We have spent almost every Saturday this Summer watching the Outlaw Karts at Cycleland.
We’ve packed the ice chest each week, braved the 100+ degree weather, and have been bitten by many a mosquitoes, to watch my daughter’s boyfriend/ friend’s son race his kart.
It’s been a terrific family activity, as well as a hell of a ride!
Kellie and Casey
From the exhilaration of the wins, to the disappointments of the crashes, we’ve watched Casey McClain consistently climb to the top of the points charts. Here’s a little video of Casey winning one of the trophy dashes as seen from the in car camera. Take a look!
This last Saturday was the big awards ceremony and bbq.
Casey won the track championship for the open class!
He was also awarded the Sportsmanship award .
- Not one steering wheel or helmet was flung during the frustrating moments, like bending an axle or breaking a motor mount. Casey was a good sport through out the season! Seen here with his pit crew, dad John and grandfather Bruce.
For the BBQ, I showed my support by baking a black and white checkered cake, and I put Casey’s number 30 on it.
I used two different recipes for this cake. I used Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party cake recipe for the snow white layers flavoring it with vanilla. It is a very sturdy cake and perfect when making a checkered cake without the special pan. I also used Dorie’s Deviled Foods Chocolate Cake recipe for black layers. I thought the contrast between the two recipes would be perfect for this cake. However, the chocolate cake was not a very sturdy cake and it tended to crumble easily. Maybe I should have omitted the chocolate chips in the batter.
I frosted this cake with a double batch of Magnolia’s Vanilla Buttercream, and flavored it with almond extract. It complemented both the chocolate layer, and the vanilla layer. I was practically decorating the edges as we were running out the door that afternoon, hence the bad piping job. My hubby was turning the cake as I was piping and we were not very in sync. But we got the job done and we topped it with the number 30. The hubby cut the numbers out of a sheet of red sugar paper, that I bought at Micheal’s.
Below are the recipes that I used. You can stack them or you can cut them into a checkered cake by following these simple instructions on how to make a checkered cake without a special pan. But I have to admit, when I make these checkered cakes, I’m only going to use the perfect Party Cake Recipe or my Sturdy Wedding Cake recipe! They will hold up to the cutting and rearranging much better.
| Chocolate and Vanilla Checkered Cake |
- FOR THE WHITE LAYERS
- 2 ¼ cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups milk (or buttermilk)
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1tbs vanilla extract
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYERS
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 4 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
- FOR THE FROSTING
- 2 cup (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 12-16 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Use a clear vanilla extract for a pure white frosting)
- 1 tsp almond extract
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Butter four 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.
- To Make the Cake
- Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
- Add the butter and sugarand working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
- Beat in the extract,
- then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
- Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
- Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
- Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
- Divide the batter between the twoof the pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
- Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
- Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE CAKE Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy.
- Add the sugars and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition.
- Beat in the vanilla; don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate. When it is fully incorporated, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. At this point, the batter will be thick, like frosting.
- Still working on low speed, mix in the boiling water, which will thin the batter considerably. Switch to a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl and stir in the chopped chocolate.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with the rubber spatula.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. When fully baked, the cakes will be springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will come out clean. Don’t worry if the tops have a few small cracks.
- Transfer the cake pans to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners.
- Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)
- For THE FROSTING Place the butter in a large mixing bowl.
- Add 8 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla.
- On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar.
Check out these checkered cakes too!
How to make a checkered Cake without using a special pan by Megan’s Cookin’
Red, White, and Blue Checkered Cake from Megan’s Cookin
Pastel Easter Cake from Amanda’s Cookin
Checkered Cake from Simply Annie’s
This post is linked up to Tastetastic Tuesday over at A Little Nosh
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Great job Casey! And delicious looking cake, so perfect for that party
love it!
This looks like a wonderful cake Megan! And so clever.
Megan that was very thoughtful and a beautifuly executed cake.
Great pictures of Casey and his “victory” cake! I have a son that races stock cars all summer long, so I know how fun, scarey, frustrating ,and just long the summer is following his racing. I’d love to see you post some “after the races” finger foods for in the pits. I bet you have some great ideas ! It’s kind of like tailgating at a ball game, but my guys want quick and easy to grab things because of dirty hands and all the work they still have to do after the race!
What a sweet thing for you to do. The cake looks fabulous. Congratulations Casey.
What a fun cake! It looks great.
Great pictures, and that’s a delicious looking cake. Congratulations Casey
Gorgeous cake!
I dont know I would have shared any with anyone else looks to good, would have eaten this whole thing! WOW!
What a perfect cake for the occasion! How did you manage to take pictures if you were going out the door as you decorated? I’m impressed. Sometimes it takes me hours to get a decent photo.
Hi Paula, I was lucky to grab 2 quick pictures of the whole cake while the family was literally holding the door open for me to leave. I came back and took the pictures of the slice of cake after the race with the leftover cake. I got lucky with the photos!
That’s a really gorgeous cake! Thanks so much for linking up this week!
Amy @ A Little Nosh
I love the inside of that cake!
Wow Megan that looks fantastic! What a gorgeous boy too.