Chocolate Oreo Cookie Cake

It's finally the weekend, so let's round out our Oreo week with a decadent treat!  This chocolate cake is so moist and fudgy, with a nice texture contrast added by the cookie crumble base.  Then we top it with an Oreo butter cream frosting...what's not to love?   

(*Editor's note:  Brian made this as a special request for my cousin's birthday party, so let me just say, it's uh-mazing!  If you like Oreos this may just be your new favorite recipe!)

 

You'll need:

 

2 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 tsp baking powder

3 tsp baking soda

2 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut oil

4 large eggs

2 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cup of hot water

1 family-size package of double-stuffed Oreos

       Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Prepare two round 9” pans by greasing well and lightly sprinkling with flour.

 

       First, scrape the cream from all but  of the cookies into a small bowl.  Set aside for now. 

        Next, we need to grind the cookies into crumbs and there are few ways to do this.  You can either crush the cookies by hand in a small bowl, pulse a few times in a food processor, or put them in a nut grinder, which is the method I used.  I broke the cookies in half then ground them on the 'fine' setting of my nut grinder.  Grind enough cookies to equal two cups worth of crumbles, then pour one cup evenly across the bottom of each of the prepared pans.  

       In a medium bowl, combine sugars, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

       In a separate bowl, whip together the coconut oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Once the liquid ingredients are mixed, slowly add them to the dry ingredients while mixing.  Continue stirring until both mixtures are fully combined.

        Next, add the hot water to the batter and mix until the batter has a thin consistency.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 Once the cakes have finished baking, place the pans on a wire rack and allow to fully cool before removing and assembling. 

Oreo Butter cream

 

1 ½ cups butter 

4 - 5 cups powdered sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 tsp salt 

Oreo cream filling 

       In a medium bowl using an electric mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy.  Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing well between each addition until you have nice, thick butter cream texture.  Then whip in vanilla, salt, and the Oreo cream until smooth and creamy.  

 

CAKE ASSEMBLY

To begin, remove a cake from one of the pans.  We want to make sure the cookie crusted side is on the bottom of the tray, so the easiest way to do that is to loosen it from the pan, then place a plate overtop the pan and flip it onto the plate.  Then repeat the process to invert it from the plate onto the serving tray you plan to use.  (This is why it's so important to make sure the cake has completely cooled!  Many a warm chocolate cake has met its end during this process.)  Spread a generous amount of frosting on the top of the cake, then sprinkle some of the leftover Oreo crumbs onto the layer, reserving some for the final decoration.

        Next, remove the second cake from the pan and this time we want the cookie crumble to face up.  Finish icing the top and sides of the cake, then garnish with the remaining Oreo crumbles.  Serve and enjoy!