I'm so excited to share my first ever Battenberg Cake with White Chocolate Ganache. A Battenberg Cake is a perfect cake to serve with tea and looks absolutely amazing. If there is one thing that my mom loves, it's tea. One of the first gifts she ever gave Riley was a tiny tea set.
Riley has always made the connection between tea and her grandma. This cake would work wonders for Easter and serve as a perfect dessert. It honestly is just breathtaking with it's pearl dragees on top and two tone sponge cake.
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Battenberg Cake with White Chocolate Ganache
What is a Battenberg cake?
The Battenberg cake was created as a wedding gift for Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria (granddaughter of Queen Victoria) and thus acquired it's name.
Traditionally the cake is made up of light sponge layers with alternating checkered pattern of yellow and pink glued together with apricot jam and covered in marzipan. The alternating colors are displayed beautifully when the cake is cut across while serving.
🥘Ingredients:
- white chocolate squares
- corn syrup
- Battenberg Sponge Cake
- yellow and purple gel food coloring
- Raspberry seedless jam
- white chocolate plastique
- White Chocolate Ganache
- heavy cream
🔪How to make a Battenberg Cake:
A Battenberg Cake is a very traditional cake, but I made some adjustments to suit my and my families tastes. I decided that I wanted to cover my sponge cake in white chocolate plastique, rather than marzipan. I found an amazing resource for all sorts of variations of Battenberg Cakes over at The Daring Kitchen for her Going Batty Jubilee.
The first step was to make the white chocolate plastique so that it could chill in the refrigerator so that it would be pliable when I was ready to work with it. I melted 8 oz of white chocolate and then added ¼ cup of corn syrup. I then poured the white chocolate plastique into a freezer bag and laid it flat in the refrigerator.
I used the sponge cake recipe from Sprinkle Bakes, but decided upon yellow and purple as my colors for the cake. I used an 8 x 8 Pyrex baking dish and separated the two colors with wax paper and tin foil in the middle as a divider.
Once the cake was baked and cooled I cut the edges off of each color an then cut it in half so that I had two pieces of each color or four total sponge cake pieces.
Next, I stacked my pieces with raspberry jam in between the pieces to hold them together. Finally, I wrapped my stacked and raspberry jam filled pieces with the flattened white chocolate plastique. I cut off the edges of the plastique to expose the yellow and purple sponge cake.
The last thing I did was cover the cake in white chocolate ganache to give it just a bit more of a sweet flavor. Once the white chocolate ganache was just about hardened I used a knife to create the braided lines in the top and dotted it with the pearl dragees. Absolute perfection!
For more amazing Easter Ideas do check out these Easter cookies and this beautiful Easter bunny egg ring!
FAQs
What is Battenberg cake traditionally covered in?
Traditionally the Battenberg cake is covered in marzipan, a confectionery made up of sugar, honey and almond meal. It is often used in making sweets and has a nutty flavor and soft texture.
Why is Battenberg pink and yellow?
Traditionally when the cake was first created the layers were pink and yellow but you can color the layers in any color you wish to while making a homemade version.
What does Battenberg taste like?
Battenberg cake has different layers of sweetness deriving its taste from its outer cover, the light sponge cakes and the jam used for gluing the sponges together.
What is the difference between angel cake and Battenberg?
Angel cake uses only egg whites, whereas Battenberg sponge cake uses both whites and yolks. In angel food cake, egg whites are whipped into soft peaks, using plenty of sugar, then folded in with the rest of the ingredients to make a fluffy batter.
Aesthetically, angel food cake is white on the inside, and has a brown crumb on the outside.
Battenberg Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- White Chocolate Plastique
- 8 oz white chocolate squares
- ¼ cup corn syrup
- Battenberg Sponge Cake
- yellow and purple gel food coloring
- Raspberry seedless jam
- white chocolate plastique
- White Chocolate Ganache
- 1 ½ cups of heavy cream
- 1 lb. white chocolate squares
Instructions
White Chocolate Plastique
- Melt the white chocolate in a double broiler. Once the chocolate has melted add ¼ cup of corn syrup. Let cool and place in a freezer bag to cool in the refrigerator
Sponge Cake
- Check the recipe at Sprinkle Bakes
Battenberg Cake Assembly
- Once the sponge cake has cooled cut off the edges so that the lines are straight. Then cut each color in half so there is a total of 4 pieces. Warm the Raspberry seedless jam and brush on to the pieces so that a yellow is stacked on top of a purple and vise versa on the other side. Roll out the white chocolate plastique so that is about a ¼ inch thick and large enough to cover the cake. Cover the cake in the white chocolate plastique. Cut off the edges to expose the yellow and purple sponge cake.
