Monday, April 18, 2011

Oreo Olallieberry Chocolate Layer Cake, or "Oo-- cake!"



I'm working on developing an Easter recipe for y'alls right now, but it isn't quite up to snuff yet, so in the meantime, here's the cake that I made for my roommate's birthday party this past weekend, at which our epic and famous pie made an encore appearance.  Maria has been after me for quite some time now to use up the fat bag of olallieberries I have stashed in the freezer to free up freezer space, so I decided to make her an oreo olallieberry chocolate layer cake for her birthday -- oreos because they're nostalgic, and birthday cakes should be nostalgic; olallieberries because then our freezer space increases and because they're delicious, especially when combined with dark chocolate; and chocolate because... wait, do I really need to explain myself with that one?


The cake itself is fluffy black chocolate cake layered with cocoa-olallieberry Italian meringue buttercream, studded with oreo cookie chunks, and covered in drippy dark chocolate ganache. Between the tartness of the berries and the dark cocoa, the cake is only moderately sweet, just the way I like it: dark, not cloyingly saccharine, with a moody attitude.  Oh, and gold flecks on top just for a bit of diva power.  What the heck, right?--I was making a layer cake already.  Might as well go all out!


With the bit of buttercream and cake that I had left over after I finished making the actual cake itself, here's what I did: cake shots!  Layers of cake and buttercream, topped off with sprinkles, in a convenient shot glass.  The perfect amount of single-serving, I'm-craving-cake-in-the-middle-of-the-night delicious-ness.  Forget cake pops, which require painstaking shaping, freezing, and dipping.  I'll take a cake shot (or two, or three), please!  :-)


Now back to the kitchen to work out this Easter recipe!


Read on for recipe....


Oreo Olallieberry Chocolate Layer Cake
makes one four-layer 8" cake

for chocolate cake:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1/3 cup black cocoa powder
2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tspn salt
1 tspn baking powder
1 tspn baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup whole milk
1 cup hot coffee

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease, flour, and line the bottoms of two 8" round cake pans. If desired, line the cake pans with bake-even strips.
2. In a mixer bowl, combine sugar, flour, black and Dutch-processed cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the beaten eggs, vegetable oil, and milk. Stir to mix. Then, with the mixer on low, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix on low until evenly distributed.
4. Pour the hot coffee into the batter and mix on medium low until smooth.
5. Divide the batter between the two cake pans.
6. Bake for 35-45 minutes. When a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out cleanly, the cakes are done. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.  Once completed, split the layers.

for cocoa-olallieberry buttercream:
1/2 cup olallieberry puree, from about 3/4 cup olallieberries
2 Tbspn black cocoa, sifted
11 oz. sugar (~310 grams)
5 oz. water (~140 grams)
150 grams egg whites (~5 egg whites)
pinch of cream of tartar, optional
50 grams sugar
4 sticks (1 lb) butter, at room temperature
food coloring, if desired
oreo cookies, chopped into sixths

1. In a small bowl, mix together the raspberry puree and sifted black cocoa. Set aside.
2. Combine water and 11 oz. (310 gr) sugar in a small pot over medium-high heat. Without stirring, bring to a boil and let cook until the temperature reaches 240 degrees F.
3. Meanwhile, place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixer bowl. With the whisk attachment, begin whisking the egg whites when the syrup begins to bubble on the stove. Start whisking on medium low until the whites begin to foam, then increase speed to high and gradually add the remainder of the sugar. Whip until soft peaks form and stop.
4. Once the syrup has reached 240 degrees F (soft ball stage) and the whites have been whipped to soft peaks, gradually pour the syrup in a small stream into the egg whites, whisking on medium high continuously. Be careful not to allow the sugar syrup to fall on the beaters.
5. Continue whisking until the bowl of the mixer is at body temperature and not warm anymore.
6. Slowly begin to add the butter, about a half tablespoon at a time.
7. Once all of the butter is incorporated, continue whisking while adding the olallieberry and cocoa mixture and the food coloring, if using. Beat until incorporated. Use immediately, layering with the chopped oreos.

for dark chocolate ganache:
3 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
2.5 oz. manufacturing or heavy whipping cream
1 Tbspn butter

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and set aside.
2. In a saucepan, heat the cream and butter just until simmering.
3. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate. Let sit for a minute or so.
4. Whisk the cream into the chocolate until smooth. Cool briefly and pour onto frosted cake.



Enjoy!

