Checkered Cake

Copyright 2010 keikos-cake.com All Rights Reserved

Checkered Cake
Published by: PastryFriends.com Kronenburger Str. 28 50935 Cologne Germany
Contact: keiko@pastryfriends.com Website: http://keikos-cake.com http://PastryFriends.com Copyright 2010 keikos-cake.com. All rights are reserved. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. This e-book is for you, only. Dont share the e-book or any of its content. Note: This e-book is optimized for viewing on a computer screen, but it is organized so you can also print it out and assemble it as a book. Since the text is optimized for screen viewing, the type is larger than that in usual printed books.

Ingredients
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 Egg white 230 g Sugar 200 g Water 50 ml

(14.1 oz.) (8.1 oz.) (7.1 oz.)

Chocolate glaze Dark couverture Heavy cream

300 g 370 ml

(10.6 oz.)

Tips about measuring ingredients: http://keikos-cake.com/lessons/lesson-measuring-ingredients/

I use a 18 cm (7.1 inches) diameter pan for the checkered cake. If youre using a different size, multiply all amounts (ingredients) with the factor from the table below.

Your cake pan

(diameter in cm)

Your cake pan

(diameter in inches)

Example: If you are using a 21 cm pan, multiply all amounts with a factor of 1.36 If you are using a 6 cake pan, multiply all amounts with a factor of 0.71 Etc. This way, your cake will have the same height as mine.

My cake pan

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm cm

0,44 0,52 0,60 0,69 0,79 0,89 1,00 1,11 1,23 1,36 1,49 1,63 1,78 1,93

5,0 5,5 6,0 6,5 7,0 7,5 8,0 8,5 9,0 9,5 10,0

" " " " " " " " " " "

0,50 0,60 0,71 0,84 0,97 1,12 1,27 1,43 1,61 1,79 1,98

Factor

Factor

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)
Note: Dont forget to watch the accompanying video

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 38-40C (100-104F), then take the bowl away from heat. You dont 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.

Copyright 2010 keikos-cake.com All Rights Reserved

Fold in the sifted flour and corn starch.

Add the warm milk and melted butter and mix with a spatula. Dont 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 190C (374F). 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 Diameter (small ring): 6 cm
(4.7 inches) (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.

Lets 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 117-120C (243-248F), pour it into the egg white. Keep mixing until the meringue cooled down. If you dont have a thermometer to measure the temperature, observe the consistency of the syrup. Its 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 its 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.

Copyright 2010 keikos-cake.com All Rights Reserved

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

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