Pure and simple vanilla cake. Can you really beat 4 layers of fluffy, sweet, and buttery dessert goodness? The answer is yes. Y-e-s, you can. Twist it all up into one seriously mesmerizing checkerboard. So much fun to cut into because the real party is INSIDE the cake!
Checkerboard cake probably seems a like a huge question mark to most. How? Where? WHYYYYY? Some crazy special cake pan? What is going on?! I’m always majorly impressed when I see them, but had no idea how laughably simple they are to prepare. And I think you’ll be surprised too!
And… another side note. Can I admit to you that I used to have zero cake and cupcake decorating skills? I’ve never taken a cake decorating class. I’m no where near as talented as some of you, but here’s why I’m telling you all this: if you feel how I did 1 year ago… frustrated, intimidated, and confused by producing beautiful cake creations… then let me encourage you to just TRY. Just start trying. You’ll get there. Just have your family eat the uglies. (I had a lot of uglies.)
There are a few step-by-step pictures I want to show you, but before we get to all that… watch to see how it all comes to life.
Not so scary, right? Also… I had my friend Ashlee shoot this video for me. And her video version is obviously so much prettier than my own cake (these pictures). Told you… I’m still learning!
Let’s get started on the rundown. You’ll make a four layer vanilla cake. The only thing better than the charming geometric design is the cake’s homemade flavor. I love it. It’s similar to my piñata cake recipe, though I opted for 5 whole eggs instead of whole eggs + egg yolks. It makes things easier and I sort of can’t really tell difference. No offense 2015 Sally.
You’ll need at least two colors of cake to make the checkerboard design. So, divide the batter in half. The batter is about 8 cups total, so 4 cups will be 1 color and 4 cups will be another color. My colors were a pretty aqua shade (the teal color in this kit) and funfetti. Funfetti is a color, right? You can use any two colors you like or only tint half of the cake a color. Like pink + plain batter OR purple + green batter OR funfetti + blue (like I did). Honestly, whatever you want. Perfect for showers, weddings, themed parties, team colors, etc. Heck, you could make a new checkerboard cake every week. I’m sure your skinny jeans would love it.
The frosting is homemade as well. Sweet, silky, buttery, and easy to work with.
Once you have your 4 cake layers baked and the frosting prepared, assemble the cake. This is the fun part and the video above is a wonderful visual to walk you through.
Some Cake Math
You’ll need a 6 inch cookie cutter and a 3 inch cookie cutter. These sizes are perfect for 9 inch cakes because it wouldn’t make any sense to have, say, a 5 inch cookie cutter and a 2 inch cookie cutter. The checkerboard squares wouldn’t be even all throughout the cake. 3 + 6 ensures the squares are 1.5 inches each. (See photo above.) Alternatively, you could make 6 inch cakes and use 4 + 2 inch cookie cutters. However, this homemade batter wouldn’t fit into smaller pans. So 9 + 6 +3 is best using this batter and frosting.
Does that all make sense?
Now you have to just put the puzzle together. You will have 4 3-inch circles, 4 6-inch circles (well, the outlines since the centers are missing), and 4 9-inch circles (which, again, are just a thin outline of cake since the centers are missing). Place the 6 and 3 inch cakes inside the 9 inch cakes, alternating colors. Layer it up with frosting then frost all around the sides.
Cutting into the cake reveals the completely unexpected, yet whimsical and seriously impressive design. It’s absolutely gorgeous. A showstopper, indeed.
Look at you! You just created a cake masterpiece. If I can do this, so can you.
See Your Checkerboard Cakes!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
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Checkerboard Cake
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 25 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 servings
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Checkerboard cake features homemade vanilla layer cake and vanilla buttercream in a checkerboard design. Impress your guests when you reveal the beauty inside this impressive cake!
Ingredients
- 3 and 3/4 cups (443g) sifted all-purpose flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) 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 (396g) 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 four 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- 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 silicone 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 silicone 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 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.
