Oreo Cookie Cake

My husband, Johnny, turns 32 tomorrow, and his only request was an Oreo birthday cake. I can’t overstate the intensity of Johnny’s love for Oreos. Last year, I finally acquiesced to his five-year-long campaign for me to make homemade Oreo cookies (they turned out pretty well!). Since then, I’ve made other Oreo-themed desserts (including a delightful frozen Oreo, chocolate and banana cupcake — thank you, Jennell!) that I’ll write about some other time, but for his birthday, Johnny said nothing other than an Oreo cake would do. I protested that cake-making is not my specialty. Johnny arched his eyebrows and said something about, oh, is there something Saucy Mommy can’t do?

What? Is that a challenge? Game on!

I looked through a bunch of recipes online and decided to make Kraft’s Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookie Cake. To be honest, I skipped over the recipe at first because I always feel a little hokey using a packaged goods company’s recipe. But, hey, I like many Kraft products, and there’s no logical reason to snub its recipes. What really got me was how the cake looks like a giant Oreo cookie!

Cute, right? And the fact that the cake has exposed sides means less less frosting work, which is good news for me, because, as I’ve mentioned many times (and as you’ll see later), decorating baked goods is not my forte.

Anyway, thanks to using a boxed cake mix, this cake was super easy to make. It didn’t take long to whip up the filling or the chocolate glaze, and from the tastes I snuck of the filling, it is going to be delicious. The filling isn’t overly sweet, it tastes pretty light, and is chock-full of crushed Oreos. Yum!

Chocolate-Covered Oreo Cookie Cake

Ingredients

• One box of chocolate devil’s food cake (enough to make two 9″ cakes) and the ingredients required to make the cake*
• 4 squares (4 ounces) of semisweet baker’s chocolate
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 oz cream cheese (reduced fat is OK), at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups Cool Whip, thawed
• 12 Oreos, crushed
• Additional Oreos for garnish, if desired

*You can make the cake from scratch if you want, too, but I am a big fan of Pillsbury’s chocolate devil’s food cake (the one that claims it has a “cup of pudding” in the mix). So fluffy, so moist!

Instructions

Bake two 9″ round cakes from the box of cake mix, as instructed on the box. Let the cakes cool completely.

Crush the Oreos. I like to put them in a big Ziploc bag, then use the smooth side of a meat mallet to crush them.

It’s a great way to get out that hidden aggression; just don’t go overboard, or you’ll get Oreo dust. 😉 You want some chunks in there.

In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and the sugar together until well-blended and creamy.

Gently fold the Cool Whip and crushed Oreos into the cream cheese and sugar mixture. Try not to eat the filling straight from the bowl!

Put one layer of cake on your serving plate. Spread the filling evenly on top of the cake.

Top it with the other cake. Look, a giant Oreo!

Microwave the butter and chocolate on high for two minutes. Stir well, then let the mixture sit for five minutes. Don’t worry, it’ll thicken up and look like this:

Spread the glaze on top of the cake. Let the glazed cake sit for 10 minutes.

After the glaze has set a little, decorate the cake if you wish. I put a border of Oreos along the edge, then piped “Happy Birthday, Johnny” on it in icing. Please don’t laugh. I told you I’m really bad at fine handiwork. Can I lie and say that Jack wrote the message? Then you’d all be impressed instead of rolling with laughter at the terrible icing penmanship.

I’d like to point out that even though I’m (clearly) not talented at writing with icing, I put a comma after “birthday.” I could go on and on about it, but I’ll just say that it really bugs me when I see beautifully frosted birthday cakes without the comma after “happy birthday.” It ruins the whole thing for me, and I just want to reach out and put one in. The worst is when I see signs or banners at sporting events (this is usually on TV, because I don’t go to sporting events :)) without the comma. I don’t want you guys to start proofreading your comments to me, though. I’m not that bothered by mistakes in emails, blog entries or comments. For those of you who are interested in reading more about commas, I liked this blog entry. OK, back to the topic at hand.

Store the cake, loosely covered, in the refrigerator until ready to serve. I decided to make it a day ahead of time so the filling can firm up a bit, and so the cookies in it can soften. The boys just about cried when I told them we couldn’t eat the cake tonight. We’re all counting down the minutes until tomorrow evening!