Chocolate And Vanilla Checkered Flag Cake Recipes

CHOCOLATE CHECKERBOARD CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour bottoms and sides of three 9-inch round pans of checkerboard cake set. Place divider ring in one of the pans, following manufacturer's directions.
• In medium bowl, beat cake mix, milk, cream cheese, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly, then on medium speed 2 minutes. Divide batter in half; stir cocoa into half of the batter.
• Spoon batter into each pan and using divider ring, following manufacturer's directions.
• Bake 18 to 26 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen side of each cake from pan with metal spatula; turn upside down onto cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Using a thin layer of frosting between layers, stack cake layers so outside colors of cake alternate. Place cake on serving plate; frost side and top of cake with frosting. Store loosely covered.

FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch rectangular baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and coat again with the spray.
• Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
• Beat the granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time until combined, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and beat in one-third of the flour mixture until just combined. Beat in half the buttermilk and then repeat, adding the flour in 2 more increments and alternating with the second half of the buttermilk. Stir in the sprinkles. Transfer to the prepared pan and spread the batter evenly. Bake until the cake is golden brown and the top springs back to a light touch, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in the pan.
• Run a small knife around the edges of the cake to release the sides and turn the cake out onto a baking sheet. Remove the parchment paper and then flip again onto a serving platter or cutting board so the top of the cake is back on top. Cool completely before frosting.
• For the frosting: Beat the butter and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the white chocolate and beat until fluffy. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until very smooth and fluffy.
• Transfer 1/2 cup of the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a small rosette tip. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
• For the garnish: Place the blueberries in 6 rows of 6 berries each in the top left-hand corner of the cake. Trim and halve the strawberries lengthwise and make 4 rows of strawberries across the cake. Pipe stars between the blueberries and use the remaining frosting to pipe a border around the bottom of the cake. Brush the berries with the melted jelly. Cut and serve.

WAVING FLAG CAKE

Steps:

• Combine 1 package cream cheese, 2/3 cup of the confectioners' sugar and 1 tablespoon of the vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on medium until light and airy, about 2 minutes. Turn the mixer speed to low and stream in 1 quart heavy cream. Mix until incorporated; scrape the sides then increase the mixer speed to high and whip to stiff peaks, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and repeat with the remaining cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cream. Add the mixture to the large bowl.
• Transfer 1/2 cup of the cream mixture to a small bowl and color it with 4 drops of the blue food coloring. Transfer 1 1/4 cups of the cream mixture to a medium bowl and color it with 8 drops of the red food coloring. Transfer 1 3/4 cups of the cream mixture to a second medium bowl (do not color it). Cover all 4 bowls and refrigerate while you assemble the cake.
• Split the angel food cakes in half horizontally using a long, serrated knife. Keeping the layers stacked, cut each cake in half vertically. Arrange 2 of the stacked halves from one cake on a large platter or cake board so that they create an S shape; slide the ends so they are slightly offset. Repeat with the second cake, nestling the halves up against those of the first cake so that together they resemble a thick curved line. (There will be some gaps between the cakes.) Repeat with the third cake.
• Trim the edges of the arches along the short ends of the cake to create a more or less straight line (these will be the ends of the flag). Use half of the cake scraps to fill in the holes between the cake stacks. Reserve the other half of the scraps.
• Remove the top pieces from the cake stacks and set them aside. Spread the bottom pieces with 3 cups of the undyed cream mixture in the large bowl. Scatter the strawberries and blueberries on top. Dollop with 3 more cups of the cream mixture and spread it evenly. Top with the reserved top cake pieces. Fill in the gaps between the cake stacks with the remaining cake scraps. Cover the sides and the top of the cake with the remaining cream mixture in the large bowl.
• Transfer the blue cream mixture and 1/2 cup of the reserved white cream mixture (from the medium bowl) to separate pastry bags fitted with large star tips. Transfer the red cream mixture and the remainder of the reserved white cream mixture (from the medium bowl) to separate pastry bags fitted with large round tips.
• For the stars: Pipe a blue star in the upper left corner of the cake; use a small offset spatula to press down in the center of the star and then drag the spatula to the right to create a short smear. Wipe the spatula clean. Pipe a white star next to the blue one and repeat the pressing and dragging motion; wipe the spatula clean. Repeat piping and dragging stars in alternating colors, wiping the spatula clean between each, to make 3 rows of stars in the upper left corner of the cake.
• For the stripes: Use the same piping and dragging technique to create red and white stripes, but pipe dots with the pastry bags fitted with the round tips instead of the ones with stars.

CHOCOLATE & VANILLA CELEBRATION CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil three 20cm cake tins and line with baking parchment. Weigh out the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb and sugar into a large bowl, add a pinch of salt and whisk gently to combine. Shake the bowl to bring any lumps of sugar to the surface and squeeze these with your fingertips.
• Measure the oil, milk, vinegar, coffee and vanilla into a jug, then add the eggs and whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a whisk until smooth, making sure there are no pockets of flour at the bottom of the bowl - the mixture will be quite runny. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared tins, then bake on the middle shelf of the oven (or middle and top if they don't all fit on one shelf) for 25 mins. Swap the tins around and bake 5 mins more.
• Check the cakes are cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre of each - if any wet batter clings to the skewer, return the tins to the oven for another 5 mins, then check again. Leave to cool in the tins for 30 mins, then turn the sponges out onto wire racks to cool completely. If making ahead, wrap the cooled sponges well and store in an airtight container for up to three days, or the freezer for up to two months.
• For the buttercream, beat the butter using an electric whisk or in a stand mixer for a few minutes until smooth and creamy. Add half the icing sugar and beat again to combine. Add the remaining icing sugar, the vanilla and 4 tbsp milk and beat again to combine, adding a splash more milk if needed to make a smooth, fluffy buttercream. Divide between three bowls. Add a few drops of different food colouring paste to each bowl, then mix well - we used pastel pink, purple and yellow.
• Spoon the coloured buttercream mixtures into three separate piping bags and snip off the tips. Pipe a dot of buttercream onto a cake stand or board and place a sponge on top to help keep it in place. Pipe small blobs of purple buttercream all over the top of the sponge by holding the piping bag directly above the cake, about ½cm from the surface, and squeezing the bag while pulling upwards to create a small peak.
• Place the second sponge on top, then repeat the process with the pink buttercream. Add the third sponge on top, then neatly pipe blobs of yellow buttercream over the surface. Decorate with edible flowers, sugared almonds or mini chocolate eggs, if you like. Will keep in a tin at room temperature for up to five days.