Halloween Battenberg

We’ve given the classic Battenberg cake a Halloween makeover, using a purple and green. Plus, it's covered in bright orange marzipan!

By The GH Kitchen TeamUpdated: 11 August 2023

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If you're up for a fun and impressive baking challenge this Halloween, our Battenberg cake will definitely impress your guests and be a huge hit in your household!

We've decorated ours with green and purple chequered Battenberg cake, and covered it in a bright orange marzipan for extra Halloween vibes.

The sponge is a nutty almond flavour and is encased in marzipan and served in slices for convenience.

Short on time? Not to worry as this cake can be prepared up to two days in advance and kept in an airtight container until you're ready to serve.

Find all of Good Housekeeping's most popular recipes for spooky season here.

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Yields:

10 serving(s)

Prep Time:

40 mins

Cook Time:

35 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 15 mins

Cal/Serv:

502

Ingredients

175 g
unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
175 g
caster sugar
3
medium eggs, lightly beaten
200 g
self-raising flour
25 g
ground almonds
few drops almond essence
green and purple food colouring pastes, we used Sugarflair

For the decoration

3
-4tbsp shredless marmalade
orange food colouring paste, we used Sugarflair
450 g
marzipan
icing sugar, to dust
edible spiders, optional

Directions

1. Step 1Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease a 20.5cm square, straight-sided baking tin. Cut a rectangle of baking parchment that measures exactly 20.5cm wide and 30.5cm long. Fold it in 1/2 (short end to short end), then make a 5cm wide fold down the length of the closed side, bending it both ways to mark a pleat. Open up the baking parchment, then pinch the pleat back together (so it stands perpendicular to the rest of the parchment). Position the parchment in the base of the tin - it should line the base exactly and have a 5cm tall divider down the middle.
2. Step 2Beat the butter and caster sugar together in a large bowl with a handheld electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs, then fold in the flour, ground almonds and almond essence with a large metal spoon.
3. Step 3Spoon 1/2 the mixture into a separate bowl. Dye one 1/2 green and the other purple with food colouring paste. Spoon one batter into each side of the lined tin (making sure parchment doesn't shift) and level. Bake for 30-35min or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean. Leave to cool in tin.
4. Step 4Take cakes out of tin and peel off the parchment. Use a bread knife to level the top of each cake and remove any browned sponge on top. Stack cakes and trim sides and ends to reveal coloured sponge. With sponges still stacked, halve the cakes lengthways to make four equal strips of sponge. Meanwhile, put the marmalade in a small bowl and mix with a small spoon to slacken.
5. Step 5Using a palette knife, spread a thin layer of marmalade along one long side of a green strip, then stick to a long side of a purple strip. Repeat with remaining two strips. Stick the pairs of sponges on top of one other with more marmalade to give a checkerboard effect. Trim to neaten. Spread ends and sides of the cake with more marmalade.
6. Step 6Knead a little orange food colouring paste into the marzipan, adding more colouring as needed to achieve a bright orange shade. Roll 1/8 of the marzipan out on a work surface dusted with icing sugar until 5mm thick. Stick to one end of cake and trim with scissors. Repeat with the other end.
7. Step 7Roll out remaining marzipan into a long 5mm thick strip at least 22cm wide and 35.5cm long. Place cake on the marzipan at one of the short ends, then trim the width of the marzipan strip to match the cake. Roll the cake, sticking it to the marzipan as you go, using a little extra marmalade if needed. Trim end to neaten and place on a serving plate or board seam-side down. Serve in slices.