scales.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.