In an earlier thread in November under 'Icing Query', I thought of making a Battenburg with choc frosting, but instead, I opted for royal icing, but I have used chocolate in the recipe. The battenburg recipe in my cookbook, suggests cementing the 4 'squares' of sponge together, using a pound of choc nut spread (Nutella?). However, I discarded this for a choc/coffee-cream recipe, popular as a filling for stuffed dates.
Ingredients for sponge :-
6oz softened butter 6oz s/fine sugar 6oz plain flour + half tsp baking powder 3 eggs beaten 3 tbsp milk few drops of vanilla half oz of cocoa powder. The cocoa powder will be added to half the sponge batter and give a slightly more contrasting 'harlequin' effect than the one in this picFinal frosting:- (royal icing)
8oz icing sugar 1 egg white half tsp geletine8oz of marzipan or white almond paste, to cover sponge + half oz of warm jam, to glue marzipan to sponge.
Sponge method : Grease 2 bread pans size 8" x 4" each. Mix butter and sugar together and beat in the 3 eggs, add the vanilla drops. Fold in the flour and baking powder and mix. Add enough milk to give a soft dropping consistency. Pour half into one bread tin. Mix the cocoa powder with remainder and add to the other tin. Bake for 15mins at 350F/180C, reduce heat by 25F/20C for a further 15mins or until top is just firm. Leave in tins for 3mins, turn out onto board. Cut each sponge in two and trim. You should be left with four shaped sponges 2" x 2" x 8". Leave to cool.
Filling : Half fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Place a pirex bowl on top of saucepan and remove from the heat. Immediately, place squares of choc in pirex and cover pirex with lid or plate, no further heat required. Meanwhile place dbl cream in another pan and bring slowly to the boil, remove from heat (just short of boiling) and add the ground coffee and infuse for 4mins. Then remove plate from pirex, place flour sieve over pirex and pour coffee-cream thru' sieve onto the melted chocolate. BTW, the coffee should be course ground (as for Cona vac), or it won't go thru the sieve. Don't use a caffatiere as the coffee-cream is too heavy for the plunger. If you can't get course ground then sub with instant coffee. Use the coffee cream to cement the 4 sponge 'logs' together, but no cream on the outside. Roll out the marzipan/almond paste into a flat16" x 8" oblong shape. Coat the sponge with the warmed jam and cover sponge with the marzipan. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.
Sugar glaze : As per royal icing i.e. stir the egg white and slowly add the sugar until the mother-of-pearl sheen appears and the soft peaks slowly subside into the mix. Add the gelatine and cover for half hour. Then brush the warm jam onto the sponge cake and lay the icing over, with the back of a bread knife or glazing ruler. Serve thin slices - cos it's very filling. Enjoy.
Bertie