Cookies + Cake = Delicious

Now, this cake was pretty to look at and pleasant to eat. I needed an excuse to use my new mixer yet again. Have I mentioned just how much I love my new mixer? Best Christmas gift my husband has bought me thus far.

I wanted a cake, but not an overly chocolate cake. Wait, check my temperature! I said I DIDN'T want something overly chocolate. I must be ill. Call the paramedics! Considering how much I love chocolate, this is a shocker. I settled on the cake below. It has a little chocolate, using the addition of sandwich cookies. Those would be Oreos for those brand-name people. I actually didn't use Oreos. I used the Fred Meyer brand called Kid-O's, which my husband and I thought was funny.

This was a fun cake to bake. The recipe called to cut the layers in half to make a four layer cake. It was so pretty with all the whipped cream in between the layers. The only change I would have made to this recipe would be to add a little bit of sugar into the whipped cream. It would give it a touch more sweetness. I couldn't find a cake mix with pudding at the grocery store, so I just used a regular boxed mix, and it turned out just fine! And of course, I used my new mixer for both the cake and to make the whipped cream.

Have I mentioned just how much I love my new mixer?

Cookies and Cream Cake
from: Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor

18 sandwich cookies, plus additional if needed
solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans
flour for dusting the pans
1 package (18.25 oz) white cake mix with pudding
1 cup water
1/2 vegetable oil
3 large eggs
2 cups heavy (whipping) cream

1. Place the sandwich cookies, in batches, in a food processor and process until you have crumbs. You should have 2.25 cups crumbs. If not, process more cookies until you have the correct amount. Or, crumble the cookies using a large ziploc bag (this is what I did). Set aside.

2. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350. Generously grease two 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.

3. Place the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well combined. Fold in 1 cup of the cookie crumbs until well distributed. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.

4. Place a clean, large mixing bowl and clean electric mixer beaters in the refrigerator (or freezer) while the cake bakes. You will use them to prepare the whipped cream.

5. Bake the cakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 28 to 32 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow to cool completely, 30 minutes more.

6. Prepare the whipped cream: Remove the chilled bowl and beaters from the refrigerator. Pour the cream into the bowl and beat with the electric mixer on high speed until it forms stiff peaks, 2.5 to 3.5 minutes. Gently fold in 1 cup of the remaining cookie crumbs, distributing them well. Chill the whipped cream until the cake has cooled completely.

7. Carfully slice the cake layers in half horizontally, using a large, sharp serrated bread knife or a long piece of unflavored dental floss. You will have four layers. Place the bottom half of a cake layer on a serving platter, cut side up. Spread with some of the whipped cream. Top with the matching top half of the layer, cut side down. Spread with whipped cream. Next, add the bottom half of the second layer, cut side up, and spread with whipped cream. Top with the matching top half of the layer, cut side down. Spread the top and sides fo the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream using clean, smooth strokes.

8. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cookie crumbs on top of the cake. Place the cake in a cake server or under a glass dome and chill until time to serve.