Cookies and Cream Birthday Cake

Cookies and Cream Birthday Cake

Every year I make my guy a requested dessert for his birthday, which happened to be yesterday- on Easter. Since it happened to fall on the holiday this year, we celebrated a little early last week with dinner, cake, and a movie. Well, the highlight was definitely this decadent cookies and cream birthday cake. It took quite awhile to make, but the end result was totally worth it!

Cookies and Cream Birthday Cake

I actually divided the baking into three days because I was short on time, which really made it seem like less work. It’s layered with dense chocolate cake, cookies and cream cheesecake, and frosted with cookie crumble, silky frosting (this made the decorating super easy). Looks amazing, right?! Here’s how to make it…

Cookies and Cream Birthday Cake

INGREDIENTS:

For the cookies and cream cheesecake layer:
20 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
7 Oreo cookies, chopped

For the dark chocolate cake layers:
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee

For the cookies and cream crumble frosting:
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 oz cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoon milk
1 cup whipped cream
15 Oreo cookies, crushed

For decorating:
8 Oreo cookies, cut in half
1/2 cup whipped cream
Crushed oreo crumbs for decoration

Cookies and Cream Birthday Cake

INSTRUCTIONS:

For the cookies and cream cheesecake layer… Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of an 8″ springform pan with parchment paper and lightly grease. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy, then slowly add the sugar. Beat in the vanilla and salt until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides between each addition and beating well. Mix in the sour cream and gently fold in the chopped Oreos. Pour batter into the prepared springform pan.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or just until the center is set. Allow the cake to cool, then run a knife around the edge of the pan. Remove outer ring of pan, leaving the bottom piece, wrap cheesecake with plastic wrap, and store in the freezer until ready to assemble.

For the chocolate cake layers… Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8″ cake rounds by greasing and flouring them. Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl until well combined. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla and beat until well mixed. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine. Don’t worry if the batter looks thin- this is totally normal!

Split the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn onto a cooling rack. Level the cakes with a serrated knife if necessary. You can wrap the layers in plastic wrap and store in the freezer until ready to use.

For the cookies and cream frosting… In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and continue beating. Reduce the mixer’s speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once incorporated, add the milk and increase the speed to medium. Beat for another 1-2 minutes until completely smooth. Gently fold in the whipped cream and crushed Oreos with a spatula.

For assembly and decorating… Place one layer of the chocolate cake face down onto a cake platter. Cover layer with a thin layer of frosting, then place the cheesecake layer on top, face down. Spread another thin layer of frosting and place the second chocolate cake layer on top. Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting and place in the fridge for about 10 minutes to allow your crumb coat to set. Once set, cover the cake with another layer of frosting until the edges are fully covered and smooth.

Sprinkle Oreo crumbs onto the top of the cake. Load whipped cream into a piping bag (I actually improvised with a ziplock bag and edge cut the edge) and pipe evenly spaced dollops around the outer edge. Add halved Oreo cookies in between the dollops.

Cookies and Cream Birthday Cake

After blowing out the candles, of course Kalyn had to get a big glass of milk and a few scoops of homemade vanilla bean ice cream I also had prepared, straight from the Jeni’s cookbook (my favorite!). Luckily, the pro to having an Easter birthday this year was sharing the leftovers with family. It’s a huge cake and we never would’ve been able to put a dent in it ourselves (even though that sounds tempting)!

Obviously, we have a thing for cake here at Room for Tuesday. If you’re looking for more recipes, try these: extra dark chocolate cake, s’more cupcakes, chocolate birthday cake, or Jacqueline’s cookies and cream cake. Let me know what you think!

*this recipe was modified from this original version. 

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