Chocolate Oreo Cake

So you might remember that last year I mentioned that the hubs and I were going to South Africa, both to visit his family and for me to see the country. Well, we were supposed to go over Thanksgiving and into December, but ended up having to postpone the trip because of a delay with getting the hubs’ citizenship.

It has taken a LOT longer than we expected based on some other people’s experiences, but finally the hubs has the final interview and test on Monday! We can’t wait for him to be done with it. Hopefully the finally “ceremony” where he’ll actually receive the citizenship won’t take too long – but of course we aren’t holding our breath.

What's easier than folding chopped Oreo cookies into whipped cream? And instead of peppering the top with multicolored buttercream rosebuds or some other fancy decorations that require a box of food coloring, decorating an Oreo cake is a no-brainer. Just top the cake with some spirals of whipped cream and Oreo cookie halves and you've got a fun, great looking cake. It's a winner every time, especially for kids who are thrilled to see their favorite cookie in cake form.

You can be sure that once we have the citizenship, we’ll be applying for his passport and re-booking the trip.

But for now, he’s been studying for the test. He’s pretty much grown up in the U.S., so it’s not like it’s stuff he hadn’t learned before, but it’s amazing how much of it you forget.

Ingredients
Cake:

• 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ cups of hot water
• 2½ cups of flour
• 1¼ cup of sugar
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 eggs room temperature
• ¾ cups of vegetable oil
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 10 Oreo cookies crushed

Frosting:

• 2 8- oz cream cheese packs softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 14 Oreo cookies pulsed in a blender

Topping:

• About 12 Oreo cookies chopped
• About a cup hot fudge topping

*Family sized pack of Oreo cookies is enough for this recipe.
Instructions
Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour 3, 8-inch round baking pans. (To flour the pans: grease with cooking spray then add some flour. Pat baking pan so that it's lightly covered in flour all over the inside, then turn the pan upside down and lightly pat to discard loose flour. **I do recommend using 3 of the same cake pans at a time because it will be much easier to divide all the batter equally among the pans.)
2. In a small sauce pot, mix water with unsweetened cocoa powder. Bring to a low boil. Cook for about a minute and set aside to cool.
3. In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined.
4. Separately, whisk together vegetable oil, vanilla extract, eggs and sour cream.
5. On low speed, slowly pour in the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Once it's combined, bring the speed up to medium and beat for about two minutes.
6. Lower speed to low again and slowly pour in cocoa mixture. Mix until just combined. Turn off mixer.
7. Using a spatula, scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, continue mixing with a spatula until batter is smooth.
8. Crush and chop Oreo cookies and fold them into the batter.
9. Separate the batter between the 3 baking pans, evenly. Pat filled baking pans gently on the counter to get rid of any formed air pockets. Bake for about 18 minutes. Take out and let the cakes rest on the counter for 10 minutes.
10. Carefully run a greased butter knife between sides of the cake pan and the cake. Let the cakes cool for about 10 more minutes and then carefully take them out of the pans. Let them cool completely on a wire rack before adding frosting or it will melt.

Frosting:

1. Pulse Oreo cookies in a blender until it is just crumbs. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and cream cheese together, on medium-high speed, until smooth, 2-3 minutes.
3. Lower the speed to low and beat in powder sugar.
4. Turn up the speed back to medium-high and beat for about 3-4 minutes, until the frosting is light, smooth and fluffy. Turn off the mixer.
5. Add pulsed Oreo cookies and mix a few seconds more to thoroughly incorporate. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl to mix well.
6. Refrigerate it for about 20 minutes. Stir well.
7. (You can use a large serrated knife to cut off the domes on the cake layers, to get an flat, even cake surface.)
8. Frost the cake in between the layers and all around.
9. (You can stick a long wooden skewer right in the center to secure the cake while it's setting.)
10. Place the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set.
11. Once ready to serve, pour hot fudge topping over it top and let it drain off to the sides. (Make sure that the hot fudge topping is not actually hot but a little warm or it will melt the frosting.)
12. Cut Oreo cookie in quarters and spread them on top of the cake.

Recipe Notes

• Recipe from Lyuba @ willcookforsmiles.com All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to share this recipe, please simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

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