Chocolate Cake Quilt Block: A Sweet Design with a Surprising Twist

The Chocolate Cake quilt block is a rich and satisfying treat for your next project! This 12" block combines flying geese, square-in-a-square units, rectangles, and a single square to create a design that’s both fun to sew and visually striking.

While it's simple enough for confident beginners, it has a surprise in store: when stitched into a quilt, the blocks form a beautiful secondary design that looks like an on-point nine-patch. Whether you’re sewing scrappy or planned, this block is a delicious addition to any quilt layout.

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Chocolate Cake Quilt Block:

• Light/White: 4 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle, and 4 - 2.5" squares
• Medium/Blue: 1 - 4.5" square
• Dark/Purple: 4 - 4.5" squares, and 4 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles
• Dark/Blue: 20 - 2.5" squares

Sewing Directions:

Square in a Square Units:

Step 1:

Using a Dark/Purple 4.5" square, 3 Dark/Blue 2.5" squares, and 1 Light/White 2.5" square sew together a Square in a Square unit like the one in the pictures below.

You can find my detailed tutorial for making a Square in a Square block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-square-in-a-square-block

Here are the first steps using a Light/White and a Dark/Blue 2.5" square:

• Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of the 2.5" squares. 
• Sew the Light/White square and the Dark/Blue square to the Dark/Purple square along the marked line (top left image). Note the orientation of the marked line.
• Match the corners of the 2.5" squares and press (top right image).
• Open up the 2.5" squares and trim the seam allowances (bottom left image).
• Refold (bottom right image).

Step 2:

Repeat Step 1 on the two remaining corners only substituting a Dark/Blue 2.5" square for the Light/White 2.5" square. Repeat for a total of four Square in a Square units like the ones in the picture below.

Flying Geese Units:

Step 3:

Using the Light/White 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles and the remaining Dark/Blue 2.5" squares, sew together four Flying Geese units like the ones shown in the picture below.

You can find the tutorial for making perfect, no squaring up, Flying Geese at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block

Middle Units:

Step 4:

Sew together a Step 3 Flying Geese unit to a Dark/Purple 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle. Press the seam allowance toward the Dark/Purple rectangle as shown in the picture below.

Step 5:

Repeat Step 4 for a total of four Middle Units.

Putting It All Together:

Step 6:

Lay out the Square in a Square units, the Middle units, and the Medium/Blue 4.5" square as shown in the picture below. From here the block goes together like a basic Nine Patch block.

Step 7:

Sew the units into three rows as shown below. Some of the seam allowance junctions will be a little bulky. Just take your time.

Step 8:

Press the seam allowances away from the Middle units.

Step 9:

Lastly, sew the three rows together and...

Step 10:

Press the seam allowances toward the center of the block as shown below. All done!

Layout Ideas:

Conclusion: