You don’t have to be a fan of strategy games to enjoy this type of chess — our magnificent cake will certainly have you coming back for another slice of the action. While the chocolate ganache coating looks impressive enough on its own, a quick peak inside our delicious dessert reveals why it’s known as the Chessboard Cake.
Chessboard Cake
A creative dessert for special occasions that looks like a chessboard when sliced.
Equipment
- 7 inch springform pan
- 2 inch and 5 inch cookie cutters
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour for light batter
- 14 oz soft butter for light batter
- 1 cups sugar for light batter
- 8 eggs for light batter
- 2 pinches baking powder for light batter
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract for light batter
- 1 pinch salt for light batter
- 2 cups flour for dark batter
- 14 oz soft butter for dark batter
- 1 cups sugar for dark batter
- 8 eggs for dark batter
- 2 pinches baking powder for dark batter
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract for dark batter
- 1 pinch salt for dark batter
- 1 cup cocoa powder for dark batter
- 35 oz milk chocolate couverture for ganache
- 11 fl oz warm cream for ganache
Instructions
- Mix the flour, butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir the ingredients to form the dough.
- Mix the flour, butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder, vanilla extract, salt, and cocoa powder. Stir the ingredients to form the dough.
- Fill the light and dark cake mix into two separate greased springform pans that are covered in baking parchment and bake them for approximately 60 minutes at 320°F in a convection oven.
- Remove both cakes from their pans and cut them in half horizontally using a breadknife. You should now have four separate slices of cake. Also cut the "top" away from both cakes so that they have a nice flat surface.
- Use cookie cutters to cut rings into each of the four slices of cake. Replace the rings with those of a different color to create a black-and-white pattern.
- Grate the chocolate into a large bowl. Heat up the cream, but avoid boiling it. Pour the warm cream on top of the chocolate and let it melt for 2-3 minutes. Stir the mixture with a whisk until the cream and chocolate bind. Let the ganache sit for at least five hours in a cool place.
- Spread a thin layer of ganache onto the first slice. Place the next slice on top and spread more ganache. Repeat until all slices are stacked. Spread the remaining ganache around the entire cake. Refrigerate for one hour.
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Sure, it’ll take a bit of time to make this cake, but the finger-licking results will be worth it. Of course, the biggest surprise for your guests will be seeing the smart chessboard design after cutting through the ganache — wow!