Ingredients

Step by step

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Butter a 20cm square tin, then make a barrier out of foil, several folds’ thick, to stand in the centre of the tin and make 2 sections. Roughly butter both sides of the foil barrier and line each half of the tin with a 20cm-wide strip of baking paper, securing it to the foil centre and overhanging the sides of the tin.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the almond extract, followed by the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift over the flour and baking powder, then fold in with a pinch of salt. Stir in the milk to loosen. Weigh the batter and divide between two bowls. Stir sifted cocoa powder and black food colour gel into one batter and stir the yellow food colour gel into the other. Spoon the batters into the tin so that the black is in one side and the yellow the other. Bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes, then remove each half onto a wire rack to cool completely.

3. Meanwhile, for the marzipan bees, put the dark chocolate in a small heatproof bowl or ramekin and melt in 30-second bursts in the microwave. Allow to cool and thicken slightly for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut an approx. 2cm slice off the end of the block of marzipan (about 70g), divide into 8 pieces and roll each into a bee body. Place on a baking-paper-lined plate. Transfer the cooled chocolate to a disposable piping bag and snip off a very small opening. Drizzle the chocolate over each bee to make 3 stripes on each. Add 2 eyes to each bee and chill for just long enough to set, about 10 minutes. Insert flaked almond wings into each bee and set aside.

4. Use a large serrated knife to cut each sponge in half lengthways to make 4 strips of cake. Trim and straighten the sponge strips so that the ends are square. Sandwich the strips together with honey to create a chequerboard pattern with alternating black and yellow squares. Dust a large board or your work surface with sifted icing sugar, then roll out the remaining marzipan to an approx. 20cm x 30cm rectangle. Brush the top of the cake with honey and place, honey-side down, at one short end of the marzipan rectangle, lined up next to the edge. Trim the marzipan to fit the size of the cake, then brush the exposed marzipan with more honey. Lift the marzipan up and over the cake to encase it, leaving the chequerboard ends visible. Press the marzipan join to seal it.

5. Decorate the cake with the bees, securing them with cocktail sticks and pushing them into the cake at different heights. Cut into slices to serve.