White Chocolate Ganache
- Boil the heavy cream and stir in chopped white chocolate until it is melted. Pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate until it firms up. Spread the white chocolate ganache along the top and sides of the Battenber cake. Before the white chocolate ganache hardens use a knife to create the braided effect on top and dot with the pearl dragees.
Maria
What a beautiful cake! Love the pattern inside!
Natasha Mairs
This looks amazing!!! normally I don't like batternberg, as I don't like marzipan. But White Chocolate Ganache!!! Oh My!!!
Pinned this and will give it a try
Rachel Kathyg @ onlinesisterhood
This is just a beautiful, beautiful cake...love the colors and its simple elegance. Pinned it. found you at showstopper Saturday. Have a great weekend!
Rese
this is so pretty - I may have to try this for Easter
Becca from ItsYummi!
Lots of hard work to make this! You did a nice job 🙂
Found you through the Wonderful Wednesday link party. Hope you'll stop over and see what I made, too!
Lyuba@willcookforsmiles
Jenny, I hope you don't mind, I'd love to use this in the Food Fight feature! (Picture only and liked back, of course!)
Mary Sullivan Frasier
Oooh! So pretty! And the sponge looks so moist and delicious. I love white chocolate in just about any form and this cake just doubles the pleasure with the plastique and the ganache. Win/win!! Thanks for sharing it!
Trish - Mom On Timeout
This cake is beautiful Jenny! I love how you showed the steps - I can't wait to give it a try!
Bethany Wright Dearden
So fancy! I always wondered how these cakes were made, this actually looks doable, thanks so much for sharing!
Heather @ French Press
Jenny, this is SO pretty! and I love the ganache
Erin @ Table for 7
It's looks so pretty! Love the colors!!
Jenny Melrose
Thank you Erin. My 3 year old loves purple and her bf loves yellow so it was an easy choice.
Happier Than A Pig in Mud
Your cake turned out great! I love the pretty colors and detail on top:@)
Jenny Melrose
Thanks so much! It was a definite labor of love.
Rachel @ I Love My Disorganized Life
I.love.this.cake. This is so beautiful! I think you chose the perfect colors, too! Well done, Jenny, well done! Totally pinned!
A Little Claireification
Ha - I see we are both featuring Mother's Day dessert ideas today and I absolutely had to feature THIS one in my own round-up! Love!
xo, Claire @ ALittleClaireification
Jenny Melrose
Thanks so much for including my Battenberg Cake in your round up Claire!
Julie @ This Gal Cooks
Yum, looks delicious! And it's so pretty! Pinned to my food board. Have a great week, Jenny!
Jenny Melrose
Thanks so much Julie! Thanks for pinning as well!
Tanya
This is an absolutely stunning cake Jenny, great job! I love the colors and that frosting is to die for!
Jenny Melrose
Thanks so much Tanya!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust
I love this Jenny! It is SO pretty. I need to make one of these cakes!
Jenny Melrose
Thanks so much Dorothy. Mid way through I thought it was going to be a disaster, but I loved the way it came out.
The Smart Cookie Cook
Wow how pretty! And I love the sound of a white chocolate ganache. This is almost too elegant to eat!
Jenny Melrose
You are too sweet! I was extremely proud of the cake. We brought it to my parents house for Easter and I made my husband hold it on his lap the entire 40 minute drive.
Annamaria @ Bakewell Junction
Jenny,
Your battenberg cake looks lovely. I've never made one but would love to try it.
Annamaria
Jenny Melrose
Thank you so much Annamaria. I originally planned on using marzipan so it was a last minute switch to go with the white chocolate plastique and ganache.