Norpro – 3813 Norpro Checkerboard Cake Pan Set, One Dimension, as proven

I love these!
I am purchasing these for the second time, my first set is in California because I recently moved across the country.I don’t mess with the plastic set because they don’t do as good of a job…A proper checkerboard cake can be a two person job, it really helps to have someone hold down the metal insert when you pour in the batter.I am definitely not a pro-baker or cake decorator… So when I bake an amazing checkerboard cake, everyone is impressed! You can use the batter from the box… and it will come out beautiful each time.I have used this for butter cream and chocolate, chocolate and angel food cake, and red velvet and vanilla.The greatest part is… you can make the cake and decorate it all and nobody knows it’s a checkerboard cake until they cut into it.. What a lovely surprise!

Their recipe isn’t the best if you ask me.
My aunt was throwing a party for my great grandmother’s 95th birthday, and had the idea to have a table filled with different desserts that my great grandmother was known for or that different family members remembered her making when they were growing up. She asked me if I would make a checkerboard cake. I agreed on a whim, not knowing what I was getting myself into LOL. I’ve seen where people take cakes and cut them and put them in a checkerboard pattern, but I decided since she could use a pan with a divider, I would too.I followed the recipe that came with the pans, thinking that it would work best with the pans. For some reason, it did not turn out well. The batter didn’t rise at all, and it was very dense. The frosting didn’t work out either. It could have all been user (baker) error, but I threw away the recipe. I woke up the next morning knowing I wouldn’t feel right serving that cake to anyone so I ran to the store and grabbed a butter recipe yellow cake mix, and a devil’s food cake mix (the chocolate cake selection was limited at that store). I added extra eggs and used butter instead of oil and milk instead of water to make the cakes richer and had one going in the stand mixer while I used a hand mixer on the other. Another reviewer suggested using a piping bag (I used a gallon sized Ziploc bag) so that you could hold the divider down while adding the batter, and that helped a lot. The edges of the divider are pretty sharp so beware. The second cake came out MUCH better. Using Baker’s Joy spray and parchment paper, the cakes came out of the pan very easily. Some of the lines weren’t exactly straight once the cake was cut, but I was still pleased, and people seemed to enjoy it.

Easy to use
These are easy to use and follow along directions. However, it is a little flimsy and that can cause the colored batters to mix together resulting in blurred lines

Good buy!
I only have 4 start for “easy to use” as this set didn’t create a clean definition between batter colors and turned out moor tye-dye than checker board. But that very well could have been user error. I did try pressing the rings down while pouring. You’ll want to use a thicker batter as the thinner batters also make it difficult to checker board. Otherwise, after some playing around, this was a great buy and i do not regret it!