February 28, 2004 was an interesting day. It was a Saturday and we lived in San Antonio. Our goal that morning was to get a dresser for the nursery finished before E had to go to work, which we did and as a reward I went to Krispy Kreme and purchased a TON of donuts because I was craving them (which is weird cause I dislike those donuts). E went to work and I finished getting the nursery ready and even though I didn't feel good, we went out to dinner that night with friends. Little did we know that it would be our last dinner out before Baby G arrived. We arrived at the hospital at 1:30 am on February 29th and at 12:31 pm G arrived. 6 lbs, 14 ozs and 19.5 inches long. What a great day that was. We had our Leap Day Baby!
G is now starting to understand the Leap Day Birthday being every 4 years and he isn't a big fan as of now. But I am sure that he is just in a phase and he will understand that it is a unique birthday. We do family dinners/birthday parties for him during the "off" years and then a big party for him on the Leap Years. So, this year we had family and our dear friends over for an easy hot dog dinner with a really good chocolate cake.I found an Oreo cake recipe awhile back and showed it to G and asked if he was interested in it. He was but he wanted a few changes and of course I made them. The cake was really moist and the frosting was good -- a bit thinner than I thought it would be but still good.
(he is already planning his "2nd Birthday Party" for next year -- Harry Potter theme)
(he is already planning his "2nd Birthday Party" for next year -- Harry Potter theme)
Chocolate Oreo Cake
Adapted from: http://www.dozen/
Cake
18 full-sized Oreos or one 8oz package of mini Oreos crushed
1 package (18oz) of chocolate cake mix
1 package (3.4oz) of instant chocolate pudding
18 full-sized Oreos or one 8oz package of mini Oreos crushed
1 package (18oz) of chocolate cake mix
1 package (3.4oz) of instant chocolate pudding
1 cup water (room temperature)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Frosting
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6-8 tablespoons boiling water (plus additional, if needed)
1 stick of salted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted (plus additional, if needed)
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray two 9" cake pans with Baker's Joy 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 until you have a fine crumb. You need 2 1/4 cups of crumbs total. 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 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. Scape 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 teaspoon at a time, or more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, if the frosting is too thick or too thin.
Assembly
Place one half of your cake on your cake plate and top with some frosting and smooth to about 1/2 from the edge. Repeat the process with the remaining layer. Then frost the top and side of the cake. Decorate the cake with reserved cookies, and cookie crumbs, or any way you wish.
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Frosting
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6-8 tablespoons boiling water (plus additional, if needed)
1 stick of salted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted (plus additional, if needed)
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray two 9" cake pans with Baker's Joy 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 until you have a fine crumb. You need 2 1/4 cups of crumbs total. 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 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. Scape 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 teaspoon at a time, or more powdered sugar, a tablespoon at a time, if the frosting is too thick or too thin.
Assembly
Place one half of your cake on your cake plate and top with some frosting and smooth to about 1/2 from the edge. Repeat the process with the remaining layer. Then frost the top and side of the cake. Decorate the cake with reserved cookies, and cookie crumbs, or any way you wish.
What a cute cake! You're so talented!
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