This Checkerboard Cake with Cake Batter Frosting has that vanilla confetti flavor AND the structure to make an easy-to-assemble masterpiece! Better yet, this layered cake has the goods: cake batter frosting made with homemade cake mix!
I need to do more baking challenges. They’re fun, especially when the challenge is to make a sprinkle filled vanilla cake!
I’ve done checkerboard cakes before, like in March with my Groovy Green Cake, but I’ve never done it like this. Back in March I checkered the cake in the pre-baking process. Using the rings, I piped in the cake batter and then baked the cake. Here, I baked the different colored cakes and then I cut out the rings. What’s the verdict? The latter method of post-baking cutting is easier and less messy. You have more control over the evenness of cake layers and the checkerboard layers line up better.
Here, I participated in Sally’s Baking Addiction Challenge. I didn’t make the cake exactly as directed. When it comes down to it, my kitchen real estate is limited. I can’t fit two more 9-inch cake pans or any cake rings. In stead, I used my 8-inch cake pans and the ring templates from my checkerboard cake pan set.
This cake is perfectly delicate, yet holds up to slicing. Buttermilk provides tenderness while an ample hit of vanilla leaves a wonderful floral note. I won’t go into too much detail, you can find the recipe here.
I will talk about is the frosting. Cake batter frosting. Stop searching, no Pinterest or Google searching will find a comparable recipe.
What makes this Cake Batter Frosting recipe different?
Homemade cake mix. Generally, cake batter frosting has anywhere from 2 cups of dry cake mix to 2 cups of buttercream, and I kept that ratio of 3 cups of cake mix to 3 cups of frosting.
I replicated the taste and texture of cake mix. Cake flour makes for that silky batter consistency. The corn starch in cake flour prevents gumminess that would occur with all-purpose flour. I kept baking powder in the mix, not for it’s leavening power, but for its alkaline flavor that comes with consuming raw dough.
A few drops of yellow dye yields that buttery yellow cake color and sprinkles amp up the texture. Differentiation between cake batter and this Cake Batter Frosting will be impossible!
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- For the Cake Mix:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup dry milk powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- For the Cake Batter Frosting:
- 2 ½ cups (5 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 6 to 7 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 3 to 5 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 batch cake mix (recipe follows)
- 3 to 4 drops yellow food dye
- ½ cup rainbow sprinkles
- Sift all ingredients together
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter on a medium speed until smooth, about 45 seconds. With mixer on low, gradually add in powdered sugar followed by salt. Add in heavy cream, a tablespoon at a time. Beat in vanilla. Scrape bowl and paddle down as needed. Add in cake mix in three batches. Tint frosting with yellow dye until a pale shade is reached. Raise speed to medium-high and beat until smooth and lump free, about 3 minutes. Add in sprinkles. Refrigerate until ready to use.