Battenberg[1] or Battenburg[2]cake is a light sponge cake with coloured sections held together with jam and covered in marzipan. In cross section, the cake has a distinctive pink-and-yellow check pattern. It originated in England.
The chequered patterns on many emergency vehicles' liveries are officially referred to as Battenburg markings because of their resemblance to the cake.
Recipe
Battenberg cake by British food manufacturer LyonsA coffee and walnut Battenberg with tea to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth IIBattenberg accompanied with tea
Battenberg cakes are constructed by baking yellow and pink almond sponge-cakes separately, then cutting and combining the pieces in a chequered pattern. The cake is held together by jam and covered with marzipan.[3]
Origins
While the cake originates in England, its exact origins are unclear,[4][5]
with early recipes also using the alternative names "Domino Cake" (recipe by Agnes Bertha Marshall, 1898), "Neapolitan Roll" (recipe by Robert Wells, 1898),[6]
or "Church Window Cake".[citation needed]
The food historian Ivan Day refuted the idea that the four panels are in reference to four princes or houses, as older recipes show as many as 25 panels. He said the four panels were likely standardised by industrial bakers such as Lyons, as this was easier to produce on a production line.[9]
According to The Oxford Companion to Food, the name "Battenberg cake" first appeared in print in 1903.[10] However, a "Battenburg cake" appears in Frederick Vine, Saleable Shop Goods for Counter-Tray and Window … (London, England: Office of the Baker and Confectioner, 1898).[4][11]
