Happy Memorial Day! It's a no school day here (Can you believe I'm still at school?), and my parents are visiting me and spoiling me with food and love. (: And speaking of food, this Ultimate Oreo Cake is the most moist, fluffy, and chocolate-y cake you will ever get...out of a cake mix!
I know, it's kind of like cheating, but this isn't just any ordinary cake made from a cake mix. It's doctored up with sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and chocolate pudding so you can barely even tell it wasn't made from scratch. And besides, if you're ever in a hurry to pull off a beautiful cake, cake mix can be super handy.
I actually had this recipe planned a long time ago, all the way back in winter break (!), because my friend Katie and I have decided to make it a tradition to make an impressive cake every time we see each other during breaks from school. Because we're in college now, we see each other only 3 or 4 times total during the school year (August to June)!
In fact, that's about as often as I see my lovely co-chef Caroline through the school year as well. That's why we try to make the most out of our times together and bake up something super delicious for you guys whenever we can (:
Although I'm a little jealous that all of my friends are on summer break now and I still have 3 weeks, I'm really loving spring quarter. It's kind of amazing how beautiful everything is when it's not winter. Flowers of every color you can imagine are in full bloom all over campus. The trees are green, pink, and white. Yes, allergy season is totally on (Thankfully, I don't have a problem with that, other than the weird smelling white trees.). And the lakefill is beautiful!!
That's Chicago, right there! Can you believe this is the view from my school? Photo by Ton Luk
It was so much fun when my friend and I were able to visit Chicago last weekend right before my birthday. It was perfect weather. We ate brunch at the Yolk (I highly recommend it.), trekked to Millenium Park, admired the Bean, played in the famous water fountain, and enjoyed the Magnificent Mile. Could a day be more perfect?
The eggs benedict at the Yolk was delicious. Look at that hollandaise sauce! How could anyone resist?
A perfect day to visit Chicago.
Anyways, back to the cake!
Doesn't it look beautiful? I thought we we did a pretty good job of being innovative with the original recipe by adding our own decorative flair. I just really like the top of the cake because you can see the Oreos peaking out. That's why we chose not to frost the top of the cake. Hope you enjoy!
Cheers,
Monica
Printable recipe of Ultimate Oreo Cake
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Ultimate Oreo Cake
The most moist, rich, deep, chocolate-y oreo cake you can imagine
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Adapted from
Time: 2 hours
Yield: 12 slices
Ingredients
For cake
:
1 package devil's food cake mix
1 package (3.4 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream (or, ¾ cup buttermilk + ⅓ cup butter)
¾ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
½ cup warm water or milk (or, ½ cup warm coffee--it deepens the chocolate flavor)
2 cups chocolate chips (optional)
5 Oreos, pulled apart into halves
For Oreo buttercream
:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp cold milk
20 Oreos, chopped or finely crushed
5 Oreos, chopped directly in half for garnish on top of the cake
5 Oreos, finely crushed for garnish around the edge
Directions
For cake
:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper. This will help
tremendously
to get the cake out after baking.
2. Line bottom of both cake pans with the Oreos, pulled apart into halves.
3. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, pudding mix, salt, vanilla, sour cream, oil, eggs and water. Stir in chocolate chips and divide batter into the prepared pans.
4. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, until top is springy to the touch and toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely on wire rack.
For Oreo buttercream
:
1. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and then add vanilla. Combine well.
2. Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Then add cold milk one tablespoon at a time, combining well after each addition until you reach the desired consistency. If too thick, add more milk; if too thin, add more powdered sugar.
3. Fold in chopped Oreos and frost the cake. Garnish, serve, and enjoy!
