Cake of the Week: Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Bundt Cake

My very best friends and I have a super-amazing tradition. It all started way back in late-summer 2010, when I’d been living in DC for just over a year. I saw a Groupon deal for a one-man show of The Lord of the Rings, and sent out an email to a random group of friends – Hey, This looks like it might be awesome and I’d really like to go. Anyone interested in coming with me?

Through the subsequent email exchanges, I learned that 6x6, LOTR-Emily (now her blog name makes sense, huh?), and LLC also happen to love The Lord of the Rings. (I’m not sure if this makes it more or less ridiculous, but for the record, I loved the books loooooong before the movies.)

After seeing the show, 6x6 had an absolutely genius idea – We should have a Bilbo Baggins Birthday party on September 22! (That is his “actual” birthday.)

We decided to celebrate by watching the movies while eating LOTR-themed food. None of us has the stamina to do all the movies at once, so this became a 3-part party: over the course of late September through October we took turns hosting, choosing different Middle Earth species-themed food for each movie: The Fellowship of the Ring = Hobbits; The Two Towers = Elves and Ents; The Return of the King = Orcs and Men.  Anyone who liked LOTR was welcome, so these nights ranged from 5-15 people!

Up until that time, we’d all been friends separately – I was friends with 6x6 through work and running, LLC was(/is) my Long Lost Cousin (obviously), and LOTR-Emily and I had lived together for almost a year – but our LOTR parties solidified us as a group. The first series was such a success that we just had to do it again in 2011 (when Uruk-hai joined the party, bringing super-extended Blu-Ray to the table). And two occurrences clearly makes it a thing, so there was no question of not doing it in 2012.

Now let’s talk food, since that’s about 75% of the fun! I’ve made Hobbit Truffle Cakeballs, Lembas Bread (shortbread), “Red Sun Rises at Dawn, Blood Has Been Spilled this Morn” Cupcakes, Dead Marshes Dip (not photogenic enough for the blog, but similar to this), and now: THE ONE RING CAKE.

My original plan was to make a gold cake, but I was in the mood for chocolate this weekend, so whatever. This cake, like most things made with Oreos, is obscenely delicious. The chocolate cake itself is excellent, the Oreo Cream Cheese Filling is dense and intense, and the glaze over the top makes is super-pretty. I’ve adapted the recipe from Baker’s Royale to make it easier (i.e. instead of three egg yolks and then 2 eggs, how about 3 egg yolks and 3 egg whites? Efficient. Instead of milk and buttermilk, just use buttermilk for both, since every time I buy milk it goes bad in my fridge. Again, efficient.)

As we watched the lighting of the beacons, Faramir riding out to re-take Osgiliath, and Frodo and Sam struggle up Mt. Doom, this cake kept us good company.

Even if you don’t love LOTR (what? No.) you should make this cake.

Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Bundt Cake 

Preparation: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray bundt pan and lightly coat with cocoa powder or flour.
Printable recipe. 
Ingredients:
Oreo Cream Cheese Filling

• 1/2 cup Oreos, crushed (about 10 whole Oreos)
• 4oz. cream cheese (1/2 block), softened
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Cake:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 12 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
• 3/4  cup coffee or water, boiling
• 3 ounces quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped (if you’re using chocolate chips, it’s about 2 tablespoons less than ½ cup)
• 3/4 cups buttermilk
• 3/4 cups butter, melted and cooled to warm
• 1 2/3 cups packed brown sugar
• 3 egg whites (leftover from making the filling)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Icing:

• 1 cup of confectioner sugar
• 2 tablespoon buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon of crushed Oreos

Instructions:

To make the filling:

1. Place Oreos in a food processor bowl and pulse until crumbled. OR, place Oreo is a Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. Set aside 1 tablespoon of crushed Oreos for icing.
2. Place all ingredients in a bowl and beat until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make chocolate bundt cake:

1. Place flour, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. In a heat proof bowl, add cocoa and whisk in boiling coffee/water. Add in chopped chocolate and whisk until combined. Add in buttermilk and whisk until combined.
3. Mix melted butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add in egg whites and beat until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla and beat until combined.  Fold flour into wet mixture in 3 batches, alternating with cocoa mixture.
4. Pour half of batter into pan. Using a spoon, make a well for the Oreo filling and evenly spoon it in, keeping filling toward the center. Pour remaining batter on top. 
5. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 50-60 minutes or until the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Place a wire cooling rack on top of the cake and carefully turn over – remove the pan and let cool completely.

