Battenberg cake
Type | Sponge cake |
---|---|
Place of origin | United Kingdom |
Region or state | England |
Created by | Unknown |
Main ingredients | Flour, jam, marzipan |
Battenberg
Charles Nevin wrote in The Independent: “Battenberg cake is exemplarily British. The first cake was baked in 1884 to celebrate Prince Louis of Battenberg marrying Princess Victoria, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter and Prince Philip’s grandmother.”[3] Early Battenbergs had as many as 25 squares, and food historian Ivan Day states the simplified four-panelled cake occurred when large industrial bakers such as Lyons began producing it.[4]
Recipe
Bakers construct Battenberg cakes by baking yellow and pink almond sponge-cakes separately, and then cutting and combining the pieces in a chequered pattern. The cake is held together by apricot jam and covered with marzipan.[5]
Origins
While the cake originates in England, its exact origins are unclear,[6][7] with early recipes also using the alternative names "Domino Cake" (recipe by
The cake was purportedly named in honour of the marriage of
According to The Oxford Companion to Food, the name "Battenberg cake" first appeared in print in 1903.[10] However, a "Battenburg cake" appeared in: Frederick Vine, Saleable Shop Goods for Counter-Tray and Window … (London, England: Office of the Baker and Confectioner, 1898).[6][11]
See also
References
- ^ "Battenberg". Oxford Dictionary. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ^ "Definition of 'Battenburg'". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ^ a b "Minor British Institutions: Battenberg cake". The Independent. 2010-11-13. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
- ^ a b "How to make the perfect battenberg cake". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ Cook, Sarah (March 2011). "Battenberg Cake". Good Housekeeping. BBC. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ a b "Battenburg Cake - the Truth". Food History Jottings. 31 August 2011.
- ^ "Battenberg Cake". Foods of England. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ "Battenburg Cake History Again!". Food History Jottings. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ^ John Ayto, The Diner's Dictionary: Food and Drink from A to Z (Oxford, England: Routledge, 1993), p. 22.
- ^ Davidson, Alan, The Oxford Companion to Food, 3rd ed. (Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2014), p. 67.
- ^ In the 1907 edition, see p. 136.