This month’s challenge was not really one I’d have selected on my own. We made a Battemberg cake, which was created to commemorate the wedding between Queen Victoria (the one alive in the 20th century) and Prince Louis of Battenberg in 1884. It’s a pretty fussy dessert, and I’m not really a fan of any monarchy (something I’ve hoped we would move past as a species, but Europeans love them as part of their history), but the Queen of England just celebrated her jubilee anniversary and, well, it really is a challenge to make. If it didn’t push us out of our comfort zone, it wouldn’t be a challenge, right?

Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

I made the coffee and walnut version with marzipan, with just a tiny change: I added my homemade walnut liqueur to the walnut batter in addition to the vanilla to give it an extra measure of walnuttiness. I also used an organic Nutella knockoff as the “glue”. Came out delicious but very rich. The cake didn’t completely cook through in the middle (I guess I poked it with a toothpick towards the edge) but I’ve never been one to complain about gooey cake.