Chocolate and orange battenberg

Ingredients

• butter 175g, softened
• golden caster sugar 175g
• self-raising flour 175g
• baking powder ¼ tsp
• eggs 3
• cocoa 2 tbsp, plus extra for dusting
• oranges 2, zested
• apricot jam 150g, sieved
• Cointreau or Grand Marnier 1-2 tbsp
• chocolate fondant icing 500g, or knead 500g white fondant with 2 tbsp cocoa

Method

• Step 1

  Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Make a barrier out of double-thickness foil lengthways down the centre of a 20cm x 20cm tin (or buy a Silverwood battenberg tin). Line each side with baking paper so the mix won’t leak out. Beat the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and eggs with an electric whisk to a smooth batter. Divide in two and add the cocoa to one half (add a splash of milk if the mix is thick, it should be the same consistency as the other side) and the zest to the other. Spoon the chocolate mix into one half of the tin and the orange into the other. Bake for 25-30 minutes, then test by poking in a skewer – it should come out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack.

  Step 2

  Roll the fondant to a rough rectangle– 20cm long x 30 cm wide x 1/2 cm thick. Lay one half of the cake on top of the other and trim both to the same size, cut them in half lengthways to give 2 long strips of each. Heat the jam with the Cointreau.

  Step 3

  Lay a chocolate cake strip in the centre of the fondant and trim the fondant in a straight line at each end so it matches the length of the cake. Brush the cake all over with jam, lay an orange strip next to it and brush with jam, pushing the two strips together. Repeat with the top strips putting the chocolate on top of the orange and orange on top of the chocolate. Fold the fondant over the cake to encase it, trimming any excess and sticking the fondant with a bit of jam. Turn over so the seam is on the underside. Dust with cocoa if you like.

Nutritional data

• kcals 680
• fat 25.3g
• saturates 14.6g
• carbs 105.7g
• fibre 2.2g
• protein 6g
• salt 0.8g