How to make a checkerboard cake

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A checkerboard cake is impressive and tasty. Try your hand at making one with a few simple steps using concentric cake rings.

A Super Bowl party dessert

I read a lot of food blogs, and their Pinterest-perfect presentations often inspire and challenge me. I often try (and sometimes fail) at replicating their recipes, but there's always another recipe to attempt.

One such recipe was for a checkerboard cake from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I was intrigued as to how it was made, and when I saw that the steps looked easy enough,  decided to give it a go.

A checkerboard cake is a great way to show you're a fan of a sports team, a school, a house in Harry Potter (my favorite is Ravenclaw)...anything that has official colors.

My daughter & future son-in-law were hosting a party for the 2018 Super Bowl. Why not try red & blue checkerboard cake for the Patriots? (Regarding the Super Bowl, I live in Boston...don’t ask & don’t gloat!).

How to make a checkerboard cake

A checkerboard cake is a cake layered with alternating colors, each layer formed as a bull's-eye of those alternating colors. The trick is to make the concentric rings of equal widths from the layers. When they're stacked, the checkerboard will come out looking even (more or less, depending on how tall the cake layers rise).

Make the cake batter from scratch...carefully

I prefer to make cake from scratch (no preservatives and all), but it's important to read the recipe correctly. Using Sally’s recipe for the from-scratch cake, I ran into a couple of relatively small problems (all my fault).

I added an extra 1/2 stick of butter to the cake (I confused the amount for the cake vs. the frosting). This mistake had the effect of making the cake batter have a curdled look to it. I noticed it at the time, but didn’t understand why it had happened. A quick internet search later said I could have just added a bit more flour. Lessons learned….

The result was baked layers that were a little oilier with a wider crumb (i.e. the pattern of holes in a baked product). You can see the wider holes in the cake layers in the picture below.

Also, the batter color became more yellow than white from the extra butter, so when I added the food coloring to the separate bowls, I got a sort of rose and teal instead of the red and blue I was shooting for.

Updated 2/2019: I discovered Bake-Even Strips that insulate the cake pans as the batter bakes, and keeps the cake layers even without needing to trim off the tops. You don't have layers with drooping sides when they're stacked. I used it for a Black & White Cookie Cake to great effect. Who knew?

Assemble the layers

For a standard 9-inch cake, cut a 6-inch and 3-inch circle, either but tracing a pattern cut from parchment paper or using cookie cutters. I chose the latter. I ordered a relatively inexpensive 6-inch cookie cutter (I already had a 3-inch cookie cutter for making biscuits, but you can order one here).

Next, you carefully separate the cake circles and put the middle ring from one color inside the outermost ring of the other color (the center circle matches the outer ring). When you stack the layers (again, alternating the colors), the checkerboard effect will show when you slice into the cake.

Have I confused you? Let’s go to the instant replay then...

Checkerboard cake wins dessert!

All in all, a checkerboard cake still is impressive, tasty, and well worth the effort it took to create. I encourage you all to give it a try, perhaps pink and white layers for Valentine’s Day?

Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a little bit of that vanilla buttercream frosting left, and I have a spoon handy…

📖 Recipe

Checkerboard Cake

Tammy Spencer, Scotch & Scones

A checkerboard cake is impressive and tasty. Try your hand at making one with a few simple steps using concentric cake rings.

Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hr

Cook Time 25 mins

Cooling Time 3 hrs

Total Time 4 hrs 25 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, General

Servings 20 slices

Calories 320 kcal

Equipment

• 9-inch round cake pans (4)
• Bake-Even strips
• stand mixer with paddle attachment
• 6-inch round cookie cutter
• 3-inch round cookie cutter

Ingredients

  

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Cake

• 3¾ cups all-purpose flour, sifted (16 oz, 445g)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature (12 oz, 335g, 3 sticks)
• 2 cups granulated sugar, (14 oz, 400g
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1¾ cups buttermilk, room temperature, see Recipe Notes (14 oz, 390g)
• 2-3 drops food coloring, 2 different colors (e.g. red & blue)

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• 1¾ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature (14 oz, 390g)
• 7 cups powdered sugar, (30 oz, 840g)
• 6 Tbsp heavy cream or milk, (3 oz, 84g)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp kosher salt

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease and lightly flour four 9-inch round cake pans. If available, wrap the cake pans with Bake-Even strips according the the package directions...it helps to keep the layers level.
• For the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a handhelp mixer), beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix this batter. The batter will be smooth, velvety, and slightly thick.
• There will be 8 cups of batter total -- transfer half of it to another bowl. Stir in the food coloring (one blue, one red) into each bowl. Pour/spread batter evenly into prepared cake pans.
• Bake for around 24-25 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
• Trim cake tops to level them. Using a 6-inch round cookie cutter (it's large!), cut a circle into each cooled cake. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut a circle out of the 6-inch circle. You will have four 3-inch circles, four 6-inch circles (the outlines), and four 9-inch circles (which are just a thin outline of cake since the centers are missing).
• For the frosting: In a large bowl using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin, more cream if frosting is too thick, or a pinch more of salt if frosting is too sweet.
• Assemble the cake: Place one blue 9-inch outline of cake onto a serving plate or cake stand. Fill with a red 6-inch circle, then a blue circle. Spread frosting evenly on top. Repeat with next layer: 9-inch red filled with 6-inch blue then 3-inch red. Spread frosting evenly on top. Repeat next 2 layers. Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. Decorate top and sides of cake as desired.
• Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour before slicing and serving. The time in the refrigerator ensures a neater cut!
• Cover and store leftover cake at room temperature for 1 to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes

You can use milk mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice instead of the buttermilk. Another substitution is to use equal parts water and sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt). Either way, the purpose of having buttermilk is to give an acid for the baking soda to react with.

Make ahead tip: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Assemble and frost the cake the next day when you are ready to serve. Frosted cake can be frozen up to 2 months if you have room in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. It tastes much better fresh though.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 320 kcal

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