Checkered Cake

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Checkered Cake
Published by:
PastryFriends.com
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50935 Cologne – Germany

Contact:
keiko@pastryfriends.com

Website:
http://keikos-cake.com
http://PastryFriends.com
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 You find the video of making the checkered cake here:
http://keikos-cake.com/recipes/checkered-cake VIDEO
Note: You must be logged into your member account to view the video.

White sponge cake

Egg 190 g (6.7 oz.)
Sugar 110 g (3.9 oz.)
Flour 70 g (2.5 oz.)
Corn starch 20 g (0.7 oz.)
Butter 30 g (1.1 oz.)
Milk 20 ml

Black sponge cake

Egg 190 g (6.7 oz.)
Sugar 110 g (3.9 oz.)
Flour 60 g (2.1 oz.)
Corn starch 10 g (0.35 oz.)
Cocoa powder 20 g (0.7 oz.)
Butter 20 g (0.7 oz.)
Milk 20 ml

Buttercream
Butter 400 g (14.1 oz.)
Egg white 230 g (8.1 oz.) Chocolate glaze
Sugar 200 g (7.1 oz.) Dark couverture 300 g (10.6 oz.)
Water 50 ml Heavy cream 370 ml
First, prepare the cake pan. Cut out stripes of
baking paper for the sides and a round sheet
of baking paper for the bottom.

For the checkered cake you need to bake two

sponge cakes, a white one and a black one.
Prepare and bake one sponge cake after the
other.

Diameter: 18 cm (7.1 inches)

Sponge Cake

Start mixing the eggs and sugar in a large bowl

over a double boiler (saucepan with boiling
water).

Keep mixing until the mixture reaches 38-40°C

(100-104°F), then take the bowl away from
heat.

You don‘t need a thermometer, just check with

a finger that the temperature is slightly above
body temperature.
Keep beating the eggs until the mixture is very
light and foamy. This takes time, so be patient.

You will also notice that the color changes from

orange to yellow and (almost) white.
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Fold in the sifted flour and corn starch.

Add the warm milk and melted butter and mix

with a spatula. Don‘t overmix or the batter will
lose its foamy consistency.
Pour the sponge cake batter into the cake pan
and tap the pan on the table to release large
air bubbles in the batter.

Bake for 25-30 minutes in your pre-heated

oven at 190°C (374°F).

While the white sponge cake is in the oven,

start preparing the black sponge cake. The
steps are exactly the same, except that you
add cocoa powder together with the flour and
corn starch.
After baking, invert the sponge cake(s) on a
cake cooler. Let them cool down completely.

You now have the two sponge cakes for the

checkered cake…
Trim the top of each sponge cake, then cut it
into three slices using a large knife (with
serrated edge).

If you find it hard to slice the cake accurately,

you can use a tool called „layered cake cutter“
for this.
Next, use a large and a small ring to cut the
shapes into the sponge cake slices.

Diameter (large ring): 12 cm (4.7 inches)

Diameter (small ring): 6 cm (2.4 inches)

Replace the middle rings from the white

sponge sheets with the middle rings from the
black sponge sheets (and vice versa).

Stack the sponge sheet layers and put them

aside. Next, we need to prepare the
buttercream…
Buttercream

We prepare a basic buttercream by mixing

meringue with whipped butter.

Let‘s start with the meringue…

Whip the egg whites in a clean metal bowl. At

the same time, bring the sugar syrup to a boil.
Keep beating the egg whites to stiff peaks.

Also keep an eye on the boiling sugar syrup.

When the syrup reaches 117-120°C

(243-248°F), pour it into the egg white. Keep
mixing until the meringue cooled down.

If you don‘t have a thermometer to measure

the temperature, observe the consistency of
the syrup. It‘s ready to use when it thickens
and builds large bubbles. It still must be liquid
enough to mix with the egg white.
Copyright © 2010 – keikos-cake.com – All Rights Reserved
Whip the soft(!) butter with your electric mixer
until it becomes fluffy and almost white. This
takes several minutes, so be patient.

Fold the meringue into the whipped butter in

three steps. Mix until you get a uniform
consistency.
Now it‘s time to assemble the checkered cake.

Start with the bottom outer ring and add one

ring after the other, using the buttercream to
„glue“ the pieces together. Without the
buttercream, the cake would fall appart, when
you cut the pieces, later. 

Add a thin layer of buttercream on top of each

sponge cake layer.
After stacking all six layers of sponge cake
rings, coat the top and sides with buttercream.

Start with the top, then work on the sides.

First, coat the cake with a thin layer of

buttercream to cover the gaps…
…then, add a thicker layer on top (top and
sides of the cake).

Smooth the sides with a dough scraper.

Finally, smooth the top with strokes from the

side to the center (blue arrow).

Put the cake in the freezer for at least two

hours.
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Chocolate glaze

Heat the heavy cream, then add it to the

chopped couverture in a large metal bowl.

Stir the mixture until the couverture fully

dissolved in the heavy cream. Then, stir a little
more, just to be sure. 

Set aside for cooling.

Wait until the chocolate glaze cooled down a
little and thickened.

Take the checkered cake out of the freezer and

place it on a cake cooler (grid) on top of a
large bowl.

Pour the chocolate glaze over the cake and

the sides of the cake.
Level the surface with a palette knife, then wait
until the chocolate glaze solidifies.

Carefully place the cake on a cake plate and

decorate as you like. I use beat gold and thin
plates of tempered dark couverture.
Copyright © 2010 – keikos-cake.com – All Rights Reserved