Comfort cook

A not-so-old-school teatime treat

This vegan version of a colourful classic will brighten your day

Don’t worry, Battenberg is actually much easier to make than you’d think. Not only does it taste wonderful, but just looking at this beautiful pink and yellow chequered cake is a pleasure in itself.

— 130g dairy-free butter — 200g caster sugar — 120g unsweetened soy yogurt

— 150ml unsweetened dairy-free milk

— 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

— 1 tsp almond extract — 260g self-raising flour — ½ tsp baking powder — vegan pink food colouring or beetroot juice — 3 tbsp marmalade — icing sugar, for dusting — 400g golden marzipan

Preheat the oven to 180C / 160C fan/gas mark 4. Use a double layer of foil to divide a 20cm square cake tin in half. Line both sections with greaseproof paper.

Whisk together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the yogurt, milk, vinegar and almond extract, then fold in the flour and baking powder.

Pour half of the batter into one of the halves of the tin. Mix drops of food colouring or beetroot juice into the remaining half of the batter until you get the desired shade of pink, then pour the pink batter into the other half of the tin.

Bake for 25 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the tin before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

To decorate, gently transfer the cakes on to a chopping board and cut each one in half lengthways, trimming the edges to create straight and even layers.

Heat the marmalade in a small saucepan over a low heat until runny. Brush one long side of a pink strip of cake and one long side of a yellow one, and stick them together. Repeat to stick the other two strips together. Now paint the top of one pair completely with marmalade and place the other pair on top, with pink on top of yellow and vice versa, to create a chequerboard pattern.

Dust a work surface with a little icing sugar and roll out the marzipan to a rectangle about 20 x 25cm. Brush the outside of the cake with marmalade. Use a rolling pin to lift the marzipan over the cake and smooth it firmly around the top and sides,

R V E S E S

joining underneath. Trim away the excess and brush the seam with a little marmalade. Finish by pressing the edges together to create a seam at the bottom.

Recipe from Great British Vegan, by Aimee Ryan (White Lion Publishing , £20)

There are six questions you must ask before you decorate any room, or buy any piece of furniture. They will make sure you are buying not just what you love, but what you need. Those questions are: who? What? When? Where? How? Why?

Who is using the space? The sofa requirements of a couple with kids are very different from those of a couple of downsizers. What will they be doing there – relaxing, working, entertaining? When will they do it? That will inform you on decor. Where are you going to shop – big chains with fast delivery or small businesses manufacturing in the UK? How will you pay for it? And why are you buying it? Knowing what you don’t like about something is key to buying the right thing to replace it. Once you have your answers, you are ready to look at the individual pieces you need.

Above Interiors journalist and writer Kate Watson-smyth, who runs the blog Mad About the House and is today launching her online shop, Design Storey. Southwark corner sofa, from £1,650, and Bronx nesting coffee tables, £199 for two, all Next (next.co.uk)

THE SOFA

The colour is the last thing you should be thinking of when it comes to a sofa, as it’s the easiest thing to change. The first thing to consider is the size. Many companies now give advice on how to measure your space, and some, which make to order, will shave off a couple of inches. Some designs can be delivered with the arms removed to fit up stairs and around corners.

What fabric do you want? Man-made velvet is tougher

than linen and often stainresistant. Ask about the Martindale rub count – the fabricindustry measure for durability assessed by how many times you can rub it before it breaks down. The standard is 35,000; you want around 100,000. Know also that dark fabric fades faster than pale, and linen fades faster than velvet.

The frame – the best are hardwood – should be rigid enough that you can lift the front corner without the sofa flexing. It should be bolted together, not screwed, and ideally interlined (covered with a fabric that sits under your chosen material).

When it comes to style, do you want something loungey so you can lie down and watch a film, or are you sitting up to chat? The taller the legs, the more floor you will see underneath, and the bigger the room will look. Narrow arms will make a piece feel lighter and give you more sitting space.

Sorted all that out? Now you can pick the colour. And, having gone to all that bother, do make sure it’s a shade that will make your heart sing.

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