Battenberg cake

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper

Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla essence until pale and fluffy

Add the eggs a little at a time until fully incorporated

Gently fold through the flour and ground almonds, then split the mixture between 2 bowls

Add the enough red food colouring to one half of the mix to create a gentle pink colour

Pour both mixtures into the baking tin – the pink mix on one side and the plain on the other – and bake for 20–25 minutes until a metal skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean

Leave to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into 4 long fingers, roughly 3cm high and 4cm wide. Pay close attention to making sure all of the pieces are exactly the same size by lining them up next to each other – use a sharp serrated knife to help you do this

Gently warm the apricot jam, stirring until smooth, then use a small palette knife to smear onto the edges of the cake slices

Build the slices of cake like a chequerboard, pushing down to stick them together

Roll the marzipan out on a work surface to a thickness of 3-4mm and place the cake in the middle

Trim the marzipan so that there is just enough around the cake to cover it with a small overlap, then fold it up over the sides of the cake and press down to seal up the central 'seam'

Fold the edges of the marzipan over, trimming away any excess

Leave to set up in the fridge for an hour or so before slicing and serving