Ingredients

• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) total butter, softened (for both sponges)
• 1 3/4 cups total granulated sugar (for both sponges)
• 2 1/4 cups total self-rising flour (for both sponges)
• about 1 cup total ground almonds (almond flour, for both sponges)
• 1 tsp total baking powder
• 6 total medium eggs
• 1 tsp total vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract (almond sponge only)
• 1/2 tsp pink food coloring
• about 3/4 cup apricot jam
• 2 lbs 2 oz marzipan
• confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Equipment

• 8-inch square baking pan
• Parchment paper
• Electric mixer
• Wire cooling rack
• Rolling pin
• Ruler
• Small saucepan and sieve

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 350F and line the base and sides of an 8-inch square pan with parchment. Crossing two long strips over the base makes it easy to lift the sponge out later.
2. For the almond sponge, put half of the butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, and baking powder in a large bowl along with 3 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and the almond extract. Beat with an electric mixer until the batter is smooth and comes together, about 2 minutes.
3. Scrape into the pan, spreading it into the corners so it bakes level, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. A skewer poked into the center should come out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
4. For the pink sponge, line the pan the same way. Mix the remaining butter, sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder, 3 eggs, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (skip the almond extract this time), then fold in the pink food coloring until the color is even. Bake as before and cool completely.
5. Warm the apricot jam in a small pan until runny, then push it through a sieve so it spreads smoothly. Trim the edges of the almond sponge, then cut 4 slices of equal width using the height of the sponge as your guide (a ruler helps). Repeat with the pink sponge. Nibble the scraps.
6. Take 2 almond slices and 2 pink slices and trim them all to the same length. Roll one block of marzipan on a surface dusted with confectioners' sugar until it's just over 8 inches wide and about 1/4 inch thick.
7. Brush the marzipan with jam, then lay one pink and one almond slice side by side at one end, brushing jam between them, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of marzipan clear at the end. Brush jam on top and stack the remaining two slices, alternating colors so you get the checkerboard pattern.
8. Trim the marzipan to the length of the cakes, then lift it and smooth it over the top and sides with your hands, tucking a small fold along the bottom edge. Trim the opposite side to match, then crimp the edges with your fingers or press with fork prongs. Repeat everything to make the second Battenberg.