Oreo Birthday Cake

If you'd rather indulge in Oreo truffle brownies, go here.

In May, my family and I celebrated my cousin's birthday. I love making sweet treats for him because he fully enjoys them, and I heard he sneaks in the kitchen to eat more of my creations. When I asked my aunt what cake she was planning to bring to the party, she stated that she was going to buy one from a grocery store but seeing that I was in town, I could make it if I wanted. . . and of course I volunteered! My cousin deserves more than a cake-mix/processed cake from a grocery store :).

Because he loves chocolate, my aunt and I decided on a chocolate cake. However, the day before his birthday and the day after I had purchased all of the necessary ingredients, he revealed that he wanted a strawberry cake! As a compromise, I bought some fresh strawberries and put them on top of the cake.

For the cake itself, I used my go-to recipe, which is same as the Black Magic cake recipe from the Hershey's site. As always, I consulted the recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box, but I used coffee in place of the boiling water. buttermilk in place of milk, and added more vanilla extract. I also have used Pernigotti Cocoa (see link below cake recipe) when I have access to it, but any other cocoa powder is fine as well. For extra Oreo flavor, I also added Oreo halves to the cake batter!

For the frosting, I made a regular white buttercream and added Oreo crumbs at the end. I piped something that resembled rosettes on the top with the same frosting and placed halves of Oreos and fresh strawberries over them. In the middle I piped in Chantilly or homemade whipped cream and then put Oreo crumbs on top. [SIDE NOTE: Please don't use Cool Whip or an imitation whipped cream; whipped cream is too easy to make at home and tastes much better!]

After my mom and I left the house with the cake, I decided to put some gummy worms (not pictured) on top of the crumbs as a homage to Oreo dirt cakes. Since the cake was for the party, I do not have any photos of the cakes' innards :(. Also, I cannot tell you how it tasted because I was and still am on a strict diet; however, my family thoroughly enjoyed it and stated it was very moist. They also liked the surprise whipped cream topping. In fact, later that day my aunt called me just to tell me that after having eaten a second, big slice of the cake, I had received an A+ for my cake. That was nice to hear :).

Anyway, if I ever make this cake again I think I will use whipped cream or a combination frosting/whipped cream in the middle of the cake as well. I hope you make this cake or a variation of it soon! It looked so amazingly moist and flavorful that I still think about it :D.

Oreo Birthday Cake:

Magic Chocolate Cake

slightly adapted from Hershey 

yields 10-12 servings

• 2 cups (400g) sugar
• 1-3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (89g) cocoa powder (dark or regular)
• 2 tsp (10g) baking soda
• 1 tsp (5g) baking powder
• 1 tsp (5g) salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup (237ml) buttermilk, room temperature (in Italia, si può prendere il latticello direttamente dal caseficio)
• 1 cup (237 ml) strong, hot black coffee OR 2 tsp instant coffee/espresso + 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
• 2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract
• MIX-IN: 15 Oreo/chocolate, cream-filled biscuit halves (one row)

1. Heat oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan (I use baking spray (see below)), two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl or stand mixer. 

3. In a glass, measuring cup, stir together the room temperature eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract.

4. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, and with a mixer, beat everything together on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. 

5. Next slowly pour in the HOT espresso/coffee (batter will be thin) and mix for 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.

6. Stir in the Oreo halves into the mixture by hand and make sure you have combined everything well.

7. Pour batter evenly into prepared pan.

8. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. 

9. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes. 

10. Loosen cake from side of pan and remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely (2-3 hours) before frosting. 

(At this point, I normally wrap the cakes well with cling/clear wrap (separately!) and allow them to rest overnight in the fridge or on the counter. I make the frosting and decorate the next day.)

Oreo Buttercream

full recipe (for cake and decoration)

feel free to halve this recipe if you plan to use more whipped cream or want less frosting

• One pound (4 sticks/453g) of butter, room temperature
• 6 cups (750g) of powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp (15ml/g) of vanilla extract
• Crumbs of ~15 Oreos or chocolate cream-filled biscuits (crush in a food processor or in a Ziploc bag)
• 4-6 Tbsp (60-90ml) of milk or heavy cream, room temperature

1. In a stand mixer or large bowl, whip the softened butter for about 1-2 minutes.
2. Next, add in the powdered sugar one cup at at time being careful not to get sugar everywhere!
3. Once all the powdered sugar has been incorporated, add in the vanilla extract and cookie crumbs.
4. Last, pour in a few Tbsp/ml of milk or heavy cream until the frosting is smooth enough to frost the cake without causing the cake to fall apart :).

Chantilly/Whipped Cream

The recipe amount below is for the top of the cake. If you'd like to use more, then double the recipe.

• 1 cup (237ml) of COLD heavy cream
• 1 tsp (5ml/g) of vanilla extract (clear or regular)
• 2 Tbsp (10g) of powdered sugar

1. If you have time, place the mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for at least 5-10 minutes so that the whipped cream will come together faster.
2. Once the bowl and beaters are ready, pour in the cold, heavy cream and beat it until you begin to see "slightly firm" ripples. Stop the mixer and see if there are slightly firm peaks (but NOT firm just yet).
3. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract as the cream continues to mix. Then mix everything until you form firm peaks.
4. Do not overmix or you'll make sweet butter and buttermilk!

Cake Decoration

To decorate the cake, I piped shells at the bottom of the cake rosettes on the top with the Oreo buttercream. Next, I used a cake decorating triangle (see below) to create the lines on the side of the cake. Then, I piped concentric circles of whipped cream in the middle. I carefully poured in crushed Oreos over the whipped cream and added 7-8 Oreo halves (4 whole Oreos broken in half) and 7-8 strawberries (stem removed) over the rosettes. Last, I added in a few gummy worms coming out of the Oreo-covered whipped cream.