There's No Such Thing as Too Much Cake: Chocolate Oreo Overload Cake

Cake sees no limit.

And neither does being fit. So bake your cake and eat it too, as long as you workout! Don't make it ever feel like a chore: just do what you love - swim, run, go to the gym, dance your heart out, play tennis, ice skate. There's no excuse!

That was my quick motivation for the day, but it's back to the cake. As I mentioned in my last post, it was my sister's fifteenth birthday last Wednesday and we went to the Ritz Carlton to celebrate. This also means that we only officially cut the cake I baked on Saturday (don't worry, she got a scrumptious mini cake at the Ritz too! what's a birthday without cake?).

This is my standard, no-fail, rich, absolutely fantastic standard chocolate cake recipe. It's slightly adapted from the one you'll find on almost any other site all over the internet. This specific cake is actually baked with oreo chunks in the batter. It's filled with a silky vanilla cookies and cream buttercream and wrapped in a fluffy thin layer of chocolate frosting. The edges are lined with oreo cookie chunks.

I made half the traditional recipe this time as my mom had just made her famous tiramisu (recipe here) and I didn't want to overdo the dessert lying around in our house. Remember, balance is key!

I'm so glad my sister loved the cake (not to mention we all did as well!). The oreos were such a great addition. I do have to bring up one quirk, however. I am head over heels obsessed with any oreo dessert or cookies and cream ice cream, but the cookies themselves... I'm not the hugest fan. Grabbing a couple of oreos and dunking them in milk doesn't really appeal to me whatsoever. But give me an oreo ice cream sundae, especially one from Island Creamery (see here) and I won't be able to resist it!

Ingredients
For the cake:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup strong black coffee
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 oreo cookies, broken into chunks

For the oreo buttercream:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
8-9 tbsp whole milk
6 oreo cookies, broken into chunks

For the chocolate frosting:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup double cream, whipped
1 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 oreo cookies for final decoration

Instructions
For the cake:
Heat the oven to 175 C. Line a rectangular pan with baking paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
Add the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla. Lightly beat until ingredients are well mixed.
Stir in the oreo chunks.
Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For the oreo buttercream:

Whip the butter until creamy and white-ish. Beat in the sugar and vanilla extract. Add the milk tablespoon by tablespoon until the buttercream has reached desired consistency.

For the chocolate frosting:

Whip the butter until creamy and white-ish. Beat in the icing sugar and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, whip the cream. Fold the whipped cream into the butter, sugar, cocoa mixture. Add the milk tablespoon by tablespoon until the frosting reaches desired consistency. 

To assemble:

Split the cake in half and slice the two halves into two layers each yielding a total of four pieces (I refrigerated the cake first to make it easier to get a clean cut. Get out a serving dish and line the edges with squares of parchment paper to ensure a clean plate after frosting (presentation matters!). Place the first layer on the plate and smother it in the oreo butter cream. Lay the next layer on top and repeat thrice. The layer of oreo buttercream on top of the last layer should be very thin. Cover the whole cake in the chocolate frosting. Take the last few chunks of oreo cookies and decorate the edges of the cake [or decorate in whatever way your heart desires! sprinkles, silver balls, chocolate shavings, berries - anything works!]. Place in the fridge until serving. It most definitely tastest best served at room temperature (in my opinion) but it's absolutely mind-blowingly delicious at any temperature and at any point of day.