Croatian Checkerboard Cake
A cake to celebrate my daughter's 16th birthday and Croatia playing in the 2018 World Cup Final.
The 15th July, 2018 was a huge day in our house. Not only was it my daughter's 16th birthday that day, but Croatia played in the World Cup Final that day.
For my daughter I had a family party. My kids have been blessed with a large family, each year my family just shows up on the day, no invitations needed. My mum, dad, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, kumovi, and all their families, fill my house with love and laughter, I love it, my kids love it.
For my daughter I had a family party. My kids have been blessed with a large family, each year my family just shows up on the day, no invitations needed. My mum, dad, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, kumovi, and all their families, fill my house with love and laughter, I love it, my kids love it.
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Croatia playing in the World Cup Final was a huge thing for every Croatian worldwide. After my daughter's party we got to sit back in the early morning and watch Croatia play in their first ever world cup final. Now although Croatia did not win the final, they made us all proud, they won the hearts of so many with there never give up attitude throughout the whole tournament. Watching how Croatia celebrated after the final was amazing. It was a great moment in time for all Croatians.
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Now to celebrate this moment I had to come up with a great cake. One that was pretty on the outside, for my daughter's birthday, but one that celebrated the Croatian football team on the inside. I think I nailed it. I did a red velvet cake and a white velvet cake but made it in a checkerboard style. The icing was a white chocolate ganache. I decorated it with red and white roses for the beauty that is my daughter and to represent the colours of Croatian football. The inside, the red and white checkerboard cake was to represent the Croatian 'kockice'.
It's nearly two years since this moment, I still watch the highlights of the games and celebrations afterwards, it brings a smile to my face, every time.
Now I wasn't born in Croatia (my parents and husband were), but when I go there and I visit my parents childhood homes, I feel I am home, it is where I am from, it is my heritage. For those of us not born there, being Croatian is a feeling, it is felt when you get told stories from your parents about their childhood, it's in the traditional food we cook, it is in our language, it is in our music. My kids feel exactly the same way. Being Croatian is something I am proud of.
Now I made this with my red velvet cake recipe, just modified, for instance I took out the cocoa from both cakes and also didn't add red food colouring to the white one. But this would also work well with white chocolate mud cakes.
Recently I watched a documentary about Croatia and the World Cup and it reminded me that I never posted the cake recipe, so here it is, the cake I made to celebrate two great moments in my life.
Now I wasn't born in Croatia (my parents and husband were), but when I go there and I visit my parents childhood homes, I feel I am home, it is where I am from, it is my heritage. For those of us not born there, being Croatian is a feeling, it is felt when you get told stories from your parents about their childhood, it's in the traditional food we cook, it is in our language, it is in our music. My kids feel exactly the same way. Being Croatian is something I am proud of.
Now I made this with my red velvet cake recipe, just modified, for instance I took out the cocoa from both cakes and also didn't add red food colouring to the white one. But this would also work well with white chocolate mud cakes.
Recently I watched a documentary about Croatia and the World Cup and it reminded me that I never posted the cake recipe, so here it is, the cake I made to celebrate two great moments in my life.
Recipe
Red Velvet Cake:
you need to make two of these
225g unsalted butter, softened
275g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
300g self raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk
1/4 cup (60ml) red food colouring
White Velvet Cake:
you need to make two of these
225g unsalted butter, softened
275g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
300g self raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk
White Chocolate Ganache:
2 cups (500ml) thick cream
1.2kg white chocolate, chopped coarsely
you need to make two of these
225g unsalted butter, softened
275g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
300g self raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk
1/4 cup (60ml) red food colouring
White Velvet Cake:
you need to make two of these
225g unsalted butter, softened
275g caster sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
300g self raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup (180ml) buttermilk
White Chocolate Ganache:
2 cups (500ml) thick cream
1.2kg white chocolate, chopped coarsely
Make the red velvet cakes: Preheat oven to 160C. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm round cake pan with baking paper. Make sure the baking paper extends 5cm higher than the tin.
Using a large bowl of an electric mixer, place the butter, sugar and vanilla, beat on medium speed for 8-10 minutes, scraping down the sides every few minutes, until the mixture is pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down the sides after each addition.
Add the flour, buttermilk and food colouring, beat on low speed until just combined. Spoon the batter into your prepared cake tin, spread it out gently and smooth the top with a spoon or palette knife.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes-1 hour and 30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.
Using a large bowl of an electric mixer, place the butter, sugar and vanilla, beat on medium speed for 8-10 minutes, scraping down the sides every few minutes, until the mixture is pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down the sides after each addition.
Add the flour, buttermilk and food colouring, beat on low speed until just combined. Spoon the batter into your prepared cake tin, spread it out gently and smooth the top with a spoon or palette knife.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes-1 hour and 30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the white velvet cakes: Preheat oven to 160C. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm round cake pan with baking paper. Make sure the baking paper extends 5cm higher than the tin.
Using a large bowl of an electric mixer, place the butter, sugar and vanilla, beat on medium speed for 8-10 minutes, scraping down the sides every few minutes, until the mixture is pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down the sides after each addition.
Add the flour and buttermilk, beat on low speed until just combined. Spoon the batter into your prepared cake tin, spread it out gently and smooth the top with a spoon or palette knife.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes-1 hour and 30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cold, the cakes can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated.
