Layer cakes. Who has zero experience in making them? ME. My first attempt at this cake a few days ago was disastrous despite it starting so well; maybe it was the kitsch silicon baking ‘tins’ I was using, maybe it was the cakes baking to thin, maybe I didn’t let them cool enough before handling, whatever the case there were cake crumbs EVERYWHERE. Oh and due to over-pulverizing and over-mixing my oreo cream cheese icing began to turn grey… this was one ugly test cake.
Using 9-inch rounds was a much better idea. The chocolate cake recipe below is adapted from Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss fame. There are a few concessions made in this recipe due to necessity (and laziness) – for example, using less sugar in lieu of the torrent of oreos, substituting buttermilk for yoghurt as I was running low and generally fixing some of the measurements for a more metric experience. It’s a fantastic chocolate cake and coupled with a whole lot of cream cheese icing with smashed oreo stirred through… this is about to get intense.
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE AND OREO CAKE
(cake recipe adapted from Buddy Valastro; makes two 9 inch rounds)
FOR THE CAKES
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup caster sugar
125 g butter, room temperature
1/3 cup good quality dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
150 g melted chocolate
1/2 cup hot water
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup milk
1/4 natural yoghurt
FOR THE OREO CREAM CHESE ICING
250 g cream cheese (Philadelphia)
70 g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered/icing sugar
1 x 150g packet of oreo biscuits
FOR THE ASSEMBLY
1 x 150g packet of oreo biscuits
1. Pre-heat your oven to 175°C.
2. Beat the butter until it begins to cream. Add flour, sugar, cocoa and baking soda and and beat until combined.
3. Pour in melted chocolate. Beat for one minute, then pour in the hot water. Continue beating until combined then add the eggs one at a time, adding the next one after the previous has been absorbed. Pour in the milk and yoghurt and beat for a few minutes until the everything is well combined, the sugar has dissolved and the batter is lovely and velvety.
4. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with oil or greasing with butter. Divide the mixture between the two pans and bake for around 30 minutes or until the cake begins to peel away from the sides and is springy to touch.
5. Allow to cool to room temperature before turning cakes out of the pans. Refrigerate until ready to decorate.
6. Break up one oreo packet into shards, preferably by hand as to not create to much ‘rubble’.
7. Beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract until beginning to cream.
8. Add the icing sugar one cup at a time until incorporated and fluffy. You can add more/less icing sugar to taste.
9. Divide icing in around half – but preferably 70/30. In the larger portion stir in your oreos carefully – just enough to combine but do not overmix or the icing will begin to turn grey.
10. With either a piping bag fitted with a large nozzle or a very handy spatula, layer your larger portion of oreo icing over one of the cakes. Make sure to keep this as level as you can so the cake layers look nice and even once sliced. Place your second cake on top.
11. Take your leftover cream cheese icing and layer over the very top of the cake. Once again, break your other packet of ores into shards and scatter atop the cake. Be sure to cover all the ‘white spots’ so the cake looks dense with cookies.
This cake is now packed away ready to take to a friend’s dinner tonight, thank goodness I’m not being left alone with this hot mess of chocolate.