Cookies and Cream Chocolate Cake

It was my husband's birthday last Thursday so it was a given that I would be baking him a cake, the question was what kind. The one sweet that Todd will pretty much never turn down is an Oreo cookie. In fact sometimes I get irritated by the fact that he knows I will bake him whatever he wants and yet he asks for Oreos. So when I saw a couple versions of an Oreo chocolate cake, I knew it was what I would bake for his birthday.

I decided to use the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe for the cake. It comes together really quickly and is always a success. I baked the cake in two 9" round pans and then cut each layer into two, to make a four layer cake.

For the cookies and cream filling, I folded crushed Oreos into a whipped cream frosting. I frosted the cake with the Hershey's chocolate frosting and then piped borders around the top and bottom of the cake with the filling and garnished with halved and quartered Oreo cookies.

Cookies and Cream Chocolate Cake
Cake recipe from Hershey's

Cake:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two 9" pans with baking spray and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

Add sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer and mix together until combined. Add eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and extract and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water on low speed until well incorporated. The batter will be thin. Divide batter evenly among pans and bake 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Run a knife around the edge of the cake and cool about 10 minutes. Invert onto wire racks covered with parchment paper and re-invert to another rack to cool right side up. Cool completely.

Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter and pour over cocoa powder. Beat on low speed until well incorporated. Add 1 cup powdered sugar followed by 1/3 of the milk, beating on low speed until incorporated, continue alternating until all the powdered sugar is incorporated. Add vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add more powdered sugar or milk to reach necessary consistency.

Filling:
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Approximately 20 Oreos

Pour heavy cream into metal mixing bowl and chill in the refrigerator. Crush Oreos in a food processor and set aside. Add vanilla extract to cream beginning on low and gradually increasing speed to medium high as cream thickens. Add powdered sugar slowly while mixing. Beat cream until it holds stiff peaks. Gently fold in crushed Oreos.

To assemble:
Trim off any rounded tops on the cake layers and cut each layer in half horizontally. Brush off excess crumbs. Put a spoonful of frosting on the center of the cake board or platter and top with first layer of cake. Spread about 1/4 of the cream on the first layer and smooth out with a spatula. Add next layer of cake and repeat with next 2 layers, ensuring each layer is level. Once all the layers are stacked, place cake in the freezer for about 15 minutes to set. Apply a crumb coat of frosting, chill about 20 minutes and then frost with remaining frosting. Pipe on remaining filling as desired to decorate and garnish with halved or quartered Oreos.

Happy Birthday Todd!