Cookies and Cream Cake

Most people love Oreo's don't they?  "Cookies and cream" brings me back to when I was a little kid because I used to love the ice cream flavor more than anything. 

It was two of my friends at school, Rachelle and Jordan's, birthdays over Thanksgiving break so I figured that when we came back to school I could make them something scrumptious! 

Believe it or not, this is a Cookies and Cream birthday cake and it was quite delicious if I may say so myself. 

The recipe entails the following: dark chocolate cake, Oreo cream cheese frosting filling, a buttercream coating, as well as chocolate whipped cream and Oreo's for decor. 

I have been so busy lately with school work and finals are coming up in about a week and a half so even having time to make this cake was a miracle.  I'm so happy I did though!  It's amazing how just sitting in the common room for an hour with a cake can make it vanish so quickly. 

My amazing boyfriends mom, Sharon, gave me a cute apron a few months ago with a cupcake pattern on it... 

Isn't it adorable? Thanks Sharon!

The decoration of this cake can be done in any way you like but I will explain what I did. After the buttercream frosting had set I chopped up a bunch of Oreos into fine crumbs and coated just the top of the cake with them.  Then with the remaining Oreos I had a cut them eat into half circles and placed them around the base of the cake.  Lastly, I piped the chocolate whipped cream both around the perimeter of the face of the cake and between the Oreos around the base.  I also added a heart on the top with my left over buttercream.  There are many ways that you could go about decorating this so be creative and have fun with it! 

Ok now that your mouth is watering I can give you the recipe... and I would like to acknowledge The Dainty Chef and Cooking Classy for inspiring me to make this wonderful creation.

Ingredients:

This recipe makes a regular sized 2-layer cake.

For the chocolate cake:
1¾ cup all-purpose flour
⅔ cup cocoa powder
1½ tsps. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup butter (this is one and a half sticks)
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs at room temperature
1¼ cups buttermilk

For the Oreo cream cheese filling:
4 ounces soft whipped cream 
1/2 cup soft unsalted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
5-7 chopped Oreos

For the buttercream:
3 sticks salted butter
4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp. heavy whipping cream
1½ tsp. vanilla 

For the chocolate whipped cream (This recipe makes a lot):
Approximately 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
Chocolate chips

*Note: Also need Oreo's for decoration (1 package is enough for the whole recipe)

Directions:

For the chocolate cake: 

Preheat the oven to 350.  Pre-grease and flour 2 8-inch round cake pans.  Make sure that you put a good amount of flour because I had a hard time getting my cake out. 
In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 
In a larger bowl, using an electric mixer, combine butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs (1 at a time).  
On low speed, mix in the flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk (start and end with flour mixture). 
Divide batter amongst the 2 pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool completely before attempting to remove from the pans. 

         

              

For the Oreo cream cheese filling: 
Beat, with an electric mixer, the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Gradually add powdered sugar and mix until very well combined.  
Stir in chopped Oreo's (not finely chopped). 
Once cake layers have cooled, spread the filling on top of one of the layers, and place the second layer over. 

For the buttercream frosting: 

Beat butter with an electric mixer until it turns a white color (at least 5 minutes). 
Slowly add in powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, and vanilla until well combined and retains a thick consistency. 
I decided to use salted butter because it makes the sweetness not as intense and creates a perfect balance. 
Spread over the sides and top of the cake. 

For the chocolate whipped cream (optional):

Take a generous amount of heavy whipping cream and whip with an electric mixer.  

Slowly add in about a half cup of melted chocolate chips (this will be up to you on how much you want to add).  Keep whipping until it is thick enough to pipe. 

This recipe makes a lot of whipped cream so you can use it to put in hot chocolate or anything you want!

Putting it all together: 

As described above, I put crumbled Oreo's on the top, half-Oreo's around the base, and piped the whipped cream all around.  Get inspired by these pictures or come up with ideas of your own! 

Here is a picture of one of the pieces of cake... mmmm I miss it already.

Happy Birthday Jordy and Shelly! Love you guys!

This cake does have a lot of moving parts but they all come together very nicely and it is well worth all the work! 

Happy Christmas season and Happy Baking!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mini Cheesecakes

College Cooking Episode #2!  Reeses are by far my favorite candy in the world.  Chocolate and peanut butter, independently, are way up there on my favorite foods list and when combined... oh don't even get me started.

This was my first time making cheesecake so I am definitely a rookie and made a few minor mistakes but we have to make mistakes to learn, right? 

I would eat cheesecake every day if I could but my conscience won't let me.  I guess its for the best. 

This particular cheesecake has an Oreo crust, a peanut butter cheesecake, a chocolate ganache topping, and chopped up Reese's to put on top.  The recipe makes about 12 mini's or one whole cheesecake.  I had to use my cupcake pan because its all I had, but I would recommend using something made specifically for cheesecakes if you have it.  

Last week, when I somehow ended up doing the most baking I've done since I have been here, I had so much going on.  I had my chemistry and biology midterms as well as my boyfriend running the Portland marathon on Sunday.  He had a fabulous time of about 3 hours and 23 minutes, which is around a 7:45/mile pace.  I am so proud of him and just wanted to make sure I acknowledged it here. 

This recipe is inspired by the blog, Gimme Some Oven.

Ingredients:

This recipe makes about 12 mini cheesecakes. 

For the oreo crust:

1 cup finely chopped Oreo's

2 tbsp. melted butter

For the peanut butter cheesecakes:

16 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla

For the chocolate ganache:

1 cup chocolate chips

3 tbsp. heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp. powdered sugar

*Also: chopped up Reese's candy for garnish.

Directions:

For the oreo crust:

Finely chop up 1 cup of Oreo's. 

Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl and add in the chopped oreos. Mix well.  

Evenly distribute the crust among 12 pre-greased cupcake slots. 

Push down to the bottom and flatten with a spoon so it it just the base. 

Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. 

For the peanut butter cheesecake: 

Tips: 

1) Bake in a water bath.

2) Do not open the oven while they are baking.

3) The center should still be a little jiggly when they are done cooking. 

4) Do not over mix/beat the batter.

With an electric mixer combine peanut butter and softened cream cheese until thoroughly mixed. 

Add sugar and continue mixing until combined.  Then, add in eggs one at a time, followed by the cream and vanilla, mixing until it is just combined. 

Transfer the batter to the baking pan with a spoon or ice cream scoop, filling each container as much as possible.  Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes or until they are starting to turn brown and the majority of the surface has firmed up.  

When they are done baking, open the oven a crack and let cool for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and let them cool completely before attempting to separate them from the pan.  This is necessary as cheesecakes are very sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. 

Refrigerate for several hours before topping with ganache and Reeses. 

For the chocolate ganache: 

Melt the chocolate chips and cream in a microwave safe bowl in 15 second intervals until it has reached the consistency you want.  

Add 1 or more tbsp. of powdered sugar to thicken.  Feel free to increase the recipe size by about 50% as I found that it would have been better if it was spilling off the sides.  

After the cheesecakes are done chilling, transfer the ganache to the top of the cheesecakes.  I did this by spooning it on and spreading with a knife but choose whatever method you prefer. 

Last but surely not least: top with Reeses!

I already miss these things- they were so yummy and I will definitely be making them again at some point with my lessons learned on what to do the next time around.  

My hall mates were not disappointed.  Cute look Jordan... 

As always feel free to contact me with any questions and I hope you give these a shot.  You honestly cannot go wrong with this combination of ingredients. 

Happy October and Happy baking!