To make icing/Assemble:

1. Add confectioner sugar and buttermilk into a bowl and whisk to combine. Add more milk as needed to thin icing to preferred consistency.
2. Pour icing over bundt cake and sprinkle remaining Oreo crumbs on top.

Printable recipe. 

Cake of the Week: Sluttier Brownies

The Eat Run Read scandalousness continues. Judging by the bloggy success of Sister1’s Slutty Brownies, this next creation might just blow the internet’s mind.  It’s her same recipe, but with one incredibly important addition to take these brownies to the next slutty level: peanut butter. Because on a scale from one to insanely intense, these score HIGH on the intensity side. 

This is not a dessert for the faint of heart. I made them as a goodbye present for my friend who is driving cross-country. Forget the late-night coffee, I bet just one of these bars would equal a few shots of espresso and maybe a Red Bull or two. (Just as Sister1 said, these are dangerous to have around in any quantity.) 

I went the lazy route and used brownie mix instead of making the brownies from scratch. And I am a-OK with that! Let’s be real, mostly I’m re-posting this recipe because the pictures are so fabulous. So without further ado:

Sluttier Brownies

Printable recipe. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Brownie Ingredients: 

• See printable recipe for from-scratch brownie instructions. I used a family-sized box mix this time. 

And:

• 1 pkg Double Stuffed Oreos
• About 1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth, whatever you like). 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 baking dish with wax paper and spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
• For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer: Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well to thoroughly combine. 
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, then slowly incorporate into the mixer until the flour is just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. 

• For the Brownie Layer: prepare box mix according to instructions.
• Assembly: Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of your prepared pan.
• Spread peanut butter on top of the Oreos.

• Top the cookie dough with a layer of Oreos. 

• Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos. 

• Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15-25 minutes. 
• Let cool completely before cutting — brownies may still be gooey in the middle when still warm, but will set up perfectly once cooled. 

• Note: To half this recipe for an 8×8 brownie mix, simply half the chocolate chip cookie dough ingredients.

Printable recipe. 

Enjoy!

Cake of the Week: Slutty Brownies

Editor's Note: This is a guest post from the the kitchen of Sister1.

Have you heard of Slutty Brownies? [No! Do tell!] Or perhaps the longer but more PG title: Double Fudge Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip Brownies? Whatever you want to call them they are pretty amazing.

After seeing a recipe for these bars on multiple blogs I decided that I had to try them. They are a lot of work if you decide to make the brownies and cookie dough from scratch, but I enjoy some baking “work” and these bars are definitely worth it. Just make sure you have somewhere to bring them, or a friend, spouse, or office to give them to...trust me, you don't want to be home alone with these!

According to Geoff [brother-in-law] as he took his first Slutty Brownie bite, “The first word that comes to mind is confusing.” He couldn't tell what part he liked better -- just brownie and cookie, or everything all together at once. For me, the real magic happened when I got everything in one bite. Oreo cookie flavor is just so delicious! [I wish I were there to taste and offer an opinion! Overnight mail next time? Yes please?]

I won't be making these often because they are so dangerous (in the best way possible), but I'm glad I tried them! 

I made the brownie batter and cookie dough from scratch but you could also use mixes for both.

Slutty Brownies aka Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar

Original recipe from Kevin and Amanda. 

Printable recipe. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (12 ounces) milk chocolate chips

Brownie Ingredients: 

(OR you can use a family-sized brownie mix prepared according to the box instructions.)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 ¼ cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 ¼ cups Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips (I didn’t use these)

And:

• 1 pkg Double Stuffed Oreos

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 baking dish with wax paper and spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
2. For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer: Cream the butter and both sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well to thoroughly combine. 
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, then slowly incorporate into the mixer until the flour is just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. 
4. For the Brownie Layer (from KAF): In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Or simply combine the butter and sugar, and heat, stirring, until the butter is melted. Continue to heat (or microwave) briefly, just until the mixture is hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating the mixture to this point will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
5. While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.
6. Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.
7. Add the flour, again stirring until smooth. 
8. Assembly: Spread the cookie dough in the bottom of your prepared pan.
9. Top the cookie dough with a layer of Oreos. 
10. Pour the brownie batter over the cookie dough and Oreos. 
11. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for an additional 15-25 minutes. 
12. Let cool completely before cutting — brownies may still be gooey in the middle when still warm, but will set up perfectly once cooled. 