50 comments:

  1. Ooooh, this looks fantastic! So yummy! :)

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  2. believe it or not, this is the first time I came across the fruit Olallieberry! And from the looks and sounds of it, I'm sure it's delicious :D

    PS: The last picture of the cake shots makes me wanna reach out and lick the chocolate rice off the buttercream!

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  3. Pretty dessert, pretty photos!

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  4. Stunning photo! that first one. arresting!!!

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  5. oh yum! i love how you have black backdrops against the food, as opposed to the very common white one instead. really makes it pop.

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  6. Definitely Oooo! Looks like so much fun, because it's purple and covered in gold dust :) The flavor must be outta this world!

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  7. Terriblemente irresistible!!!!
    mglòria {gourmenderies}

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  8. I can't even deal with how perfect this cake is!

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  9. Wow! I just found your blog and all of your lovely olallieberry recipes - beautiful and inspiring. I could really go for one of those cake shots.

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  10. Love this I want to make it for Easter however, where do I find the olallieberries?

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  11. Thank you so much, everyone!

    @Anonymous: hm. Fresh olallieberries are not in season right now (I used ones that I froze last season). I'd recommend substituting with frozen blackberries if you can't find frozen olallieberries.

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  12. Where can I get those gold flakes? :) Thanks!

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  13. @Shani: the gold is actually gold luster dust mixed with a small amount of vodka. You can find it at specialty cake shops, or online.

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  14. This is HOT, and I mean sexy hot, bordering orgasmic eye candy!!! The purple pairs so well with the gold flakes!! I really want to try this!

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  15. my friend sent me this link and I just about exploded with a desperate need for oreos after seeing the images - nevermind reading the recipe - good lord!!!!!! You MUST do a guest post on the Spoonful Blog - www.spoonfulzine.com - would you be interested in doing one?? Our readers will LOVE you!

    thea.
    xx

    (www.spoonfulzine.com)

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  16. looks so good, steph! never heard of olallieberry before.

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  17. This is delicious! I will try to make this for my boyfriend. I'm sure he will love it. :)

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  18. Where can I find gold flakes like that? So much fun! What a perfect touch.

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  19. @villa.ana: those aren't gold flakes--it's luster dust that was mixed with a little bit of vodka and then splattered all over the cake. :-)

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  20. any chance you can put measurements in cups?

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  21. Oh my gosh - I just came across your blog through Pinterest and I'm in love with this cake! And your blog in general! Can't wait to try this :)

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  22. This looks incredible and your photos are beautiful!

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  23. This looks incredible and your photos are beautiful!

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  24. @villa.ana: those aren't gold flakes--it's luster dust that was mixed with a little bit of vodka and then splattered all over the cake. :-)

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  25. Where can I find gold flakes like that? So much fun! What a perfect touch.

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  26. @Shani: the gold is actually gold luster dust mixed with a small amount of vodka. You can find it at specialty cake shops, or online.

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  27. Where can I get those gold flakes? :) Thanks!

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  28. Wow! I just found your blog and all of your lovely olallieberry recipes - beautiful and inspiring. I could really go for one of those cake shots.

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  29. I can't even deal with how perfect this cake is!

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  30. Stunning! Love all the pics :)

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  31. Definitely Oooo! Looks like so much fun, because it's purple and covered in gold dust :) The flavor must be outta this world!

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  32. Ooooh, this looks fantastic! So yummy! :)

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  33. this is insanely gorgeous...how did you apply the gold luster dust?

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  34. @27e6c70128ba2f8cd45ad7a270945655 : To apply the luster dust, mix with a little bit of vodka and flick it onto the cake with a brush.

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  35. This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Bar none!

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  36. Gorgeous cake! I love the pictures:)

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  37. damn the batter is too liquid .(

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  38. Hi Qyuodash,

    The batter is supposed to be really soupy and liquid, but don't worry--the cake should bake up fine!

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  39. WHOA, so pretty! This is one gorgeous cake!! It sounds really delicious too...I definitely want to try making it! :)

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  40. This looks so amazing!! I had to reblog! Thanks for sharing!!!!!

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  41. Can you make the butter cream using raspberries or another berry? 

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  42. I tried making this yesterday and it tasted great but the icing didn't work for me at all...it turned out far too liquid and just ran all over the cake and plate! I don't know what I did wrong?

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  43. I've made a version of this with raspberries before, and it works fine in the buttercream.

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  44. :( I'm not sure? Did you whip the egg whites to the right stiffness?

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I love hearing from you and reading your comments! Thanks so much for stopping by the blog. Happy feasting!