Cookie Monster Cake

This is probably the funniest cakes I've ever made; a Cookie Monster cake! This cake does not only look awesome, it tastes fantastic as well. It's layered with moist chocolate cake, whipped cream, crushed cookies, chocolate ganache, and American Buttercream icing! How much better can a cake get?!?!

Check out the video tutorial here: https://youtu.be/FUhLsxKK_A4

Ingredients and Tools You will need to make the Whipped Cream: 

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
⅓ cup confectionary sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
stand mixer with whisk attachment or handheld mixer

To make the whipped cream, combine all ingredients into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed for 8-10 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Ingredients and Tools You will need to make the Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups chocolate chips
saucepan or microwave safe bowl
Whisk

To make the ganache, boil heavy cream. This can be done one of two ways. Either you can boil the heavy cream on the stove in a pot or microwave cream in a microwave safe bowl until it comes to a boil (about 1-2 minutes microwaved).

Pour the boiled cream over a bowl of chocolate chips. Whisk to combine until a creamy-chocolatey sauce forms.

Set aside on the counter and cover. Allow to thicken (on the counter, not the fridge!) for 6-8 hours or over night.

Ingredients and Tools You will need to make the Chocolate Covered Oreo Eyes:

2-6 Oreos
½ cup white chocolate chips or white chocolate candy melts
1-2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
Microwave safe bowl
Parchment paper
Knife
⅛ cup of the ganache
Plastic Bag

Melt white chocolate candy melts with vegetable shortening in a microwave safe bowl on 3o second intervals, until melted.

Dip each Oreo into the melted chocolate and lift with a fork to shake off any excess chocolate. Place the Oreos onto parchment paper to dry for 30 minutes.

Once the Oreos are dried, use a knife to cut off any excess chocolate formed on the bottom edges of the Oreo.

Place the ganache into a plastic bag, and snip off the end. Pipe a small dot (the eye) onto each Oreo. Use a toothpick to smooth out the ganache on top.

Ingredients and Tools You will need to Assemble/Decorate the Cookie Monster Cake: 

2, eight or nine inch chocolate cakes ( Click here for: Gluten Free Version Video, Regular Chocolate Cake video)
Serrated Knife
Turn Table
8 inch cake board
Whipped Cream (recipe above)
6-10 Chips Ahoy Cookies or other chocolate chip cookie, crushed
Offset Spatula
Chocolate Ganache (recipe above)
2 Chocolate Covered Oreo Eyes
2 cups American buttercream Icing (I recommend making a batch of 3 cups and saving the rest for another day; click here for buttercream recipe video)
Teal gel food coloring
Wilton piping tip #233
Piping Bag, Coupler

Begin with leveling both chocolate cakes using a serrated knife.

Then, place a cake board onto a turn turn table and spread a bit of whipped cream or the chocolate ganache onto the board. This will help secure the cake.

Place the first layer of cake onto the board and spread most of the whipped cream on top of it. Be generous with the whipped cream, because this is the only layer. If you have leftover, save it for later; it's delicious to eat with strawberries!

Then, sprinkle of the crushed cookies onto the whipped cream and push down slightly.

Flip the second cake over this layer so that the initial bottom of the cake will be facing upwards. This will result in a nicely even cake top. Lightly press the cake down. Run an offset spatula around the sides of the cake to smooth out any whipped cream that oozed out of the cake.

Ice the entire cake in chocolate ganache. This layer does not have to be gorgeous because nobody will see it, but it should be smooth for piping onto.

Place the ganache cake in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set.

Fill a piping bag with teal colored American Buttercream, fitted with a coupler and tip #233. Pipe grass all around the sides and top of the cake.

Place the chocolate covered Oreo eyes onto the top-center of the cake.

Then, arrange the cookies around the mouth area of your cookie monster cake. I broke the bottoms off of many of the cookies so that they weren't too high. You can also, place a few broken cookie pieces on the sides and bottom of the cake to make it seem like Cookie Monster overstuffed his face and food is falling out.

Woohoo! Now the cake is finished! Snap a shot of your cake and tag me @itsrainingflour on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter! I would love to see your photos!