Union Jack Battenberg Cake

Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F. Line a 20cm square baking tin with parchment paper. Create a divider down the middle of the tin using a double layer of aluminum foil folded into a sturdy wall, effectively splitting the tin into two 10x20cm rectangular sections. Line both sections with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and caster sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy.

Beat the eggs in one at a time, mixing well after each addition. If the mixture begins to curdle, add a spoonful of the weighed flour. Beat in the almond extract.

Gently fold in the self-raising flour until completely combined. If the batter is too stiff, fold in the whole milk to reach a dropping consistency.

Divide the batter evenly between two bowls. Add the red gel food coloring to one bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the blue gel food coloring to the other bowl and mix until the color is vibrant and completely incorporated.

Spoon the red batter into one side of the prepared tin and the blue batter into the other. Level the surfaces. Bake at 170°C/340°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and the sponges spring back when lightly pressed.

Allow the cakes to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Place the cooled sponges on a cutting board. Trim the crusts off the top, bottom, and sides of both sponges using a serrated knife. Cut each colored sponge in half lengthways so you have four perfectly equal rectangular strips in total: two red, two blue. Use a ruler for precision.

Place the apricot jam in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until melted and runny. Pass the jam through a fine mesh sieve to remove any fruit pieces.

Brush the long sides of the sponge strips with the warmed apricot jam. Lay a red strip and a blue strip side by side. Brush the top of these strips with more jam, then place the remaining red strip on top of the blue one, and the blue strip on top of the red one, creating a checkerboard pattern. Press gently to adhere.

Dust a clean work surface with icing sugar. Roll out the white marzipan to a rectangle approximately 20cm by 30cm, ensuring it is large enough to wrap completely around the assembled cake.

Brush the top of the assembled sponge with apricot jam and place it upside down in the center of the rolled marzipan. Brush the remaining exposed sides of the sponge with jam. Fold the marzipan up and over the cake, sealing the edges firmly. Turn the cake over so the seam is neatly on the bottom.

Using a sharp, warm serrated knife, slice a thin layer off both ends of the wrapped cake to reveal the neat red and blue checkerboard pattern.

Roll out the red and blue fondant on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Cut the blue fondant into a large cross and saltire diagonal strips. Cut the red fondant into slightly thinner strips. Layer and adhere these to the top of the white marzipan cake using a tiny dab of water to recreate the Union Jack flag pattern.