Cookie Monster Cake

Forgive me for what you are about to see. It’s blue, it’s enormous, and it’s filled with cookies. This is the Cookie Monster Cake that I made for Justin’s birthday!

I saw a recipe several months ago for oreo cupcakes in this cookbook and knew I would have to make it for Justin (he loves oreos in anything.) I want to make a tradition of baking cakes from scratch for birthdays. It’s not easy, so I practiced a lot since last year’s cake. I learned how to make frosting that doesn’t suck. I have also baked many, many cupcakes from scratch. When I began making the cake batter last night, I felt confident, not afraid.

Oreo Cake Batter (adapted from Martha’s yellow butter cake)

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 sticks butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 c sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 8 oreos, crumbled

Directions

• Beat butter and sugar for approximately 4 minutes, adding one egg at a time.
• Stream in vanilla.
• Incorporate dry ingredients in parts, beating at medium speed.
• Add in oreo crumbs, stir to combine.
• Pour into floured and buttered cake pans. I make 3 thin cakes by dividing the batter into thirds and filing 3 cake pans. (Two pans would make two large cakes, that could be sliced into 4 layers total.)
• Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean.)
• Allow to cool for 20 minutes. The cakes should come out of the pans easily after quickly skimming the edge with a knife.
• Store the cakes wrapped in plastic overnight, or frost once completely cooled.

For frosting, I used the buttercream recipe that I mastered last month, adding blue food coloring this time.

Here’s how the cake was constructed.

• The first cake goes down on a plate lined with pieces of parchment paper at the edges.

• Using a long serrated knife, level the cake as needed.

• Frosting is spread on top of the first cake, and then the second cake is stack on top.

• The second layer is leveled, and crumbs are sampled. Then, another smear of frosting goes onto the cake.

• Oreo crumbs are sprinkled on top of the frosting (I crumbled 4 cookies for this filling.)

• Then, you guessed it, the final cake goes on top.

• Next, my inner-Alton Brown was channeled. I once watched an episode of Good Eats where he showed us how to frost a cake. First, you have to load up the center of the cake with a ton of frosting.

• Spread the frosting across the top of the cake, and then push it over onto the sides. Frosting a cake takes a certain amount of finesse, and a large amount of frosting. Take care to cover the sides without pulling up crumbs (I don’t have enough butter/sugar/time to make a crumb coat.)

• After narrowly covering the cake, approx. 1 cup of frosting remains for decoration. This went into a piping bag fitted with one of my new fancy tips.

• Pretend like you know what you’re doing and fancy up the edges of the cake. (And make a blue frosting poop pile in the center if you are feeling artistic.)

• The cake is topped with just a few more oreos, and then pulled out the parchment from beneath the cake.

• Candles are added, and my singing voice is primed. (2 + 5 + 1 for good luck)

• Wishes are made, candles are blown out.

• Let them eat cake!!

In hindsight, I probably didn’t need to make a 3 layer cake for just the two of us. I was frosting this thing until 10pm last night, and we weren’t even hungry for cake by the time it was done.  But, it was really more an exercise in technique for me than something to be devoured. Can you guess what we’ll be having for dessert tonight (and for the rest of time)?

I’ll be back later with details from our at-home massages!