Cookies & Cream Cake

Do you like cake? Do you like Oreo cookies?

Of course you do. And even if you don't, you will love them combined in this easy cake. Especially if you bake it in a cute giant cupcake pan like I did. 

I made this cake for a friend's birthday and will definitely keep the recipe in the back of my mind (or on my blog!) I was originally going to try and make an "Oreo" cake and use Devil's food cake + cream cheese frosting and Oreo bits. I then realized that I, like many others, don't reeeeally love chocolate cake that much. I don't know why; I LOVE chocolate, but sometimes I think it is better accentuated when paired with a different flavor. So anyway, I decided to go with a "Cookies & Cream" cake and use white cake + cream cheese frosting and Oreo bits. I definitely think it highlights the cookie flavor and makes it more creamy. 

I will probably still try the other version some day, when I'm really craving chocolate cake. 

Cookies & Cream Cake Recipe:

• 1 pkg white cake mix (or your own recipe)
• 3 large egg whites (this gives the cake a fluffier texture)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup crushed Oreo cookies

• 1 8oz pkg cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tub whipped dessert topping
• 1 cup crushed Oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degree. Grease a giant cupcake pan (or whatever baking apparatus). Combine the first set of ingredients minus the cookies in a large bowl. Blend until smooth. Then carefully fold in the cookies. Pour evenly into the pan and bake for 30 minutes (adjust baking time depending on pan). When finished, let cake cool for about 10 minutes in pan, then carefully run a knife around the edges and remove. Let cool completely on a clean, dry surface.

To create the frosting, first bring the cream cheese and whipped topping to room temp. When ready, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until light and smooth. Gently fold in the whipped topping.

I won't go into frosting detail for the giant cupcake cake, but it required some intense trimming and assembling. Basically, once your cake is cool, frost and add the crushed cookies on top. 

Congratulations, you've just made the best.cake.ever.

I love the cat present in the background :)

Red Velvet Cookies

Would you believe me if I said I did NOT make these because it's almost Valentine's Day?

You should, even though I thought it was a neat coincidence.

I made these for the soft launch of a new food truck, Yume Burger, that my co-worker hosted. Since the event was that evening, I needed a recipe in which I already had most of the ingredients on hand. I first settled on a chocolate thumbprint with cream cheese center, but since I had whipped cream cheese instead of the solid block, I consulted the Interwebs to see if I could still use my standard cream cheese icing recipe. Upon typing "cream cheese" in the Google search bar, red velvet recipes popped up everywhere. Thus I got the idea to make my chocolate cookies red! I skipped the thumbprint idea after seeing how beautiful and cracked they came out and decided just to add a dollop of icing and some red sprinkles.















And whatever, they are cute and perfect for Valentine's Day.
















Red Velvet Cookies w/ Cream Cheese Icing Recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 extra large egg (if you only have a large egg, the dough might be too crumbly so add 1 tbsp of milk)
• 1 tbsp red food coloring
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp distilled white vinegar

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 8 oz whipped cream cheese
• 4 tbsp butter or margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup milk
• Mix all together until smooth. Add more or less of any ingredient depending on your taste/consistency preference (I wanted something a little more like icing than frosting, so I added milk).
  

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. In large bowl, combine oil and sugars. Beat until well combined. Add egg and mix until incorporated. Add in food coloring, vanilla and vinegar and combine. Finally, gently beat in the dry ingredients until all incorporated well. Roll tsp size balls in the palm of your hand and place on a greased baking sheet. These spread a little, so make sure they have room on the pan. I baked mine for about 12 minutes and I think they came out a little too hard. I would shoot for 8-10 minutes. Let cool completely and then top with icing and sprinkles!

Recipe makes about 2 1/2 dozen.