Chess Board Birthday Cake

by Linda Rein
(Youngstown, OH)

Bake a boxed cake mix (I did marble) in two 9" square pans. Once cool, use dental floss to slice each cake length-wise so you have four even squares. Cut a piece of cardboard into a square large enough to use for a platter...cover with aluminum foil. Center the four squares touching each other on the platter. Spread your favorite frosting over sides and top. To make the chess board, you need 64 squares. I used Ghiardelli Dark Chocolate and Ghiardelli Vanilla Bean squares and alternated them to make the board. (They worked PERFECTLY!) I decorated the cake for my husband, Karl's 41st birthday and added plastic chess pieces to really give the cake and authentic chess board look. He was so surprised! He wasn't sure if he wanted to eat it or play a game on it! (We ate it, of course!)