Pina Colada Raspberry Battenberg Cake

A tropical twist on a classic cake – this Pina Colada Raspberry Battenberg tastes like summer in every bite! The chequered sponge is flavoured using Whittard’s luxury hot chocolates, think flavours of pineapple, coconut and raspberry all wrapped up in sweet almond marzipan, decorated with coconut flakes and fresh raspberries.

In this easy recipe, you’ll find step-by-step photographs and success tips to help you along the way. Enjoy!

This post is kindly sponsored by Whittard of Chelsea, however all opinions are my own.

What’s used to flavour this Pina Colada Raspberry Battenberg cake?

Traditional Battenberg sponge is made using ground almonds giving it a soft texture and a delicate almond flavour. But for this Pina Colada Raspberry Battenberg recipe you’ll add a fresh and summery flavour twist using these two hot chocolate from Whittard’s luxury range:

• Whittard Pina Colada White Hot Chocolate – 1 tbsp is mixed into half of the cake mixture to make the yellow sponge, adding flavours of cooling coconut and zingy pineapple.
• Whittard Raspberry Ripple White Hot Chocolate – 1 tbsp is mixed into the other bowl of cake mixture to make the pink sponge, with sweet, sharp raspberry flavour. If you want a brighter pink colour, you can also add a few drops of pink food colouring.

Whittard’s hot chocolates are perfect for adding bold, delicious flavour to many different bakes, like my Cookies & Cream Millionaire’s Shortbread made using their Cookies & Cream Hot Chocolate.

Make your own Battenberg cake tin

To make this recipe, you don’t need to buy a fancy Battenberg cake tin. Instead, save yourself the pennies and make your own in less than 5 minutes. All you’ll need is an 8x8inch square baking tin, some greaseproof paper and scissors.

1. Cut the lining: cut a square piece of greaseproof paper that’s bigger than the baking tin. Place it on top of the tin and make two incisions on the right-hand edge and the left-hand edge, one at the top and one at the bottom (see step 1 photo below).
2. Line the base and sides: press the paper into the base of the tin, overlapping the corners so they fit snugly (see step 3 photo below).
3. Cut the divider: to make the divider, cut a 20cm x 10cm rectangular piece of greaseproof. Fold it in half along the short edge. On the opposite side of the crease, fold back roughly 1cm of paper so the divider has a base to sit on (see step 3 photo below).
4. Fit the divider: fit the divider into the cake tin to make two halves. If it doesn’t stand upright, you can use a little spray oil or butter to stick it to the bottom.

How to assemble a Battenberg cake

It takes a little brain power to assemble a Battenberg cake but once you’ve figured out the steps, it’s actually really easy. Below I’ve broken in down into the main parts, with photos and tips for each so you can breeze through this part of the recipe.

First cut the sponges

Once the sponges are baked and have cooled completely, lift them out of the baking tin and place them on a flat surface. Trim the edges to neaten them up and level off the top of the sponge, so it’s completely flat. The straighter the sides, the neater the Battenberg will be. Slice each sponge into two long strips; you want to make sure each strip has the same width as thickness. For example, mine were 1 inch wide and 1 inch thick.

Then brush the sponges with warm jam

Traditionally apricot jam is used to stick the sponges together, but seeing as this is a Pina Colada Battenberg, I decided to use pineapple jam instead. Heat the jam in a small saucepan and use a pastry brush (or spoon) to brush each long side of the sponges. Leave the ends jam-free as they’ll be exposed when the marzipan is wrapped around the sponge.

Stack the sponges to make a chequered pattern

Lift the sponges up and stack them on top of each other, pink on top of yellow, yellow on top of the pink. Then stick the two stacks together to create a chequered pattern. At this point, you can trim the edges to make them neat and sharp.

Now roll out the marzipan and cut to size

On a piece of greaseproof paper, roll out a block of marzipan into a 25cm(l) x20cm(w) rectangle that’s roughly 0.5cm thick. Place the Battenberg in the middle and trim the long sides of the marzipan so they line up perfectly with the edges of the sponge.

Lastly, wrap the sponge in marzipan

Use the greaseproof paper to lift up the marzipan and tightly wrap it around the sponge. Smooth each side of the cake to make sure the marzipan is stuck to the sponge. Trim off any excess marzipan and place the Battenberg seam side down, so the top is smooth and neat. That’s it; your Battenberg is now ready to decorate!

Leftovers? Here’s how to store your Pina Colada Battenberg

• Eat within 3 days: remove the decoration on top, wrap in clingfilm and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Perfect for when those sweet cravings kick in!
• Freeze and eat within 3 months: remove the decoration on top, wrap in clingfilm and then again in foil. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature before serving. If the marzipan is a little sticky, leave it uncovered at room temperature to dry it out a little.

Equipment used for this recipe

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