I have made a number of cakes for one year olds and until recently, I could safely say that the kids generally have little to no interest in smashing/eating/messing with their birthday cake. Well, this birthday boy broke that trend. He smashed his little cake to pieces and ate about 90% of it (I am confident that that number would have been 100% if it wasn't all over his face and hands).
The adults, however, ate their cake in a slightly more polite fashion. But we all know, deep down, that they wanted to consume their three layer yellow cake, filled and covered with chocolate buttercream and salted caramel corn and doused in caramel, in exactly the same fashion as the birthday boy.
Mint Oreo Birthday Cake
Two amazing things happened this spring: one of my favorite people moved back to town AND her son turned one. I don't know about you but having the opportunity to make your friend's little one's birthday cake is one of my favorite things in the world.
I will be honest here, I tend to make the birthday kid a somewhat unremarkable cake as he couldn't care less about the flavor or the cake itself. But the adults? That is a different story: we get to devour something way better that only an adult can appreciate.
For the birthday boy, I settled on a two layer yellow cake covered in chocolate frosting and sprinkles.
For the adults, I made a three tier, oreo filled cake with an oreo mint frosting and a chocolate drizzle. Sorry birthday boy, but let's be honest: it is not the one-year old who made it by being cute who truly deserves the cake. It's the parents who fed you, clothed you, changed your diapers, woke up in the middle of the night with you, and threw you a party with your name in lights.
Mint Oreo Birthday Cake
from the Cake Blog
Cake
2 cups + 2 tbsp cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1 cup crushed oreos
Mint Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4 egg whites
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 – 1 tsp peppermint extract (or to taste)
Mint Swiss Meringue Buttercream with Oreos
Remaining buttercream
1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cups crushed oreos
Chocolate Glaze
2 oz. semi or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp light corn syrup
pinch salt
Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 6-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add in the sugar and mix for about 3 minutes on medium speed.
Turn the mixer down to medium-low and add in the vanilla, eggs, and yolk. Making sure to scrape the bowl to ensure that everything is incorporated.
Working in three alternating batches (starting and ending with the dry ingredients) add the flour mixture and milk on low speed. Fold in the oreos until combined.
Evenly distribute the batter between the pans and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Make the mint buttercream: Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir to combine.
Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water and place over medium heat. Put the mixer bowl on the top of the saucepan to create a double-boiler. While whisking, heat until the egg mixture reaches 160 degrees.
Once 160 degrees, carefully return the bowl back to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high for about 7 to 10 minutes, or until the outside of the bowl returns to room temperature and the meringue holds medium peaks.
Stop the mixer and swap out the whisk for paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium-low, add in the butter a few tablespoons at a time. Mix until silky smooth.
Add in the vanilla and mint and mix until smooth.
Assemble the cake: Place one cake layer on your plate of choice and cover the top with a layer of mint filling. Repeat with the next layer.
Crumb coat the cake then refrigerate it until it is set. Add the crushed oreos to the remaining buttercream and frost the entire cake.
Make the glaze: Place the chocolate, cream, and corn syrup in a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Cook until the chocolate begins to melt.
Remove from the heat, whisk until smooth. Let cool.
Once glaze is completely cool but still pour-able, lightly drizzle over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.
Birthday Cake
I didn't want to make this cake. I mean, I guess I did, but not really. I can't tell you how many times I read the recipe, drooled over photos, imagined myself in the kitchen plugging away and then, snap, I would come to my senses as this recipe is crazy.
This cake requires you to purchase some odd ingredients (clear vanilla extract?) and tools (acetate strips?). It requires days of planning, days of preparing and then, at minimum, a few hours to assemble. And all for a 6" cake?
Well, I did it. And deep down, I wanted to hate the cake. I wanted it to just taste okay so that I could tell myself that it wasn't worth the money and time. But, damn you, Momofuko, you win again, you always do. It's good. It is really really good.