- Use the video above for a visual of this step. 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 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: Again, use the video above for a visual of this step. Place one blue 9-inch outline of cake onto a serving plate, cake stand, or cake turntable. 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.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: 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!
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | 6-inch Round Cookie Cutter | 3-inch Round Cookie Cutter | Cake Stand or Cake Turntable | Icing Spatula | Gel Food Coloring
- Flour: Sift flour before measuring.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 and 3/4 cups. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
Hi Sally my layers came out a little thin. I didn’t have quite 8 cups of batter. What did I do wrong
Hi Rose, these aren’t especially tall layers, since they’re divided between 4 pans. Are your baking powder and baking soda fresh? We find they start to lose their effectiveness after about 3 months of so, even if not technically expired. How was the taste? We hope you enjoyed it!
HELP!!! What did I do wrong? Didn’t quite have 8 cups of batter but that part worked fine. The batter curdled but eventually smoothed out. But some of the sprinkles “melted” into the batter making for some ugliness;bad tie dye . Didn’t have the cutters but did my own which worked fine—lovely crumb. Making the icing and hoping when cutting slices it won’t be too ugly.
Directions perfect. Thank you
I am so excited to try this cake! I am going to bake the cakes on Friday and assemble the cake Saturday morning. This is going to up my cake game big time!!
Should I wrap the full cakes as I bake them, or should I cut the concentric circles and make the layers as in step 6 then wrap those?
Thanks!!
Hi Chrissie, we’d wrap the full layers and then cut out the circles when assembling. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Can this be made with cake flour instead of All Purpose? If so how much in grams would I need to use? I have a bunch of cake flour I am trying to use up haha.
Hi Leo, That’s a great question. While cake flour could work, for best results we recommend sticking to sturdier sifted all-purpose flour for this cake recipe. If you’re interested, here are all of our recipes that use cake flour.
Hi. I just made this with your chocolate sour cream recipe and 1/2 this white cake recipe as suggested for black and white checkers. The chocolate cake yielded bigger layers, almost twice the size. How do I get the layers the same?
Hi R, if the layers are uneven, you can level the tops of the taller cakes using a sharp serrated knife so that they are more even with the shorter layers.
Hi. Do you recommend using cake strips when baking? I recipes I have come across mention using cake strips. Thank you!
Hi R, we don’t personally bake with cake strips, but some bakers swear by them. Feel free to use them if you wish!
Thank you for all your help!!
Hi. I want to make this with the chocolate and vanilla. Can I let the batter of one sit while I make the 2nd batter and bake all 4 layers at the same time? What is the best way to load the cake pans when cooking 4 layers at once?
Hi R, yes, you can leave the prepared batter covered at room temperature while preparing the next batch. Feel free to bake all 4 layers at once, but be sure that they can all fit on the same rack without the sides touching. If they cannot, then bake in separate batches.
Thank you, I am not sure they can fit all on the same rack. If not I can bake the first batch while I make the 2nd batch. Just to confirm, there are 2 center racks, better to bake on the top or bottom center rack?
Hi R, we would go with the lower of the two, so that the tops don’t get burnt. You may need to adjust the bake time by just a minute or two, so keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
If you use 8″ cake pans would you use 5″and3″ cuttrrs
Hi Eulah, if we’re doing the math correctly, for 8-inch cake pans, you’ll also need a 5.4-inch round cutter, and a 2.6 inch cutter. There will likely be too much batter for the 8-inch pans, so only fill them about halfway. Honestly, you may have better luck purchasing 9-inch pans. That’s how the recipe has been tested and we know it works wonderfully!
I was wondering if I can make this with three layers, not four. Should I have two different colors, or three different colors?
Hi Addie! You can make this cake as three layers, if desired. The bake time will be longer for thicker layers. We would try three colors, in that case, but the assembly may be different to get the right pattern. Let us know what you try!
I would like to make this with 3 layers (red, white, and blue checkered). Leaving the cakes in 9 in pans. What would the bake time increase to due to the extra batter in each pan?