Note: To half this recipe for an 8×8 brownie mix, simply half the chocolate chip cookie dough ingredients.

Printable recipe. 

Cake of the Week: Oreo Cupcakes with Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting

Birthdays are a time to indulge. Do you want cream cheese in that frosting? Yes. How about extra cookies in your cupcake? Of course. And an extra swirl just to top it off? Um duh!

And even though it wasn't my birthday this weekend, I made sure that everyone indulged in some of LLC's birthday cupcakes. 

They were pretty much pure no-holds-barred intensely awesome. (I set a pretty high bar - or should I say cake? - on her birthday last year, so I had to go big this time!)

Listen up and be prepared to experience intense sugar cravings...followed by an equally intense sugar coma. They’re vanilla cupcakes. With an Oreo cookie on the bottom. And Oreo chunks inside. And Cream Cheese Oreo Frosting.

Yup, like I said, pretty intense.

I used the same recipe that made Megan’s Birthday Cake last year, but adapted it into cupcake form. It made 23 regular-sized cupcakes, plus 6 minis.

Oreo Cupcakes

Adapted from BeantownBaker.com

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups flour, plus 2 Tbsp for the Oreo chunks (I omitted this step)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 2/3 cup sugar

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 package Oreo cookies (about 30 Oreos)

cupcake liners

Preheat over to 350F.

Twist apart 24 Oreos. Place the wafers (with filling side up) in the bottom of your cupcake tins.

Set aside 5 Oreos (for the frosting).

Cut the remaining Oreo cookies into quarters with a sharp knife (use your best judgement here about how many Oreos to use – it all depends on how cookie-ish you want your cupcakes to be).

In a large bowl cream the butter until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix until integrated. Stir in sugar. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites. Beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in the quartered cookies.

Fill your cupcake liners. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Oreo Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese at room temp

1 stick butter at room temp

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

3-4 cups powdered sugar

2 T milk - as needed

5 Oreos

Use a food processor (or a plastic bag and a rolling pin) to completely crust the 5 Oreos (if they’re chunky at all, it will block your piping bag when you’re frosting the cupcakes).

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add Oreos.

Add vanilla extract. Slowly add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Add milk as needed.

Assembly

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, scoop the frosting into a piping bag and apply generously to your cupcakes.

Like I said, I got 23 cupcakes and 6 mini cupcakes out of this recipe. Someone's gotta do quality control, right?

Serve at room temperature. Sing Happy Birthday. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday LLC!

Cake of the Week: Oreo Cake

Just 48 hours after last week's cake fiasco, I was back at it again. Usually I give myself a bit more time between cakes, but this one was for a birthday I found out about the day beforehand. And it was for the lovely Megan, my very glorious co-worker, and a reader of this blog (everybody say Hi Megan!).
I found out Tuesday afternoon that it was her birthday on Wednesday. So I called out across our shared wall, Meeegggaaaannnn??? (This happens often throughout the day when I need a meaningful human interaction - i.e. someone to talk about running, cake, etc., or to share some amazing internet find - we're talking dessert-related here people).

Yes?

Luckily she was there to respond (when she's not I'm just another lonely cubicle-droid talking to myself in a computer screen world).Me: If you were to have a cake of your choice, what kind of cake would that be?
Megan: Oh gosh, well, I just really really love vanilla frosting.Dun dun dun. As you know from last week, frosting is kind of the bane of my existence. (And no, I don't think that's an over-dramatic statement.)
I took a deep breath, sighed, and accepted the fact. It's going to be a cake, and it's going to involve frosting. I can do this! I can! I can!And guess what? I did! It was the best frosting I have ever made. Yep. That's right!

