- Butter, for greasing the pans
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
Filling and Frosting:
1 carton Frostin' Pride (quart size carton)
1 package Oreo cookies, crushed, but not too tiny
Mix the Frostin' Pride in your mixer with the wisk attachment as directed on carton. Mix half of whipped Frostin' Pride with crushed Oreo cookies and reserve other half for frosting. Spread Oreo filling on top of one layer then top with the other layer. Frost entire cake with remaining Frostin' Pride. Store in refrigerator until serving.
From whence it came: There are a few people who get credit for this amazing cake. And when I say amazing, I'm not kidding! First, one of my very favorite Food Network Stars, The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten), gets credit for the cake recipe. It is quite honestly the best chocolate cake I have ever made. It is very dense and seriously moist, which, like I've said before, is good if you're a cake, not so great if you're a person. I adore The Barefoot Contessa. She's my second favorite, after my BFF, Paula Deen. These two ladies are very different, but I love them both.
Next is the filling. Two people get credit for this heavenly concoction. When I was trying to figure out a twist on a chocolate cake for my daughter's wedding last summer I put a post on my Facebook asking for suggestions. A wonderful girl who I love more than peanut butter, Lauren Stange, suggested a Cookies and Cream Cake, and I knew immediately that it was a genius idea. Next comes into play another cake wizard, my fabulous Aunt Joyce, who is also responsible for Joyce's Buns. Joyce's talents go far beyond her buns, they go all the way to filling and frosting wonderful cakes. Aunt Joyce told me about Frostin' Pride and suggested we use it for the filling and the frosting. It was a very good suggestion! If you've never used Frostin' Pride, you must. And don't wait long before you do. It's the easiest thing you'll ever do, and people will love you for it. All you do is buy a carton of the stuff and whip it up. Here in sunny San Diego I buy it at Smart and Final, but if you aren't fortunate to have a Smart and Final near you, you can probably get it from a cake decorating store. You find it in the refrigerator section and it can be frozen and then thawed before you whip it. If you can't find Frostin' Pride you can use Pastry Pride and I'm sure it will work just fine. They are both delish! And if you don't want to use either, I think this frosting would be amazing on this cake. I'm going to make cupcakes with this cake recipe soon and frost them with this frosting and I'll let you know what I think. I have a feeling the reviews will be REALLY good. Also, you don't have to make it a cookies and cream cake. You can just make it a chocolate cake and frost it with whatever icing you like. This cake recipe will be fabulous no matter what you do with it!
Why it's blogable: I think this may have been the favorite cake flavor of the four cakes I made for my daughter's wedding. I took the leftover cake to church the following Sunday and people sang the Hallelujah Chorus after taking just one bite. I'm not bragging folks, I'm giving all the credit to the genius women who thought this up, and they deserve a lot of credit. My sonny-in-law's dad, who is now my daughter's father-in-law, was especially fond of this cake. I just made another one and took it on dry ice to Utah to celebrate my sonny-in-law's graduation. Also, this past April, one of my favorite people and a great friend of my married daughter got hitched himself, and when I offered to make the wedding cakes, this is one of the flavors he chose. And it only took him a half a second to make up his mind. He remembered eating it at my daughter's reception and he was sold. I'm not kidding when I tell you that this cake is a winner!
A few other thoughts: Coffee! Are you a moron like me? Did I say moron? I meant to say Mormon! Silly slip of the computer keys. I guess I've just been called a moron so many times that it comes out very naturally. Anywho, I am a Mormon, and Mormons do not drink coffee. Please don't write me letters about all the Mormons you know who drink coffee. I know, some do, but most don't. And I don't. But I do always have a container of instant decaffeinated coffee granules in my freezer for occasions such as this. Here's a REALLY BIG TIP that I learned from The Barefoot Contessa. She is such a smarty! She says, and it's true, that if you add coffee to chocolate, it enhances the flavor. And boy oh boy is she right! If you add a little bit of coffee, about a rounded teaspoon or so, to the water before adding the water to your brownies, you will have yourself some of the best brownies you've ever tasted. You won't taste the coffee, just like you won't taste it in this cake, but the flavor will be fabulous! For this cake I just mix the dry coffee crystals with hot water and that's that. I doubt it matters that the coffee isn't brewed. But if you're not a moron, oops, I mean Mormon, and you have freshly brewed coffee, then by all means, go for it!
Also, when I have made this cake for weddings and graduations I have made it in a half sheet pan. This is what I do: I double the recipe twice. So, I mix up a double batch and bake it in a half sheet pan. Then I remove the cooled cake and do it again. Kind of like lather, rinse and repeat. Only don't use any soap. The Spy Who Loves Me swears that soap gives you the runs. Sorry to be so gross and graphic, but The Spy swears it's true. If he is in the kitchen while I'm doing dishes, or helping with dishes, and if he sees so much as a teeny tiny bubble on any pan or dish that has already been rinsed, he will freak out and scream like a little girl. The Spy is a little over the top about some things, and bubbles are on that list! How did we get from blogging about delicious chocolate cake to bathroom issues? I'm so very sorry.
Why didn't I share this recipe sooner? I was waiting for a special occasion. And because I feel so guilty for taking a vacation and not blogging for a couple of weeks, now is the time for me to share this recipe, and it's my way of thanking you for your blog stalking loyalty. The advice about the soap was just an added bonus. You're welcome!
Click here to get the printable:
Cookies and Cream Chocolate Cake
Hope you enjoy stirring it up!