Hi Patrick, yes, the bake time will increase with more batter in each pan. Be sure not to fill them any more than half way full. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Would love to make this checker board cake half vanilla and half chocolate — what chocolate recipe do you recommend?
Hi Anne, you could make half of the checkerboard recipe for the vanilla cake, and then use the sour cream version (detailed in the recipe Notes) of our chocolate cake (full recipe, since that only makes 2 layers). Hope it’s a hit!
I am making this cake for my grandson’s 4th Birthday. When I asked what color he wanted the “blue” part to be, I expected him to say “blue” (his favorite color) but he said CHOCOLATE – HELP! How would I adapt the recipe to make half chocolate? He also wants dark chocolate frosting; I will dig through your wonderful recipes to find one.
Hi Kat, you could make half of the checkerboard recipe for the vanilla cake, and then use the sour cream version (detailed in the recipe Notes) of our chocolate cake (full recipe, since that only makes 2 layers). Hope it’s a hit!
This is such a great recipe! I used this post and your chocolate and vanilla cake recipes, and it was delicious—and looked great. I’d like to make a Neapolitan cake using your strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla recipes. Would you be able to provide any guidance on the assembly of three colors rather than two? Thank you so much!
Hi Rebecca, If you are using one layer of each flavor, you can use the same measurements for a three layer cake (9 inch cakes and cut a 6 inch circle and a 3 inch circle). We don’t have a Neapolitan one to show you but if you search for a “Neapolitan checkerboard cake” you can see examples of what it would look like. Let us know if you give it a try!
Thank you very much! I really your help, and I definitely will.
Hi can this be made in a square pan? If so what size
Hi Asheema, here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes.
Looking forward to trying this recipe! One question about the frosting before we embark upon the project – do you have an estimate for what percentage of the frosting would go on the outsides vs as the “mortar” inside the cake between layers? We’re doing a chocolate/vanilla checker and figured that the inside frosting could be chocolate and the outside be vanilla, but I don’t know how much of that frosting would then be proportioned out to add cocoa powder and turn it into chocolate.
Hi Ell, we typically use about 1 cup to 1 and 1/2 cups of frosting between our cake layers, with the remaining for the outside. Of course, you can use more/less depending on how heavily you’d like to frost the outside and how thick you’d like the frosting between the layers. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Can this checkered design be made with 3 layers-2 vanilla and 1 chocolate? TIA!
We’re sure you could!
Another 5 star recipe! I used 9in pans and used Christmas colors and it turned out beautiful. Thank you Sally
Hi Sally, I have 8 in cake pans. What size cookie cutters should I use to ensure a successful checkerboard pattern? Love all your recipes and guidance!!
Hi Eileen, if I’m doing the math correctly, for 8 inch cake pans, you’ll also need a 5.4-inch round cutter, and a 2.6 inch cutter. There will likely be too much batter for the 8-inch pans, so only fill them about halfway. Honestly, you may have better luck purchasing 9-inch pans. That’s how the recipe has been tested and I know it works wonderfully!
If using smaller pans than what the recipe calls for, why not put the extra batter in cupcake pans?
Hi Sally, I love your recipes and I am excited to try this out for an upcoming Friendsgiving! I want to make this cake with flavours – I was thinking orange and cardamom and then dying the orange sponge to match the flavour. Can you please advise on measurements for the flavourings? i.e. 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1 teaspoon of orange zest/…or juice?? What do you think? Would above-mentioned additions jeopardize the structure of the cake? As well, what flavour icing would you recommend? I was thinking to go simple with vanilla frosting. Hope to hear from you soon, my party is on Saturday! 🙂
Hi Aliya, what a fun and delicious idea! The amount of flavorings can really vary depending on how heavily you’d like the flavors to come through. We’d start with around 1 teaspoon of cardamom and then 1-2 teaspoons of orange zest. Orange juice can be a bit tricky, as you’d need to add quite a bit for the flavor to come through and you don’t want to add too much additional liquid to the batter. You could also try an orange extract or essence. We’d go with a simple vanilla buttercream or Swiss meringue buttercream. Let us know how it goes for you!