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Why make this cake?
The Rubik’s cube is close to my heart as I am a child of the eighties and the Rubik’s cube always brings me back to a time of joy and wonder. It’s hard to imagine kids today being as fascinated as I was by such a simple but clever toy. I wanted to make a cake that epitomizes this ingenious and timeless invention. I knew it would have to be a clever cake that would make you question how it was made. Thankfully I had the help of my other half and his engineering brain to assist with the planning and general maths of this cake. It took an entire day to make but was definitely worthwhile, especially when we cut the first slice.
Materials List
One Basic Battenberg – White coloured and Yellow coloured cake
- 6 oz. of butter
- 6 oz. of castor sugar
- 3 eggs
- 6oz of self-rising flour
- 2 drops of almond essence (optional for the white)
- Zest of half an unwaxed lemon (optional for the yellow)
- few drops of yellow food colouring
One Basic Battenberg – Red coloured and Orange coloured cake
- 6 oz. of butter
- 6 oz. of castor sugar
- 3 eggs
- 6oz of self-rising flour
- few drops of red food colouring
- Zest of half an orange (optional for the orange)
- few drops of orange food colouring
One Basic Battenberg – Blue coloured and Green coloured cake
- 6 oz. of butter
- 6 oz. of castor sugar
- 3 eggs
- 6oz of self-rising flour
- few drops of blue food colouring
- few drops of green food colouring
To finish
- 14oz of blackcurrant jam sieved
- 14oz. of plain white marzipan to cover the entire cake
- 2oz of icing sugar for rolliing out the marzipan
Tools
- Weighing scales
- Electric beaters
- Large mixing bowl
- Battenberg Tin
- Wire rack for cooling
- Large Serrated knife
- Saucepan
- Sieve
- Rolling pin
- Pastry brush
- Ruler
The Rubik’s cube is close to my heart as I am a child of the eighties and the Rubik’s cube always brings me back to a time of joy and wonder. It’s hard to imagine kids today being as fascinated as I was by such a simple but clever toy. I wanted to make a cake that epitomizes this ingenious and timeless invention. I knew it would have to be a clever cake that would make you question how it was made. Thankfully I had the help of my other half and his engineering brain to assist with the planning and general maths of this cake. It took an entire day to make but was definitely worthwhile, especially when we cut the first slice.
Materials List
One Basic Battenberg – White coloured and Yellow coloured cake
- 6 oz. of butter
- 6 oz. of castor sugar
- 3 eggs
- 6oz of self-rising flour
- 2 drops of almond essence (optional for the white)
- Zest of half an unwaxed lemon (optional for the yellow)
- few drops of yellow food colouring
One Basic Battenberg – Red coloured and Orange coloured cake
- 6 oz. of butter
- 6 oz. of castor sugar
- 3 eggs
- 6oz of self-rising flour
- few drops of red food colouring
- Zest of half an orange (optional for the orange)
- few drops of orange food colouring
One Basic Battenberg – Blue coloured and Green coloured cake
- 6 oz. of butter
- 6 oz. of castor sugar
- 3 eggs
- 6oz of self-rising flour
- few drops of blue food colouring
- few drops of green food colouring
To finish
- 14oz of blackcurrant jam sieved
- 14oz. of plain white marzipan to cover the entire cake
- 2oz of icing sugar for rolliing out the marzipan
Tools
- Weighing scales
- Electric beaters
- Large mixing bowl
- Battenberg Tin
- Wire rack for cooling
- Large Serrated knife
- Saucepan
- Sieve
- Rolling pin
- Pastry brush
- Ruler
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Signing UpStep 1Baking the cakes
Pre-heat the oven 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and flour a Battenberg tin. My Battenberg tin was 8inches x 6inches and had 4 individual sections to put the different colours.
You'll need to make three cakes and each cake will comprise two of the colours needed - white/yellow, then red/orange and finally blue/green.
Cream together the butter and the sugar until it becomes light and creamy. Gradually add the beaten eggs. Then, carefully fold in the sieved flour.
Next split the mixture to make the two different colours. Take half of the mixture out, and place in another bowl. Add a few drops of food colouring to one batch. To the other half, add a few drops of a different food colouring. For the white sections of the cake. I slightly over-beat the egg mixture and didn’t add any colouring. This achieved a pale off-white effect. Spoon the mixture into the separate sections of the tin. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes. To test if it’s ready place a clean knife through the center, the knife should come out clean when it is fully cooked. If the cake rises over the tin, use a serrated knife to even off the top. Let the cake cool in the tin, once fully cooled, remove from the tin and place on a wire rack.
Repeat twice using the same method, ingredients and remaining food colours for the red/orange and blue/green cakes.
Optional: You might want to flavour the cakes as well as colour them. I used lemon zest for the yellow, orange zest for the orange and vanilla for the white. You want to find complimentary flavours that will work as a cake, so it's probably best to resist the temptation to put mint flavouring in the green as it could taint the whole cake.
You'll need to make three cakes and each cake will comprise two of the colours needed - white/yellow, then red/orange and finally blue/green.
Cream together the butter and the sugar until it becomes light and creamy. Gradually add the beaten eggs. Then, carefully fold in the sieved flour.
Next split the mixture to make the two different colours. Take half of the mixture out, and place in another bowl. Add a few drops of food colouring to one batch. To the other half, add a few drops of a different food colouring. For the white sections of the cake. I slightly over-beat the egg mixture and didn’t add any colouring. This achieved a pale off-white effect. Spoon the mixture into the separate sections of the tin. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes. To test if it’s ready place a clean knife through the center, the knife should come out clean when it is fully cooked. If the cake rises over the tin, use a serrated knife to even off the top. Let the cake cool in the tin, once fully cooled, remove from the tin and place on a wire rack.
Repeat twice using the same method, ingredients and remaining food colours for the red/orange and blue/green cakes.
Optional: You might want to flavour the cakes as well as colour them. I used lemon zest for the yellow, orange zest for the orange and vanilla for the white. You want to find complimentary flavours that will work as a cake, so it's probably best to resist the temptation to put mint flavouring in the green as it could taint the whole cake.
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For red I used strawberry, orange orange, yellow lemon, green lime, blue blueberry, and the white is plain. I also colored my cream cheese frosting (homemade) black :D
This is fabulous! I've seen checkerboard before, but
this 'takes the cake', pardon the pun.
So much fun, so colorful! Bravo!
I had a go at making battenberg cake the other day and that was too stressful for my liking.
You must have a lot of patience!
When I saw the first picture, I thought, nah, she couldn't REALLY make every slice different, could she? Then I looked and read, looked and read some more, and, OMG you did!
I am sending this to my sister-in-law and daughter, who both cook. I don't promise they'll attempt this, but they WILL be impressed.
Cheers! :)
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Wish I had the patience to make this! I'm going to pass it along to my niece, she's the cook in the family.
For those of us here in the states I did find a source for the cake pan here: http://fantes.com/cake-pans-sheet.html There are many great recipes for marshmallow fondant on instructables along with some very fantastic cakes.
One of my High Fives for you!