Chocolate Cookies & Cream Cake

Cake Layers:
1 box chocolate cake mix (I used a dark chocolate fudge flavor)
1 small box (3.9 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
½ cup warm water

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 9” cake pans. (or spray with baking cooking spray; OPTIONAL: line cake pans with parchment rounds before greasing).

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, and water. Pour batter into prepared pans. (SEE NOTE BELOW) Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Oreo Frosting: (See Note Below)

3 cups whole milk
1 scant cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbs vanilla extract
3 cups butter, softened
3 cups granulated sugar (do not use powdered sugar)
1 package Oreo cookies (half of package used in frosting)

In a small saucepan, use a whisk to mix the flour and milk until no lumps remain. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until mixture thickens (and is just about to boil). Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and let it cool completely to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl (a stand mixer works best for this) cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cooled milk mixture a spoonful at a time while beating with a mixer. Continue beating for 5-7 minutes, until frosting is light, fluffy, and completely uniform throughout.

Use a food processor to crush 20 Oreos (about half a package). Reserve 4 Tbs of crumbs to garnish cake later. Gently fold remaining crushed Oreos into frosting. Do not over-stir frosting. Frost cake IMMEDIATELY after making frosting.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze:

3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (scant ½ cup)
½ cup heavy cream
2 Tbs corn syrup

In a Pyrex measuring cup or microwavable bowl, combine the heavy cream and corn syrup. Heat for 1 minute; stir. Add the chopped chocolate to the hot cream; stir briefly. Let sit for one minutes, then stir again until smooth. Cool glaze until it is of pouring consistency, but no so thin that it will quickly run completely down sides of the cake.

Chocolate Cookies & Cream Cake Assembly:

• Prepare Cake Layers and set aside to cool.
• Prepare cooked part of Oreo Frosting and set aside to cool.
• Prepare Chocolate Ganache Glaze and set aside.
• Finish preparing Oreo Frosting.
• Place about one cup of frosting in a pastry bag fit with a large star tip (1M). Set aside.
• Place a cake layer on a serving tray. Use strips of waxed paper placed under edges of cake to keep the serving tray clean. Frost top of first cake layer with a thick layer of Oreo frosting. Repeat with remaining two layers of cake.
• Frost sides of the entire cake with a thin “crumb coat”, and then frost entire cake with the remaining frosting. Refrigerate cake for 20-30 minutes. This is optional, but will help when drizzling the glaze.
• Use a piping bag (with end cut off) or a spoon to generously drizzle the chocolate glaze over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Place cake in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, or until glaze just begins to set.
• Using the piping bag, pipe large swirled mounds around the top of the cake. Press a whole Oreo cookie into the center of each swirl.
• Sprinkle reserved Oreo crumbs around the outside bottom edge of the cake.
• Refrigeration is optional, but it does help to stabilize the Oreos on the top of the cake.

**NOTES:

• My total batter weighed 1320g (46.5oz), so I poured 440g (15.5oz) of batter into each of 3 cake pans.
• Prepare the frosting just before frosting the cake. The Oreo crumbs become very soft in the frosting and will completely mix in if the frosting is left sitting too long (giving you gray frosting instead of flecked cookies & cream).
• If the glaze thickens too much before you are ready to drizzle, microwave for 10 seconds and stir.
• Cake layers can be made ahead and frozen. Wrap each layer individually in plastic wrap and freeze in a single layer on a flat surface. Cake layers do not need to be thawed before assembling and decorating cake. It is actually much easier to frost the cake when the layers are still frozen.

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