I don’t know about you, but I have accumulated quite a few kitchen gadgets over the years. Some come to me as gifts, others I have purchased myself because I was sure I couldn’t live without it. Haven’t we all been there? Of course, some of those gadgets that were purchased with the best of intentions have still never been used. Maybe someday. Today, I decided to break out one of the gadgets that my mother had given to me, a checkerboard cake pan set. With the fourth of July holiday coming, I thought it would be fun to make a red, white and blue checkerboard cake. If you are looking for a dessert for your upcoming picnic, then this patriotic cake is calling your name!

The Checkerboard Cake Pan

There are a couple of tools that you will need to have on hand, one being necessary, the others not so much. Let’s start with the necessity. While maybe not impossible, it would be much more difficult to make a checkerboard cake without a checkerboard cake insert. And why make things more difficult? This cake is all about keeping it simple! There are many different brands to choose from, but they all do the same thing. It allows you to place batter of different colors into one pan while keeping them separated. Some inserts come as a standalone product, while others come with the pan. I had to use the 8 inch pans that came with the insert because it would not fit my 9 inch pans.

Other helpful Tools

As for other helpful (but not mandatory) tools or gadgets, you need a mixer and a piping set. I prefer to use a stand mixer for just about any baking because it is easier, but a hand mixer would work too. I would not recommend mixing by hand, but if a whisk is all you have, just give it lots of extra elbow grease! A piping set will help you to make lots of different designs. They really are worth the purchase. You can also use a cookie press that comes with different tips as long as your icing isn’t too thick (been there!). If you have none of the above, you can use a freezer bag and just cut a small hole in it. Not as fancy, but it would get the job done.

Building a red, white and blue checkerboard cake

This cake begins with a white cake mix. Yes, I said a mix. Don’t get me wrong, I love to make things from scratch, but there are times when you have to think about the big picture. In this case, I knew that I was going to be doing a lot of coloring and decorating, so I didn’t want to spend a lot of time making the cake itself. I did swap out the water with unsweetened vanilla almond milk to make it more rich and improve the flavor. If you are truly against using a boxed mix, then by all means start from scratch. Just be sure that the recipe makes enough for three 8 inch pans and is for white cake. You can find a great recipe here. Trust me when I say though that nobody will know it is from a box.

You will need two boxes to make sure that you have enough mix. Once you have prepared the batter according to the box directions (except for adding milk instead of water), divide the batter into three bowls so that you can add some color. Obviously, one bowl will stay white so you can go ahead and set one aside.

Make it Colorful

Now we need to have a little discussion about coloring the cake. While I am willing to use a boxed cake mix from time to time, I am not okay with loading a cake up with artificial coloring. I mean, have you read all of the research about artificial coloring and what it is really made of? No thanks. If you have kids, then you might already be steering clear of the stuff. If not, then maybe it is time to make a switch. There are great alternatives such as natural food coloring or even food (like beets!). You can make it yourself or buy it online. That being said, there is one catch. You must be willing to accept that natural food coloring simply will not yield you the same bright colors as artificial. It just won’t happen. But I think the trade off is worth it and your body will thank you. This cake may not be a bold red, white and blue but it reminds me of a slightly faded flag that you would find everywhere in an old country store. Still beautiful!

Once you have mixed the red in one bowl and the blue in another to the desired hue, it is time to start building the cake. You will most likely only have one insert so that means one pan at a time. Your insert should come with directions to help make the process easier, but basically you are just alternating colors. There are three colors in this cake so feel free to alternate however you choose! It is always fun to cut into it and see what you created! I made two pans with red on the outside and blue in the middle, then one with blue on the outside and red in the middle. But you can definitely make each pan different. They look so cool when they are ready!

How It Comes Together

Once you have baked the cakes, allow them to cool completely. While they are cooling you can start to work on the frosting. You will need a good bit in order to frost three layers and have enough left to pipe. Better to have too much than not enough! I used a simple vanilla buttercream. It is rich and thick enough to pipe. While it is hard to get a pure white, if you use clear vanilla it will be very close. You can also adjust the powdered sugar to make it a little more white as well.

Just like the cake batter, you simply divide the frosting into three bowls and add your red to one and blue to another until you get the desired shade. How you pipe the colors is entirely up to you. I chose to keep the base of the color white and then pipe all three colors using a star tip in a pattern. This makes it simple yet classy. I am not personally a fan of huge globs of frosting, so I think less is more. But that is just me of course. Let your creativity soar and make your red, white and blue checkerboard cake your own! Happy baking and happy Independence Day!