Perfect squares of multicolored cake in every slice is the magic of the checkerboard cake!
The checkerboard cake was one of the best selling cakes in my bakery
And would you believe me if I told you it’s easy as two recipes and two cookie cutters!
Winter wonderland with a Christmas tree forest for the decor
This year’s checkerboard cake is perfect for winter!
My famous vegan vanilla cake recipe takes on color really beautifully
Using spirulina for a more natural food color in graduating shades of green
The spirulina also worked great for coloring the white chocolate to make the pine tree forest!
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Notes for Success
For any chocolate decor that is not going to be refrigerated you must temper the chocolate
Unless of course you take the easy route and use what is called Summer Coating or Non Tempering Chocolate
Such as King David, the brand that I use *not sponsored
Coloring white chocolate can be disastrous!
So be sure to add a bit of warmed vegetable oil to it for best results *see recipe notes below
Keep in mind that a checkerboard cake needs very little filling
Otherwise you will have a giant mess oozing out of all the little squares and you will lose the design quickly to too much filling
The checkerboard design can only be achieved using four layers of cake
Each layer gets cut out with cookie cutters and then rearranged like a puzzle with alternating colors
The video tutorial shows the best visual description for how to cut the layers
You will need a 4″ cookie cutter and a 2″ cookie cutter for 6″ layers
My famous vanilla cake recipe is made with flax meal as the egg replacer
Some people do not like that the specks of flax show through the batter
You can replace the flax meal with any dry blend egg replacer of your choice with great results!
Notice the recipe listed below makes 4 ~perfect 6″ layers
For those wanting to make a larger cake double the recipe for 8″ layers or triple the recipe for 10″ layers
Winter Wonderland Checkerboard Cake
The cake recipe linked below will make 4 perfect 6" layers, for a larger 8" cake you will double the recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Recipe Vanilla Cake
- Green food color/ natural or gel paste as needed
- 1 Recipe Buttercream
FOR THE TREE DECOR:
- 8oz Vegan White Chocolate
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp spirulina
- OR a couple drops green dye
- Skewers or Pretzel sticks as needed
- Vegan Sprinkles as needed
Instructions
- Prepare the vanilla cake recipe as per the instructions on that page
- Divide the batter equally into 4 small bowls and add food color to your liking
- I used Spirulina as the food color this time , matcha powder works great too
- Bake the cakes in greased & parchment lined 6" cake pans for approximately 25-30 minutes or when they are springy to the touch when you gently press the centers
- Cool the cakes in the pans until you can touch them without burning yourself then turn them out onto a cooling rack, remove the parchment paper cool completely
- Prepare the buttercream recipe as per the instructions on that post
- Build your cake as shown in the video tutorial for how to cut your layers for the checkerboard design
- Decorate the finished cake with sprinkles and the white chocolate trees decor
- For the chocolate trees: Melt the vegan white chocolate & reserve.
- Warm the vegetable oil and mix it with the spirulina or the green dye, whisk smooth
- Add the melted white chocolate, whisk smooth use immediately as shown in the video
Notes
Checkerboard cake with buttercream filling & icing can be stored at room temperature for 3 days or up to 1 week in the refrigerator wrapped to prevent drying.
Cake can be frozen for up to 1 month wrapped well