This Oreo Inspired Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Cake is fun to make and delicious to share with your family and friends. This one I made for a special group of employees I used to work with, who were celebrating National Cheesecake Day.
What better way to help them celebrate than to share a three-layer cake…the middle layer being vanilla cheesecake sandwiched between two chocolate layers, just like an Oreo cookie. Oreo crumbs and Oreos on top help identify what’s below. Plus, Oreo crumbles between layers add a little crunch. Mmmmm…mmm…mmm!
I say it’s stress-free to make because it is. The cheesecake layer is a NO-Bake recipe so there’s no water bath to contend with. No worry about the cheesecake layer cracking…all those things I worry about when baking a cheesecake.
The chocolate layers are easy, too. A tasty and moist recipe that I’ve made many times. Plus, they layer well with the vanilla cheesecake. Savor the chocolate with the vanilla cheesecake, crunchy Oreo cookie chunks and delicious frosting.
After you’ve baked and trimmed the chocolate cake layers and chilled the no-bake cheesecake, mix up the frosting and get ready to assemble.
The frosting is a tempting combination of powdered sugar and cream cheese, creating a well-balanced icing. The not too sweet coating works well for covering the cake as well as piping decorations on top.
This delicious three-layer cake is big enough to serve 12-14 people.
I cut the slices conservatively since the layers are so thick and the cake is so tall.
Prepare your 9” cake layer baking pans:
Cut circles of parchment paper to fit into the two 9” cake layer pans. Lightly butter the pans on the bottoms and sides, then lay the parchment paper circles in the bottoms. Lightly butter the parchment paper, too.
Prepare your 9” springform pan:
Lightly butter the bottom and sides of the springform pan. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of the pan. Then lightly butter the parchment paper. This is a NO-bake cheesecake layer.
Preheat your oven to 350F degrees when you are ready to bake the chocolate cake layers.
Gather the Chocolate cake Ingredients:
1 ¾ C Flour
1 C Sugar
¾ C Brown sugar
¾ Cocoa powder
1 ½ t Baking soda
½ t Salt
1 C Vegetable oil
2 Eggs, room temp
2 t Vanilla extract
1 C Buttermilk
½ C Coffee, very hot!
Gather the NO-Bake Cheesecake Crust Ingredients:
2 C Graham cracker crumbs (16 full sheets)
1/3 C Brown sugar
½ C Butter, melted
Gather the NO-Bake Cheesecake filling Ingredients:
NOTE: Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically so as not to leave any lumps in the batter.
1 ¼ C Heavy cream
24 oz Cream cheese, soft
½ C Sugar
2 T Powdered sugar
¼ C Sour cream
2 t Vanilla extract
Gather your Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
½ C Butter, soft
½ C Shortening, white
16 oz Cream cheese, soft
1 T Vanilla extract
½ t Salt
1 T Cornstarch
8-9 C Powdered sugar, sifted
Gather the Garnish ingredients:
2-3 Oreos crushed into crumbs to sprinkle on top of the cake.
Mini or whole Oreos to add on top.
Gather the Chocolate Ganache Ingredients:
1 C Chocolate Chips, semi-sweet
1 C Heavy cream
Make and bake the chocolate cake layers:
NOTE: It’s important to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically to make sure everything is combined properly and so that there are no lumps in the cake.
-In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
-Add the vegetable oil and stir together.
-Stir or beat in the eggs, one at a time.
-Stir in the vanilla extract.
-Beat in the buttermilk.
-Stir in the hot coffee to combine.
-Pour the batter equally into two separate prepared cake pans.
-Bake at 350F degrees on the center rack in the oven for 35 minutes.
-Use the clean toothpick test to make sure the layers are nicely baked. Poke a clean toothpick into the center of the cakes. If the toothpick is clean when pulled out, the cake is done. Another test you can do is to lightly press down in the center of the cake. If it springs back, the cake is done. If not, the cake needs a little more time in the oven.
-Cool the cake layers in their pans for 10-15 minutes.
-Invert both layers onto a cooling rack to cool completely, removing the parchment paper from their bottoms.
-I like to bake and freeze the cake layers a couple days ahead, wrapped in plastic wrap. Keep them in the pans to keep their forms.
-When cooled, trim off any domed tops so the final cake has level cake layers.
Mix and press the cheesecake crust:
-With a food processor pulse the graham crackers to yield 2 cups of fine crumbs. You can also use a plastic bag and a rolling pin to crush the graham crackers. But I find that you can get a finer crumb by using the food processor. Either way is just fine.
-Stir in the sugar so it’s well combined.
-Then, stir in the melted butter.
-Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan. I like to use the flat bottom of a one cup measuring cup or the bottom of a glass. The crumbs do not need to be pressed the sides too far, maybe ½ inch.
-Cover and freeze the crust in the pan for about 20 minutes.
Mix and chill the easy to make no-bake cheesecake layer:
-With an electric mixer and medium to large bowl, whip the heavy cream to heavy peaks. This can take 4-5 minutes.
-Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator.
-In another bowl, beat the soft room temp cream cheese and white sugar to a smooth consistency with the electric mixer.
-Add the powdered sugar, sour cream and vanilla extract until all is combined.
-Pour the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, folding slowly with a plastic spatula to incorporate. Fold it in carefully so the whipped cream does not deflate.