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
Filling and Frosting:
1 carton Frostin' Pride (quart size carton)
1 package Oreo cookies, crushed, but not too tiny
Mix the Frostin' Pride in your mixer with the wisk attachment as directed on carton. Mix half of whipped Frostin' Pride with crushed Oreo cookies and reserve other half for frosting. Spread Oreo filling on top of one layer then top with the other layer. Frost entire cake with remaining Frostin' Pride. Store in refrigerator until serving.
From whence it came: There are a few people who get credit for this amazing cake. And when I say amazing, I'm not kidding! First, one of my very favorite Food Network Stars, The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten), gets credit for the cake recipe. It is quite honestly the best chocolate cake I have ever made. It is very dense and seriously moist, which, like I've said before, is good if you're a cake, not so great if you're a person. I adore The Barefoot Contessa. She's my second favorite, after my BFF, Paula Deen. These two ladies are very different, but I love them both.
Next is the filling. Two people get credit for this heavenly concoction. When I was trying to figure out a twist on a chocolate cake for my daughter's wedding last summer I put a post on my Facebook asking for suggestions. A wonderful girl who I love more than peanut butter, Lauren Stange, suggested a Cookies and Cream Cake, and I knew immediately that it was a genius idea. Next comes into play another cake wizard, my fabulous Aunt Joyce, who is also responsible for Joyce's Buns. Joyce's talents go far beyond her buns, they go all the way to filling and frosting wonderful cakes. Aunt Joyce told me about Frostin' Pride and suggested we use it for the filling and the frosting. It was a very good suggestion! If you've never used Frostin' Pride, you must. And don't wait long before you do. It's the easiest thing you'll ever do, and people will love you for it. All you do is buy a carton of the stuff and whip it up. Here in sunny San Diego I buy it at Smart and Final, but if you aren't fortunate to have a Smart and Final near you, you can probably get it from a cake decorating store. You find it in the refrigerator section and it can be frozen and then thawed before you whip it. If you can't find Frostin' Pride you can use Pastry Pride and I'm sure it will work just fine. They are both delish! And if you don't want to use either, I think this frosting would be amazing on this cake. I'm going to make cupcakes with this cake recipe soon and frost them with this frosting and I'll let you know what I think. I have a feeling the reviews will be REALLY good. Also, you don't have to make it a cookies and cream cake. You can just make it a chocolate cake and frost it with whatever icing you like. This cake recipe will be fabulous no matter what you do with it!
Why it's blogable: I think this may have been the favorite cake flavor of the four cakes I made for my daughter's wedding. I took the leftover cake to church the following Sunday and people sang the Hallelujah Chorus after taking just one bite. I'm not bragging folks, I'm giving all the credit to the genius women who thought this up, and they deserve a lot of credit. My sonny-in-law's dad, who is now my daughter's father-in-law, was especially fond of this cake. I just made another one and took it on dry ice to Utah to celebrate my sonny-in-law's graduation. Also, this past April, one of my favorite people and a great friend of my married daughter got hitched himself, and when I offered to make the wedding cakes, this is one of the flavors he chose. And it only took him a half a second to make up his mind. He remembered eating it at my daughter's reception and he was sold. I'm not kidding when I tell you that this cake is a winner!
A few other thoughts: Coffee! Are you a moron like me? Did I say moron? I meant to say Mormon! Silly slip of the computer keys. I guess I've just been called a moron so many times that it comes out very naturally. Anywho, I am a Mormon, and Mormons do not drink coffee. Please don't write me letters about all the Mormons you know who drink coffee. I know, some do, but most don't. And I don't. But I do always have a container of instant decaffeinated coffee granules in my freezer for occasions such as this. Here's a REALLY BIG TIP that I learned from The Barefoot Contessa. She is such a smarty! She says, and it's true, that if you add coffee to chocolate, it enhances the flavor. And boy oh boy is she right! If you add a little bit of coffee, about a rounded teaspoon or so, to the water before adding the water to your brownies, you will have yourself some of the best brownies you've ever tasted. You won't taste the coffee, just like you won't taste it in this cake, but the flavor will be fabulous! For this cake I just mix the dry coffee crystals with hot water and that's that. I doubt it matters that the coffee isn't brewed. But if you're not a moron, oops, I mean Mormon, and you have freshly brewed coffee, then by all means, go for it!
Also, when I have made this cake for weddings and graduations I have made it in a half sheet pan. This is what I do: I double the recipe twice. So, I mix up a double batch and bake it in a half sheet pan. Then I remove the cooled cake and do it again. Kind of like lather, rinse and repeat. Only don't use any soap. The Spy Who Loves Me swears that soap gives you the runs. Sorry to be so gross and graphic, but The Spy swears it's true. If he is in the kitchen while I'm doing dishes, or helping with dishes, and if he sees so much as a teeny tiny bubble on any pan or dish that has already been rinsed, he will freak out and scream like a little girl. The Spy is a little over the top about some things, and bubbles are on that list! How did we get from blogging about delicious chocolate cake to bathroom issues? I'm so very sorry.
Why didn't I share this recipe sooner? I was waiting for a special occasion. And because I feel so guilty for taking a vacation and not blogging for a couple of weeks, now is the time for me to share this recipe, and it's my way of thanking you for your blog stalking loyalty. The advice about the soap was just an added bonus. You're welcome!
Click here to get the printable:
Cookies and Cream Chocolate Cake
Hope you enjoy stirring it up!
No comments:
Post a Comment