Little Brothers + Oreo Cake

My little brother is one of my favorite people in the entire world. He amazes me everyday and keeps me going. He has been through SO MUCH so young, and he still manages to be one of the coolest and most down to earth people I have ever known. He also turned 16 years old yesterday. I cried. Well, I wanted to. But i was too busy being so excited for him for getting his permit. He has waited forever to get that, and I'm so proud of him for passing on the first try. :) And I made him a cake. More on that in a minute.

See, last  week, he went to Hawaii with his ROTC group at his high school. On crutches. Oh, I didn't mention that earlier? Yes, he has a broken ankle. From BMX biking/riding whatever. Crazy stuff. But yes, Hawaii. On crutches. To military bases. (Side note: told you he was the coolest ever.) Anyway, while he was there I was plotting. So, I asked him all coy and stuff "Brother dear, what pray tell is your favorite flavor of cake? For no reason what-so-ever just merely curious." To which he replied: "Oreo ice cream."  ........ 'Hmm," I thought "Way to be difficult." Difficult because I would need to travel with this cake back to my house for his birthday dinner. And ice cream, well, ice cream melts. All over my car. I'm already a mess as it is, goodness knows I do not need a melted ice cream puddle in my car. So I said, "How about an Oreo cake WITH ice cream?" And he said. "Sure." Very talkative, my brother.

And so, this monstrosity was born:

This dears, is an Oreo cake. Well, specifically, chocolate cake with Oreo butter cream and chocolate ganache. Keep yourselves together, there is no crying in cake-making.

MAKE THIS.

Oreo Cake
Recipe from My Baking Addiction


For the cake:

• 1 box package devil's food cake mix {with or without pudding}
• 1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

For the Oreo Butter Cream:

• 1 stick salted butter – room temperature
• 1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 pounds confectioner’s sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons very cold milk
• 25 Oreo cookies, chopped

For the Chocolate Ganache:

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

For the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottoms of (2) 9 inch round cake pans with parchment and grease pans thoroughly.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, salt vanilla, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and divide batter into the prepared pans.

3. Bake for 25-35 minutes, rotating pans half way through baking the baking time. Bake until the top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake for at least 30 minutes before inverting. Allow cake to cool completely on wire rack.

For the Oreo Butter Cream

1. Cream the butters in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract and combine well.

2. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time, combining well after each addition until you reach the desired consistency.

3. Fold in chopped Oreo Cookies and frost your cooled cake layers.

For the Chocolate Ganache

1. Place the chips in a heatproof bowl. Pour the heavy cream into a sauce pan, and heat to boiling.

2. When boiling, remove from heat and pour over chips. Whisk until smooth.

3. Drizzle over frosted cake.

Do not drool. Actually, it's okay to drool a little.

Happy Birthday little brother!