Vegan Checkerboard Cake

Today I had a party for my 26th birthday. During our Thanksgiving vacation in Dallas I came across Wilton's checkerboard cake kit and decided I would make it for my birthday party. So today I revamped my almond cake recipe a bit and gave it a go. I decided I wanted the cake to be super bright so I dyed the batter pink and purple (I used wilton's color gel paste in rose and violet)
then I topped it off with vegan buttercream dyed teal with a hot pink robot on top.

Here is a shot of the cake once cut so you can see the finished checkerboard pattern.

Here's the recipe for the cake:

Almond Cake

Dry Ingredients:

* 3 cups unbleached white flour
* 1 3/4 cups unbleached granulated sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 3/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

* 1 3/4 cups almond milk
* 1/4 cup amaretto syrup
* 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
* 2/3 cup melted soy margarine
* 2 TBSP almond extract


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Put some parchment circles on the bottom of each pan.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.
3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and beat well until smooth (I use my kitchenaid stand mixer).
4. Divide the batter evenly among the pans.
5. Check for done after 30-35 minutes with a toothpick watch carefully! It should come clean when you poke it into the very center of each cake. (but watch closely so it doesn't brown too much.)

Buttercream Frosting

* 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
* 1/2 cup vegan margarine
* 1 tsp almond extract
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 4 cups powdered sugar
* 2-3 TBSP soy milk

Directions:

1. Cream margarine and shortening until light and fluffy
2. Add almond and vanilla extract and beat until combined
3. Add powdered sugar (one cup at a time and beat until combined well)
4. Add soy milk and beat until light and fluffy.