Checkerboard Cake

 

This week’s bake is a Checkerboard Cake from Sally’s Baking Addiction.   

The Checkerboard cake features 4 layers of homemade vanilla cake with rainbow sprinkles and vanilla buttercream in a checkerboard design.

The history of chess can be traced back nearly 1500 years to its earliest known predecessor, called chaturanga, in India; its prehistory is the subject of speculation. From India it spread to Persia. Following the Arab invasion and conquest of Persia, chess was taken up by the Muslim world and subsequently spread to southern Europe. The game evolved roughly into its current form by about 1500 CE.

"Romantic chess" was the predominant playing style from the late 18th century to the 1880s. Chess games of this period emphasized quick, tactical maneuvers rather than long-term strategic planning.  The Romantic era of play was followed by the Scientific, Hypermodern, and New Dynamism eras.  In the second half of the 19th century, modern chess tournament play began, and the first official World Chess Championship was held in 1886.   

Checkers was mentioned by the ancient writers Homer and Plato and is much, much older than chess!  Historians now believe that the oldest form of checkers was played around 3,000 B.C.E. It was found by archeologists in an ancient city called Ur in Iraq.

Here is the recipe:

Checkerboard Cake from Sally’s Baking Addiction  

Ingredients

3 and 3/4 cups (443g) sifted all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/2 cups (3 sticks; 345g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

2 cups (400g) granulated sugar

5 large eggs, at room temperature

3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 and 3/4 cups (420ml) buttermilk, at room temperature

1/3 cup (50g) rainbow sprinkles (plus more for garnish)

2–3 drops teal food coloring (or any color)

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

1 and 3/4 cups (3 and 1/2 sticks; 400g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

7 cups (840g) confectioners’ sugar

6 Tablespoons (90ml) heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease and lightly flour four 9-inch cake pans.

Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. 

Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 5 full minutes until creamed together fairly well. 

Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, add 1 whole 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 over mix 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 1/3 cup sprinkles into half and the food coloring into the other half. Pour/spread batter evenly into prepared cake pans.

Bake for around 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.

Using a 6-inch round cookie cutter, 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 4 3-inch circles, 4 6-inch circles (the outlines), and 4 9-inch circles (which are just a thin outline of cake since the centers are missing).

Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy – about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, more cream if frosting is too thick, or a pinch more of salt if frosting is way too sweet.

Assemble the cake:  Place one blue 9-inch outline of cake onto a serving plate or cake stand. Fill with a funfetti 6-inch circle, then a blue circle. Spread frosting evenly on top. Repeat with next layer: 9-inch funfetti filled with 6-inch blue then 3-inch funfetti. 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 with extra sprinkles, if 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 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Here are some pictures from the bake:

 Have a great day !