Game of Chess?

It's Monday which means it's a new recipe day!

As a baker, I am obviously a big fan of the Great British Bake Off, and I often find that I get a lot of recipes from there. One of my favourites to make is the Chessboard Cake, which was featured as a Showstopper a few years ago. Now, you'd think that as a baker I'd be sick of the sight of sponge, but I'm far from it. There's just so many different things you can do-it's so versatile, you can flavour it however you want, you can cut it into any shape you want, and you can make a lot out of it!

When I bought the The Great British Bake Off: How to turn everyday bakes into showstoppers book, this recipe was one of the first to catch my eye. It looks so elegant and impressive, and rather complex, but its actually so easy and mess-free that it's one of my go to cakes when I'm asked to bake something for an event or celebration. Give this a try next time you're in the kitchen, and trust me, you'll soon have flocks of people asking you to make it for their next party or get together!



So here's the recipe!

Cake:
350g butter, at room temperature
350g caster sugar
3 tsp vanilla
6 eggs
350g self raising flour
pinch of salt
50g cocoa powder
4 tbs milk

Ganache:
300g Dark Chocolate
300g Whipping Cream

Method: 
Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C and line 3 eight inch cake tins with parchment paper. In an electric mixer (or by hand) beat the butter and sugar together for several minutes until its thick and creamy.

Add the vanilla and then the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Sift in the flour and salt and fold by hand until combined. Put half the batter in a separate bowl and sift in the cocoa powder and two tablespoons of the milk. Stir in 2 tablespoons of milk in the vanilla batter.

Put the two batters into separate piping bags. Pipe a ring of chocolate around the outside of two of the tins, then pipe a ring of vanilla. Keep alternating until the pans are full. In the third tin start with the vanilla first.

Bake for 22-25 minutes (12-15 minutes for a small cake) until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer onto a cooling wire to cool.

To make the ganache heat the cream until near boiling and pour over the chopped chocolate. Leave for a few minutes then fold the mixture until all of the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth and glossy. Leave to cool until spreadable and use to fill and frost your cake.

And voila! A simple showstopper that will have your friends and family thinking you're a baking genius!
Charley.

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