1. Before making the cake, measure the ingredients into separate bowls and set out the supplies. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease the cake pans with butter or vegetable oil pan spray.

Making the Vanilla Cake Batter

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set the flour mixture aside.

2. In an electric mixer bowl, mix the butter for about one minute or until the consistency is smooth. Add the sugar and cream and mix for at least five minutes on high speed until light and fluffy.

3. Add eggs to the butter and sugar mixture, one at a time, and beat on a low speed, adding the rest of the eggs until combined. Add the vanilla extract and beat thoroughly.

4. In small alternating batches, add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture. Mix the ingredients on a low speed until they are incorporated before adding the next batch.

5. To avoid overmixing the batter, stop mixing as soon as each new ingredient is combined. The batter should be smooth and thick.

6. To make the two flavors, separate the batter into two equal parts by moving half of the mixture to another bowl.

Making the Chocolate Cake Batter

1. Melt the chocolate carefully on the stove, or in the microwave, to avoid burning.

2. Take the second bowl of batter and fold the chocolate in using a rubber spatula or a spoon. Wait until the chocolate has cooled to avoid creating lumps in the batter.

Baking the Cake

1. Divide the chocolate cake batter into two cake pans and divide the vanilla cake batter into the other two.

2. If using a checkerboard cake pan, place the batter division ring into the pan. Fill the largest section of two of the checkerboard pans with vanilla batter, two pans with chocolate in the largest section, and alternate between chocolate and vanilla in the subsequent sections. Before baking, carefully remove the division insert.

3. If not using a checkerboard pan, fill two 9-inch round cake pans with the chocolate cake batter, and two pans with the vanilla cake batter.

4. Bake in a preheated oven for 25–30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once the cakes are ready, take them out of the oven and cool them in the pans for 10–15 minutes. Then take the cakes out of the pans and leave them to cool completely on a wire rack before assembling.

Assembling the Cake

1. Use a long kitchen knife to cut off the top of the cakes so they’ll stack without wobbling.

2. If you’re not using a checkerboard pan, use a round 6-inch cookie cutter to cut out a ring from the middle of each of the four cakes. Take out the 6-inch circles, leaving 9-inch rings behind. Use the 3-inch cutter to cut smaller circles out of each 6-inch circle.

3. Place one 9-inch chocolate ring on a serving plate, then place a 6-inch vanilla ring inside it, followed by a 3-inch chocolate circle in the middle. Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of this first layer.

4. For the second layer, add a 9-inch vanilla circle, 6-inch chocolate circle, and 3-inch vanilla circle. Continue alternating colors as you assemble the cake completely. The finished cake will have four layers, alternating between chocolate and vanilla rings on the outside.

5. If the cakes were baked using the special checkerboard cake pan, stack alternating layers with icing between them.

Cake Decorating

1. To hide the checkerboard effect, cover the cake in the remaining frosting and decorate using sprinkles, candy, or piping.