-Pour the cheesecake mixture onto the chilled crust and spread evenly.
-Cover with plastic wrap.
-Chill overnight in the refrigerator or for a minimum of 8 hours. The longer it’s chilled, the better.
Beat and fluff the Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:
-With an electric stand mixer, beat the soft butter and shortening to combine to smooth.
-Add the cream cheese, vanilla extract and salt and beat until smooth.
-Slowly sift in a couple cups of the powdered sugar and all the cornstarch, beating to combine. Repeatedly add a couple cups of sifted powdered sugar and beat to combine each time, scraping down the sides as you continue.
-Beat on medium high until fluffy, scraping down the sides periodically. You may need to beat for 5-8 minutes.
If the frosting is too thick, add a tablespoon of milk or heavy cream. If it’s too thin, add a half cup of powdered sugar and beat till fluffy and spreadable.
Assemble your Oreo Inspired Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Cake:
NOTE: When I make a cake of this size with varied layers, I like to spread it out over a 2-4 day period so that I have time to work on other projects or even read a book in between. I’ll bake the chocolate cake layers a few days ahead, and freeze them in their pans until I’m ready to assemble the full cake. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight. The cheesecake layer I’ll make a couple of days ahead and freeze until I’m ready to thaw overnight and assemble. The frosting I’ll make the morning of the day of cake assembly. This gives me a fresh frosting and still gives me time to chill or freeze the cake with the crumb coating. You decide what fits your schedule in order to make this cake in time for your family or friends’ event.
-I start with a foil wrapped wood disc to set my first layer onto. First drop a dollop of frosting on the foil to hold the first layer of chocolate cake in place.
-Frost the flat top of the cake with a conservative layer of your white frosting.
-Add the graham cracker crust cheesecake layer on top of the white frosting. Carefully use a couple of strong flat spatulas or wide metal offset spatulas to transfer the cheesecake onto the first chocolate cake layer. (Don’t forget to leave the parchment paper on the springform cake pan – you don’t want it stuck in the layered cake.)
-Frost the top of the cheesecake layer with a conservative layer.
-Sprinkle small crumbles of Oreo cookies on top of the frosting.
-Lay the second layer of chocolate cake on top of the cheesecake and crumbs, making sure all the layers are straight, with no overhang. Now is the time do some trimming in case one of the layers sticks out.
-Frost the top of the chocolate cake layer and all around the entire cake with a crumb coating.
-Chill the cake in the refrigerator for about an hour to set the frosting.
-Then, give the entire cake a generous layer of frosting on top and sides.
-I chill the cake another 20 minutes before I pour the ganache drip or pipe decorations on top of the cake.
Make your Chocolate Ganache while the cake is chilling:
-Place the chocolate chips in a small to medium heat safe bowl.
-Heat the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave it just to simmering. Don’t heat too long.
-Pour the warm heavy cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 5 minutes.
-Stir the ganache until smooth and glossy.
Continue assembling your cake:
-Warm the chocolate ganache to the drip consistency you like. Test it on an upside-down bowl before dripping it on the actual cake, to get the type of drips you like. You might need to reheat it or chill it depending on the consistency you like.
-Pour the warm ganache into a piping bag or zippered plastic bag (cut off one corner) and drizzle it around the top edge of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Allow to dry before piping frosting on top, or the warm ganache could melt your piping frosting. (You may not use all of the chocolate ganache…save it for another cake or drizzle it on ice cream.)
-With a plastic spatula or large spoon, scoop white frosting into your piping bag that’s set up with a good-sized frosting tip. It’s your choice as to what you want to pipe on top. I like to pipe swirls all around the outside of the top, using different sized piping tips, arranging them randomly
-After you are done with the piping, sprinkle Oreo crumbs in the middle of the top of the cake. Garnish with mini-Oreo cookies around the edge or one large one in the middle of the top.
-Chill the cake until you’re ready to serve.
-Keep the cake in the refrigerator, leaving it out for 2 hours maximum.
Tips:
-Slice the cake when fairly cool to keep the slices neat.
-Use a long narrow knife to slice the cake.
-When slicing the cake, wipe the blade of the knife clean after each slice to keep the layers from getting messy. Part of the beauty of this cake is the contrast of the colored layers.
If you’re traveling with this cake:
-If you are delivering this three-layer cake, make sure you have a very sturdy base since it has some weight to it. I use a strong wooden disc as the base, covering it with foil before adding the first layer of cake. You could also use a thick cutting board.
Storage:
-Store the cake, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I have a plastic domed cover that fits over cakes of this stature.
-Freeze the whole cake for up to a month as long as it’s in an airtight container. I like to freeze the cake for an hour, then wrap it in plastic wrap, and then place it in an airtight container.
-Grab and Go Slices: To freeze individual layers, cut the cake while chilled. Then wrap each layer individually in plastic wrap. Place all the wrapped slices in an airtight container. They thaw in just a few minutes at room temp before you unwrap. Or let them thaw, wrapped, in the refrigerator.
This is a MOST delicious cake, combining Oreos, moist chocolate cake, easy to make NO-Bake cheesecake and a superb frosting topper. It’s easy to make, easy to slice, easy to freeze, and, of course, easy to share. Whoever you enjoy each mouthful with, “Bake your very own Memories!”
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