Battenberg cake
British sponge cake From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battenberg[1] or Battenburg[2] cake is a light sponge cake with variously 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.
A homemade Battenberg cake with typical chequered pink-and-yellow squares | |
| Type | Sponge cake |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | England |
| Created by | Unknown |
| Main ingredients | Flour, jam, marzipan |
The chequered patterns on many emergency vehicles liveries are officially referred to as Battenburg markings because of their resemblance to the cake.
Recipe
Bakers construct Battenberg cakes 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
Summarize
Perspective
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".
The cake was purportedly named in honour of the marriage of Princess Victoria, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, to Prince Louis of Battenberg in 1884.[7] It refers to the German town of Battenberg, Hesse, which was the seat of an aristocratic family that died out in the early Middle Ages and whose title was transferred in 1851 to Countess Julia Hauke on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine; then first Countess of Battenberg, afterwards Princess of Battenberg, known in Britain since 1917 as Mountbatten.[8] This then suggests the question as to why the cake was not renamed at the same time, for the same anti-German wartime sentiments as the renaming of Empire Biscuits.
The food historian Ivan Day refuted the idea that four panels 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]
See also
References
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