Using a large bowl of an electric mixer, place the butter, sugar and vanilla, beat on medium speed for 8-10 minutes, scraping down the sides every few minutes, until the mixture is pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down the sides after each addition.
Add the flour and buttermilk, beat on low speed until just combined. Spoon the batter into your prepared cake tin, spread it out gently and smooth the top with a spoon or palette knife.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes-1 hour and 30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely.
Once cold, the cakes can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated.
Now to checkerboard your cakes.
First make a template for your cake. I made this by placing a piece of paper on my cooled cake, cut the paper to the size of the cake. Then I measured in from the edge to make the rings, see the picture below as a guide. I used a compass to make the circles, then cut out the doughnut shaped rings as pictured below. For the cake to have even squares, try and make the width of the rounds even in size, I did not do that properly with the chocolate version below, but I got it right with my croatian version. I only added the chocolate photos so you can see how it is done.
Level the tops on your 4 cakes, you need the cakes to be the same thickness. Place your template on one of your cakes as picture below, secure it with 4 toothpicks.Place your template on one of your cakes as picture below, secure it with 4 toothpicks. Carefully cut the cake into 3 rings. You only cut around the outer edge of the paper template and around the inner edge of your template. Repeat with your remaining three cakes.
Once all is cut you will have 4 x large rings, 4 middle rings and 4 x centre circles.
First make a template for your cake. I made this by placing a piece of paper on my cooled cake, cut the paper to the size of the cake. Then I measured in from the edge to make the rings, see the picture below as a guide. I used a compass to make the circles, then cut out the doughnut shaped rings as pictured below. For the cake to have even squares, try and make the width of the rounds even in size, I did not do that properly with the chocolate version below, but I got it right with my croatian version. I only added the chocolate photos so you can see how it is done.
Level the tops on your 4 cakes, you need the cakes to be the same thickness. Place your template on one of your cakes as picture below, secure it with 4 toothpicks.Place your template on one of your cakes as picture below, secure it with 4 toothpicks. Carefully cut the cake into 3 rings. You only cut around the outer edge of the paper template and around the inner edge of your template. Repeat with your remaining three cakes.
Once all is cut you will have 4 x large rings, 4 middle rings and 4 x centre circles.
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These images are from a cake I had previously made using chocolate and white chocolate mud cakes, I also made for my daughter's birthday 5 years earlier.
Make your white chocolate ganache: Place cream and white chocolate in a heatproof bowl, place bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted and you have a lovely smooth mixture. Place ganache in the refrigerator and give it a mix every 10 minutes, until the ganache is of a spreadable consistency, this takes between 30 minutes to an hour. Once the ganache has set to a spreadable consistency, it no longer goes into the refrigerator, keep it in a cool place at room temperature.
Once all your cakes have been cut, and your ganache is of a spreadable consistency, where it is not runny, you need to assemble the cakes.
Coat the sides of a white cake centre circle with some of the ganache. You need enough ganache that will ensure when the cake is sliced it does not fall apart. Place the white cake centre circle inside a red cake middle ring. Now coat the edge of the red middle ring with the ganache and place it inside a white cake large ring.
For the opposite cake, you just place the red cake centre, ganached into a white cake middle ring, ganached into a red cake large ring.
Use the pictures below as a guide.
Once all your cakes have been cut, and your ganache is of a spreadable consistency, where it is not runny, you need to assemble the cakes.
Coat the sides of a white cake centre circle with some of the ganache. You need enough ganache that will ensure when the cake is sliced it does not fall apart. Place the white cake centre circle inside a red cake middle ring. Now coat the edge of the red middle ring with the ganache and place it inside a white cake large ring.
For the opposite cake, you just place the red cake centre, ganached into a white cake middle ring, ganached into a red cake large ring.
Use the pictures below as a guide.
Now sandwich the cakes together with more of the white chocolate ganache, remember to use enough ganache so that the cake does not fall apart when sliced, but not too much where it interfers with the checkerboard look. Remember to alternate the cakes by colour as pictured.
Spread a thin layer of the ganache all over the cake and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. This ensures all the cake crumbs stick to this layer of ganache and don't ruin your final layer.
Place your cake on your cake board. Spread a thickish layer of ganache all over the top and sides of the cake, make sure you cannot see the cake underneath. If you have leftover ganache, it can be frozen, I always make extra to ensure I have enough. Spread the ganache and decorate however you like it, I went with vertical lines.
Decorate with red and white roses, I had 16 roses for my daughter's 16th birthday.
Place your cake on your cake board. Spread a thickish layer of ganache all over the top and sides of the cake, make sure you cannot see the cake underneath. If you have leftover ganache, it can be frozen, I always make extra to ensure I have enough. Spread the ganache and decorate however you like it, I went with vertical lines.
Decorate with red and white roses, I had 16 roses for my daughter's 16th birthday.
Enjoy!
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These are the best photos of the inside of the cake I have from the day of the party. Unfortunately I lived the moment instead of capturing the perfect photo. But it did turn out fabulous and my daughter loved it.
Here are links to songs I love about Croatia and football
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtWMFtfPoDs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfy-BFNaol0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvBdTKm4vgw
Here are highlights from the world cup 2018
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6F4fVNaXfk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtWMFtfPoDs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfy-BFNaol0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvBdTKm4vgw
Here are highlights from the world cup 2018
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6F4fVNaXfk