Check Mate!!

 It was my Nephew's 10th birthday. I had been asked to bake him a cake, and I knew it had to be something special! I had seen a few chess board cakes on the internet and thought I'd give it a try!
(Warning: this cake took me fourteen hours.  Do not attempt if you want a quick bake!!)  For the first time since embarking on my baking journey, I threw a baking induced wobbly!  I made a few measuring errors that, if I were to do it again, I would need to either buy a bigger cake tin, or smaller chess square moulds! But anyway... let me start off right at the beginning (I've heard its a very good place to start)!
First of all, you need some chess piece and square moulds. I got mine on Amazon and they weren't overly expensive.  This is where choosing the size of your squares is important.  A standard chess board is eight squares by eight squares.  I had a twelve inch cake tin.  The squares I ordered were an inch and three quarters. Now, for all you mathematicians out there you will quickly find that that does not calculate! And so, I had to build a wall of chocolate to balance the outer chocolate squares that did not fit on the cake.

It would be a good idea to begin making the chocolate chess pieces and squares a few days before you need them.  I started the night before and I could have done with starting at least one day before this!


Once you have baked your cake, using your favourite chocolate recipe, you will be ready to decorate.  For my chocolate recipe, see this cake, and double the recipe to fit the twelve inch cake tin.

Now is the time to channel your inner brick layer.  The chocolate squares are your bricks, your chocolate frosting is your cement.  First of all, start at the left hand corner of the cake and lay a white square down. Then begin to build your checkerboard alternating between black and white.  Once you have made your checkerboard you can either pipe a fancy boarder around the edge, or you can continue your checkerboard pattern round the edges of the cake, which add stability to the chess board, (chocolate is surprisingly heavy)!

Once set, its time to lay your pieces down, and get playing! Enjoy!!!