Shelly's Recipe

OREO CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE PAN FROSTING

Category: Cakes from Cake Mixes

Cake
18 full-sized Oreos or 1 (8 oz) pkg of mini Oreos or 2 1/4 cups of chocolate cookie crumbs
1 box white cake mix with pudding in the mix
1 cup water, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature

Frosting
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tbsp boiling water (plus additional, if needed)
1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted (plus additional, if needed)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt

Cake: Preheat the oven to 350. Spray 2 (9 inch) cake pans with Pam for baking or grease with shortening and dust evenly with flour, tapping out the excess. Set the pans aside.

Grind the cookies in a food processor and process them to a fine crumb. You will need 2 1/4 cups of crumbs total. If you have more than this, set them aside to use to decorate the cake (if desired). Set aside.

Place the cake mix, water, eggs, and oil in a large mixing bowl and mix on low speed for 1 minute and scrape the bowl and blade. Increase the speed to medium and mix for another 2 minutes and scrape the bowl and blade. The batter should look evenly colored. Add the cookie crumbs and mix on low for 15 seconds or so until all the crumbs look evenly distributed.

Pour the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops. Bake both pans in the oven, side by side, and bake about 25-30 minutes until a cake tester in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans and invert onto the rack. Then invert each cake again so they continue to cool right-side-up. Allow to cook completely 30 minutes more.

Frosting: Place the cocoa powder in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer and pour the boiling water over it. Stir the cocoa and water with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it comes together to create a soft mass. Add the butter and blend on low with the paddle attachment on low speed until the mixture is smooth and well combined, about 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and salt and mix for 30 more seconds. Scrape the bowl and blade.

Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and beat on low speed until all the sugar is incorporated. Repeat with the other 2 cups. Scrape bowl and blade. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting has lightened in color and is fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Add more boiling water, a tsp at a time, or more powdered sugar, a tbsp at a time, if the frosting is too thick or too thin.

Assembly: Slice each cake horizontally (if desired) so you have 4 layers of cake (I like to do this using a long piece of unflavored dental floss). Place a little bit of frosting on the bottom of your cake plate (this will act like glue and hold the cake in place). Place one of the cake slices cut side up on the plate. Top with some frosting and smooth to about 1/2 from the edge. Repeat the process with the remaining 3 layers. Then frost the top and side of the cake. Decorate the cake with reserved cookies, cookie crumbs, and cake crumbs or any way you wish.

Cut and serve right away or let it sit at room temperature until ready to eat.