best month ever

Starting next year, April will be the month containing my birthday, my dude's birthday, and our wedding anniversary. I'd say that makes it a pretty special month.

Yes, folks, this time next week I'll be a married woman. Officially off the market. Hitched. (Happily) tied down. Though our main wedding cake will be fancy and proper (and delicious), there are some members of our families who don't care for coconut (hard to believe, I know). As an alternative, I (perhaps foolishly) decided to make another layer cake at home. My beau is an avid enthusiast for all things Oreo, so I set out to find reliable and tasty recipes for chocolate cake and cookies and cream frosting.

You really can't go wrong with chocolate and cookies and cream, and this was a memorable combination of the two. I settled on Beatty's chocolate cake from Ina Garten, and it was every bit as fantastic as all of those 2000+ reviews said it would be. I used 9-inch pans because that's all I have, so the layers are obviously thinner than those that are baked in 8-inch pans as the recipe directs. I cut the baking time, though, and the cake is wonderfully moist and dense and full of chocolate flavor.

The frosting I used was just a basic buttercream with cookies and cream flavoring, and my fancy-pants decorations consisted of plain ol' crushed Oreos and Oreo halves. As you can see in my practice cake here, I initially planned to mix the cookie crumbs into the frosting, but the resulting gray hue was not so elegant. Thank goodness I did a trial run!* The sweetness factor is just right and the consistency is perfect for both piping and spreading.

*In case you were wondering, I made two separate batches (NOT a double batch--that rarely, if ever, works with cake recipes) of the recipe below and froze the layers. I practiced on one layer, which you see in this post, and saved the remaining three for the wedding cake. I adjusted the frosting amounts accordingly.

This cake was certainly good enough to use for two birthday celebrations AND our wedding! Yep, I'm a solid fan of the month of April. I just hope my fella doesn't think he can get away with bestowing only one gift for both my birthday and our anniversary...

(The Most) Special Occasion Cookies and Cream Cake
Full credit to Ina!
(printable recipe)
Makes 2 fat 8-inch or thin 9-inch layers
Ingredients:
For the cake:

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, room temperature

For the frosting:

• 1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4-1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cookies and cream flavor
• 16 oreos, semi-crushed for the filling, plus miniature Oreos for decorating (at least 16)

Directions:
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom of two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line bottoms with parchment rounds. Spray again and set aside.
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes (less time for 9-inch pans), until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. When ready to assemble the cake, wrap the layers in plastic wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
For the frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and salt on medium speed until very pale and creamy, 8 minutes. Be sure to scrape well and often.
Reduce the speed to the lowest setting and gradually add the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and cookies and cream flavoring. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until very light and fluffy, about 6 minutes, scraping often.
Transfer about 5 cups of the frosting to a medium bowl and set aside.
Add the semi-crushed Oreos (reserve about 1/4 cup of the crumbs to press into the bottom border of cake, if desired) to the remaining frosting and beat on medium speed until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
The frosting will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring chilled frosting to room temperature and beat on low speed to soften.
Assembly:
Cut each of your cake layers each once horizontally with a long, serrated knife, so you have a total of 4 thin layers. Place a thin 8-inch round cake board or larger cake plate on the turntable and place the first chocolate cake layer on top. Spread about 1 cup of the cookies and cream frosting on top. Repeat until you come to the final cake layer, which you will place face down. Cover the cake in a thin layer of white frosting, and chill the cake for 30 minutes.
Remove the cake from the fridge and cover in another thick, smooth layer of white frosting. Chill the cake for about 15 minutes.
Pipe 16 stars or blobs evenly spaced around the perimeter of the cake top and place a miniature Oreo on each star. Press remaining cookie crumbs around the bottom of the cake, if desired.
Cake will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.