Equipment/Ingredients Needed:
Acetate Strips
Cake Rings - the recipe calls for baking the cake in a baking sheet but I chose to use three 6" cake pans
Clear vanilla extract
Glucose
Citric acid
Birthday Cake
from Momofuko Milk Bar (via Liv for Cake)
Crumble
100 g granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
25 g light brown sugar (1½ tbsp, tightly packed)
90 g cake flour (3/4 cup)
2 g baking powder (1/2 tsp)
2 g kosher salt (1/2 tsp)
20 g rainbow sprinkles (2 Tbsp)
40 g grapeseed oil (1/4 cup)
12 g clear vanilla extract (1 Tbsp)
Cake
55 g butter, at room temperature (4 Tbsp, ½ stick)
60 g vegetable shortening (1/3 cup)
250 g granulated sugar (1¼ cups)
50 g light brown sugar (3 tbsp, tightly packed)
3 large eggs
110 g buttermilk (1/2 cup)
65 g grapeseed oil (1/3 cup)
8 g clear vanilla extract (2 tsps)
245 g cake flour (2 cups)
6 g baking powder (1½ tsps)
3 g kosher salt (3/4 tsp)
50 g rainbow sprinkles (1/4 cup)
plus
25 g rainbow sprinkles (2 Tbsp)
Frosting (1.5x the original recipe):
172.5 g butter, at room temperature (1½ sticks)
75 g vegetable shortening (1/4 cup + ⅛ cup)
82.5 g cream cheese (3 oz)
37.5 g glucose (1.5 Tbsp)
27 g corn syrup (1.5 Tbsp)
18 g clear vanilla extract (1.5 Tbsp)
300 g powdered sugar (sifted) (1⅞ cups)
3 g kosher salt (3/4 tsp)
.38 g baking powder (pinch)
.38 g citric acid (pinch) t
Soak
55 g milk (1/4 cup)
4 g clear vanilla extract (1 tsp)
Make the crumble: Preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all dry ingredients. Mix on low until well combined.
Add oil and vanilla, mix until small clusters form. Bake for 15-25 minutes. Let cool and either store in an airtight container or freeze.
Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350F and spray a half-sheet pan (11”x 16”) with cooking spray and line with parchment paper or a silpat. OR spray and line three 6" cake pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, salt, and 50g of sprinkles.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and sugars. Beat on med-high for 2-3 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition.
Turn mixer to low and stream in buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Increase mixer to med-high and beat for 4-6minutes until mixture is light, fluffy, and no streaks of fat or liquid remain.
On low speed, add flour mixture and mix just until combined. Spread cake batter in an even layer in the pan and sprinkle with remaining sprinkles.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Make the frosting: In a medium bowl, sift together powdered sugar, salt, and baking powder.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, shortening, and cream cheese. Beat on med-high for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
Turn mixer to low and slowly add glucose, corn syrup, and vanilla. Increase mixer to med-high and beat for 2-3 minutes until smooth and glossy white.
Turn mixer to low and add in sugar mixture and citric acid. Once combined, turn mixer to med-high and beat until white and smooth.
Use immediately or store it in the fridge.
Make the soak: Whisk together the milk and vanilla in a small bowl or measuring cup.
Assemble the cake: If you baked the cake in a baking sheet, place a piece of parchment or silpat onto the counter and invert cake onto it. Peel off parchment/silpat from bottom of the cake.
Using the cake ring, stamp out 2 circles which will be your top and bottom layers. Stamp out 2 half circles from the remaining scraps.
If you baked the cake in 6" cake pans, simple remove the layers from the pan and continue with the rest of the directions.
Clean cake ring and place in the center of your quarter-sheet pan lined with parchment or a silpat.
Place 1 strip of acetate inside the cake ring to line it. **Make sure the cake ring is completely dry or you won’t be able to get it out of the ring after freezing!!**
Place your less pretty full layer into the bottom. Dip a pastry brush into the soak and brush onto the cake layer.
Using the back of a spoon, spread ⅕ of the frosting in an even layer over the cake.
Sprinkle ⅓ of the crumble evenly over the frosting. Press down with the back of your hand to anchor them in place. (I reserved the chunkiest crumbs for the very top).
Using the back of a spoon, spread ⅕ of the frosting in an even layer over the crumble. With your index finger, tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top ¼ inch of the first strip of acetate, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5" to 6" tall – high enough to support the height of the finished cake.
Place the two half circle cake pieces on top of the frosting layer and press in additional cake scraps to fill in the layer. Use the back of your hand to press the scraps together into a flat even layer.
Repeat steps 6, 7, and 8.
Place the remaining cake round onto the frosting and cover the top with remaining ⅕ frosting.
Top with remaining crumble. Place sheet pan into the freezer and freeze for a minimum of 12 hours. Cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
At least 3 hours before serving, remove the cake from the freezer and using your fingers and thumbs, pop the cake out of the cake ring. Gently peel off the acetate and transfer cake to platter or stand.
Let it defrost in the fridge or counter for a minimum of 3 hours (wrapped well in plastic, the cake can be refrigerated for up to 5 days).
