Tea Blog

This is the most fiddly cake I have ever made—but the taste makes it all worthwhile!

Finding the right red food coloring wasn’t easy. My first attempt turned out green and yellow instead of pink and yellow. When I used to make this cake with my mum, we used cochineal—but that’s no longer readily available, and I had run out.

A trip to the supermarket didn’t help—the red coloring turned the mixture green! Eventually, I found some pink icing gel at a specialist cake shop. It worked better, though still not perfect. See what you think!

This recipe makes two small cakes.

Oven: 190°C / 375°F / Gas Mark 5
Equipment: Two greased 1 lb loaf tins

Ingredients

• 8 oz butter
• 8 oz caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 4 eggs
• 8 oz self-raising flour
• 1 lb marzipan
• Apricot jam
• 1 tsp red food coloring
• A few drops yellow food coloring

Method

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs one at a time, mixing in a tablespoon of flour with each addition to prevent curdling.

Add the vanilla essence, then gently fold in the remaining flour.

Divide the mixture into two portions. Color one pink and the other yellow, adding the coloring gradually until you reach the desired shades.

Tip: Do not overmix.

Pour the mixtures into the prepared tins and bake for 20–25 minutes, until firm and a cake tester comes out clean.

Allow the cakes to cool completely. Trim the edges and cut each cake into long, even strips. You should have four pink and four yellow strips.

Assembly

Cut the marzipan in half and roll each piece between sheets of baking parchment into a large rectangle.

Warm the apricot jam slightly so it spreads easily. Brush a layer onto the marzipan.

Arrange the cake strips in a checkerboard pattern:

• Place one pink and one yellow strip side by side
• Brush with jam
• Layer another pink strip over the yellow and a yellow strip over the pink

Continue until you create the checkerboard effect.

Brush more jam over the remaining marzipan, then carefully roll it around the cake. Seal the edges neatly.

Trim the ends, wrap in greaseproof paper, and refrigerate until the marzipan firms up for easier slicing.

Repeat with the remaining cake and marzipan.

After all that work, reward yourself with a nice cup of tea—and a slice of your creation!

– JAB