But I get ahead of myself. Let's first talk about the cake. Oreo Cake from Beantown Baker. Erin had made this cake once before, and though I wasn't in Boston at the time to experience it, rumor (aka, Jess) has it that the cake was fabulous!The original recipe is for cupcakes, but it makes a nice two-layer cake. I lined the bottom of one of the cake pans with Oreo halves, and then crushed oreos into the cake. I used about 20 Oreos total, which I think was almost too much. When I make this cake again (because it's definitely good enough for a repeat), I think I will crush up fewer Oreos into the batter.
And the frosting, oh the frosting. First of all, it worked. Second of all, it was delicious! I 1 1/2-ed the frosting recipe to make sure it was enough for the cake, and it came out perfectly.

As we celebrated Megan's birthday the next day at work, everyone said they loved the cake, and I really don't think they were lying. And if they were, oh well, becuase I love love love this cake!

Oreo Cake

from BeantownBaker.com

Cake

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour, plus 2 Tbsp for the Oreo chunks (I omitted this step)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 2/3 cup sugar

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 pkg Oreo Cookies (~45 cookies)

Preheat over to 350F. Grease and flour two 8-9 inch pans.

Twist apart 24 Oreos. Place the wafer with filling on it, filling side up, in the bottom of one of your pans. Cut other wafers in half. Crush the other wafer halves, also for garnishing.

Cut the remaining Oreo cookies into quarters with a sharp knife. Toss with 2 Tbsp flour and set aside. (I didn't toss them in flour.)

In a large bowl cream the butter until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix until integrated. Stir in sugar. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites. Beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in the quartered cookies.

Fill 2 8 or 9-inch cake pans. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

Frosting
8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 stick butter at room temp
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
2 T milk - as needed

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy.

Add vanilla extract. Slowly add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
Happy Birthday Megan!

Boston Dessert Week; Oreo Cupcakes

Welcome to Day 4, the last day of the first annual Boston Dessert Week. Take a moment to get sad...ok, now get happy! Because my final dessert post is about Oreo Cupcakes, and they're pretty amazing!!!

These babies were Jess's inspiration, Jess's project, and Jess's great success. I can only claim to have overseen the frosting-making (and by "oversee" I mean I watched closely, and made sure my fingers were in the bowl and my tongue on the eggbeaters...).

The cake is the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake recipe from the Hershey's box, that by now everyone should know is the best chocolate cake recipe out there. Jess also put an Oreo in the bottom of each cupcake. 

And then to top things off, Oreo Frosting - Oh. My. God. So GOOOOOOD!!! We frosted them pre-dessert party (and post-run. Sidenote: I know I said I'd blog about my run - but really it was just a good workout with my old team. Nothing crazy, but everything that is good about college running). Anywho, it took A LOT of willpower for me not to OD on sugar right then and there. 

We started out frosting with a piping bag, but little chunks of Oreo kept clogging the tip...so we did the rest of the cupcakes with a knife.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

(Source: Hersheys.com) 

Ingredients: 

- 2 cups sugar 

- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 

- 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa 

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 

- 1 teaspoon salt 

- 2 eggs 

- 1 cup milk 

- 1/2 cup vegetable oil 

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

- 1 cup boiling water 

- 8-10 Oreo cookies, crushed or put through food processor (optional) 

 Directions: 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans (For cupcakes or other pan sizes, see variations listed below.) 

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. 

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Oreo Buttercream 

Ingredients: 

- 1 cup butter 

- 1 tsp. vanilla extract 

- 2 tbsp. water 

- 1 lb. confectioner's sugar (if you don't have a scale, it's approximately 4 cups) 

- 1 tbsp. meringue powder 

- 12-14 Oreos, finely crushed in food processor 

Directions: 1. In bowl of stand mixer, cream butter, vanilla, and water. 

2. Add confectioner's sugar, meringue powder, and crushed Oreos. Mix until well combined. 

3. At this point, your frosting will be very thick. To top cupcakes, it's better to have medium to thin consistency icing, so you'll have to add more water. I probably added another 2-3 tbsp. to get the desired consistency, but you'll want to add the water little by little to make sure you don't add too much. When it's the right consistency, it should be pretty easy to stir by hand (think about whether you'd be able to easily squeeze it out of a piping bag). If you accidentally make it too thin (runny), add more confectioner's sugar.

Recipe Source: Heather Drive