Recipe: How to Make Gold and Silver Marble Cake

Queen Victoria is supposed to have been particularly fond of a sponge cake recipe in which the yolks of eggs were added to one half of a sponge mixture to make a golden cake, and stiffly beaten egg whites were folded into the other half of the mixture to make a silver cake. That idea is used in this cake recipe to produce a gold and silver marbled effect by combining the two mixtures.

This cake will keep, in an airtight tin, for 4-5 days.

Preparation time: 50-55 minutes

Cooking time: 50-60 minutes

Oven temperature: 350° F (180° C)

Makes: One 8 inch (20 cm) cake

Gold Mixture:

• 3 ounces (90 g) butter
• ¹/₃ cup caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons warm water
• 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• ¾ cup all-purpose (plain) flour
• 1 ½ level teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons ground almonds
• A few drops almond essence

Silver Mixture:

• 3 ounces (90 g) butter
• ¹/₃ cup caster sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons warm water
• 2 tablespoons ground almonds
• A few drops almond essence
• 3 egg whites
• ¾ cup all-purpose (plain) flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder

Marzipan:

• ¾ cup ground almonds
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon brandy
• 1-2 drops almond essence

Decoration:

• 2 tablespoons apricot jam, warmed and sieved
• 1 level tablespoon icing sugar
• 1 paper doily (with large holes)
• A few gold and silver dragees

Grease an 8 inch (20 cm) round tin, and line the base.

For the gold mixture, cream the butter in a warmed bowl until soft. Beat in half the sugar, then gradually beat in the rest of the sugar and the warm water alternately until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks. Sift the flour and baking powder, and fold into the mixture with the ground almonds and almond essence.

Place spoonfuls of the mixture on the base of the prepared cake tin.

For the silver mixture, cream the butter until soft. Gradually beat in the sugar and warm water until the mixture is light and fluffy. Fold in the ground almonds and almond essence. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Sift the flour with the baking powder. Fold the beaten egg whites and flour into the mixture alternately in several batches.

Fill the gaps left in the cake tin between the spoonfuls of gold mixture with spoonfuls of the silver mixture. Use a toothpick or fine skewer to pull streaks of the gold mixture into the silver mixture.

Bake the cake in the center of the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until the center of the cake is springy to the touch. Cool in the tin for 2 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

To make the marzipan, mix together the ground almonds, icing sugar, caster sugar, egg yolk, lemon juice, brandy and almond essence in a bowl. Knead together until the mixture forms a ball. Dust a work surface or pastry board with a little sifted icing sugar, and roll out the marzipan to make a circle the same size as the cake.

Brush the top of the cake with apricot jam, and place the marzipan on top. Level gently with a rolling pin. Scallop the edges of the marzipan by pushing it in at intervals with your finger. Place a paper doily on the cake and dredge icing sugar over it. Carefully remove the doily to leave the lacy pattern. Decorate the top with a few gold and silver dragees.