easy chocolate cake recipe

Take your love of Oreos to new heights with this insane chocolate cake. Layered with Oreo crumbs and a marshmallow frosting, it's biggest form of an Oreo yet. An easy balloon trick creates a bowl of melted white chocolate that will look like a giant splash of milk on top of your cake! 

INGREDIENTS




FOR THE CAKE:

1. Cooking spray
2. 4 c. all-purpose flour 
3. 1 c. dutch process cocoa powder
4. 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
5. 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 
6. 2 c. packed brown sugar 
7. 1 c. granulated sugar
8. 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
9. 1 c. strongly brewed coffee
10. 1 c. vegetable oil
11. 3 large eggs

FOR THE FROSTING:

1. 3 c. (6 sticks) butter, softened
2. 1 3/4 c. marshmallow fluff
3. 8 c. powdered sugar
4. 1/2 c. heavy cream
5. 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
6. Pinch kosher salt
7. 1 c. crushed Oreos 
8. Oreos, for decorating
9. Mini Oreos, for decorating 

FOR THE MILK BOWL:

1. Balloon
2. Cooking spray
3. 2 c. white chocolate chips 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line three 8” cake pans with parchment and grease with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another large bowl, whisk together sugars, buttermilk, coffee, and oil. Add eggs and whisk until incorporated. Add dry ingredients to wet and whisk until combined. 
2. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, 30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. 
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and marshmallow fluff until smooth. Add about half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add remaining powdered sugar and beat until no lumps remain. Add heavy cream, vanilla, and a pinch of salt and beat until combined. Add more heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, as necessary, to reach desired consistency. 
4. Using a serrated knife, level tops of cakes. Place one cake on a platter or cake stand. Top with about 1 cup buttercream and smooth into an even layer and top with crushed Oreos. Top with second cake, frost with another cup of buttercream and Oreos, then top with final cake and frost with one more cup buttercream. Smooth any excess frosting along sides of cake and create a thin layer of frosting, using more frosting to help cover sides as needed to create a crumb coat. Refrigerate until hardened, about 1 hour.
5. Meanwhile, make milk bowl: Blow up balloon, keeping it a smaller size. Lightly grease with cooking spray. In a microwave safe bowl, melt white chocolate in 30 second intervals until smooth. With the tied side down, spoon a small amount of melted chocolate onto balloon, smoothing in a circle. Add more chocolate until desired size is reached. Place balloon, chocolate side up, into a small bowl and refrigerate until hardened, about 30 minutes. 
6. Use remaining frosting to frost sides and top of cake with a thick layer of frosting. Use a bench scraper to smooth sides and top, as desired. Sprinkle Oreo crumbs around the edge on top of the cake. Decorate sides of cake with Oreos, as desired. 
7. Carefully cut a small hole in balloon near the tie and let the balloon deflate. Peel the balloon away from the chocolate carefully. Place chocolate on top of cake to create a bowl of "splashing milk." Fill with mini Oreos, if desired.