First off, MERRY CHRISTMAS! I can officially say that because it’s now December! WAHOO! I’m honestly really ready to get rid of pumpkin and apples and switch them out for peppermint and gingerbread!
This is my first Christmas cake of the season and I’m really starting it off with a bang with two of my favorite things, Oreos and gingerbread! Oreo released their limited edition gingerbread Oreo and if you haven’t tried them yet, you need to stop what you are doing and go get some. They really are life changing. But you know me… I’m very bold with all my statements.
For the Oreo crust
Pro tip: Remove the frosting from the Oreos before making the crust. The first time I made this crust, I didn’t take out the frosting in the middle of the Oreos, and as it baked, it turned into a crystal shell and left a hole in the crust. The second time I tried it, I got rid of the creme in the middle, and it turned out beautifully!
For the gingerbread cake layer.
Here are some tips to help you succeed with a perfect cake layer.
- Use room temperature ingredients. GET THAT BUTTER TO ROOM TEMP!!
- Make sure you really beat the butter and the sugar. This creates a soft and moist texture in your cake.
- When adding the molasses, start off slow and steady. You are kind of emulsifying these two things together.
- Use a kitchen scale to ensure even batter. This will help to make sure that your cake layers are all about the same size.
Let’s talk about how to successfully stack a cake.
You might have heard that you need to have your cake layers frozen when you stack them, but that isn’t always what’s best. Sometimes when the cakes are frozen and you apply the buttercream, it freezes the buttercream, making it very difficult to smooth out. Through trial and error, I have learned that what works best for me is to stack and frost my cake layers COLD, not frozen, not room temperature…. Just cold. I keep mine in the fridge until I’m ready to frost. If I don’t use them within 2 days, I’ll just pop them into the freezer until I need them and then I just set them on the counter for an hour to make sure that they are just cold, but not frozen.
Recipe
Oreo Gingerbread
Ingredients
For the Oreo cookie crust
- 30 gingerbread Oreo cookies
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
For the gingerbread cake
- 3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup molasses
- ½ cup honey
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk room temperature
For the cream cheese filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1¾ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the gingerbread buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter slightly cold and cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 cups powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- 3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ginger
Instructions
For the crust
- Preheat your oven to 325. With cooking spray, spray three 8 inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, spray again, and set aside.
- Take each Oreo and remove the frosting from the middle. Then in a food processor or a blender, pulverize the Oreo cookies until they resemble a fine crumb.
- In a small bowl, combine the pulverized gingerbread Oreo cookies, melted butter, and sugar. Mix until you can grab it with your hand and it sticks together.
- Place ¾ cup of the Oreo mixture into the prepped cake pan and press down with a spoon or the bottom of a cup.
- Bake for 8 minutes. While they are cooling make your cake batter.
For the cake batter
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and beat for 2 more minutes.
- On a low speed, slowly pour in the molasses and the honey. Then beat it on medium high for 2 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, alternate by adding ⅓ of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk, repeat this step. You should end with the rest of the flour mixture. Stir just until combined! Don’t over mix.
- Once mixed, evenly divide all of the batter into the prepared pans with the Oreo cookie crust (about 18 ounces in each 8-inch pan) Bake for 28-32 minutes. I checked mine at 28 minutes and it needed about one more minute. Insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean or with only a few crumbs, your cake is done.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 15 minutes and then remove them from the pans and transfer them to a wire rack and let them come to room temperature. Wrap them in plastic wrap and either freeze or refrigerate them.
For the cream cheese filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese for a couple of minutes until smooth. Scrape down the sides and beat for 2 more minutes. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on high for a couple minutes until smooth. Place in a medium sized bowl.
- In the same bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the heavy whipping cream on high for about 5-7 minutes, until the cream forms stiff peaks. This will make the heavy cream turn into whipped cream.
- Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese until no streaks of whipping cream remain. Make sure not to over mix or it will curdle.
- This will hold for a couple hours, if you will not be using it right away, store in an airtight container for up to 2 days and refrigerate.
- For the gingerbread buttercream
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high for 3-5 minutes.
- On low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar, spices, heavy cream, vanilla, molasses and salt.
- Once everything is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat for another 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- By hand, with a wooden spoon, mix out all of the air bubbles to create a silky and smooth buttercream.
Assembly
- Place the first gingerbread cake layer with the Oreo crust down onto a cake board. Spread half of the cream cheese filling onto the cake layer. Repeat this with the second cake layer.
- With the last cake layer, place the bottom side down and with the gingerbread buttercream, frost a thin coat around the cake layer. This is called the crumb coat. Lock in the crumbs by placing the cake into the freezer for 15 minutes.
- After the crumb coat is set, apply the final coat of the gingerbread buttercream.
- Serve at room temperature.