While the cake originates in England, its exact origins are unclear, with early recipes also using the alternative names "Domino Cake" (recipe by
Agnes Bertha Marshall, 1898), "Neapolitan Roll" (recipe by Robert Wells, 1898), or "Church Window Cake". The cake was purportedly named in honour of the marriage of
Princess Victoria, a granddaughter of
Queen Victoria, to
Prince Louis of Battenberg in 1884. It refers to the German town of
Battenberg, Hesse, which was the seat of an aristocratic family who died out in the early
Middle Ages and whose title was transferred in 1851 to
Countess Julia Hauke on the occasion of her marriage to
Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine; then first Countess of Battenberg, afterwards
Princess of Battenberg, known in Britain since 1917 as
Mountbatten. The food historian Ivan Day refuted the idea that the four panels are in reference to four princes or houses, as older recipes show as many as 25 panels. He said the four panels were likely standardised by industrial bakers such as
Lyons, as this was easier to produce on a
production line. According to
The Oxford Companion to Food, the name "Battenberg cake" first appeared in print in 1903. However, a "Battenburg cake" appears in Frederick Vine,
Saleable Shop Goods for Counter-Tray and Window … (London, England: Office of the Baker and Confectioner, 1898). == See also ==