Yes, I’m serious.

This happened because Tom couldn’t decide what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday. These are his two favourites that I make and since they include the same cake and frosting I decided that morphing the two was what made the most sense.

This was a little challenging and time consuming but the result was well worth it, especially to appease the birthday boy. My go-to fudgy chocolate cake recipe, fluffy cream cheese frosting and two different fillings and garnishes make it a showstopper.

I wasn’t planning on blogging it but it got so many raves that I have a feeling it will need to make a repeat appearance. It’s a fun one!

Half-and-Half Cake

Makes one 9-inch three tier cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 2½ cups + 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup + 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp. baking soda
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• 1½ tsp. salt
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1½ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1½ cups strong black coffee, hot
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• 4½ tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 tbsp. corn syrup
• 2 tbsp. clear vanilla extract
• 2 ½  cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• Pinch of baking powder

Oreo Truffle Filling & Garnish:

• 1 package Oreos, divided
• 1 package cream cheese, softened

Samoa Filling & Garnish:

• 1 package Samoa cookies, divided
• ½ cup caramel sauce
• 1 ½ cups toasted coconut

Instructions:

Cake:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 9 inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment. Set aside.

Mix dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes or so. Scrape the bowl down and beat for another minute until well blended. Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake for 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking, until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. When done, take cakes out of the oven and cool for about a half hour. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack for another half hour.

At this point I like to wrap each cake in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer until ready to assemble. Keeping the cake cold makes it easier to frost.

Fillings:

Take three Samoa cookies and three Oreo cookies and cut them in half. Set the 12 cookie halves aside for the garnish.

Pulse the remaining Samoa cookies in a food processor until coarsely crushed with a few chunks and set aside.

For the Oreo Truffle filling, put the remaining Oreo’s in the food processor and pulse until very finely crushed. Add the softened cream cheese and blend until a thick, chocolatey dough forms. Lay plastic wrap inside a 9 inch round pan and place the Oreo dough into the pan, flattening it evenly to form a 9 inch round. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze until chilled and set.

Frosting:

Combine the butter, shortening, and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on its lowest speed, pour in the corn syrup and vanilla. Crank the mixer up to medium-high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is totally smooth and a glossy white. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the powdered sugar, salt and baking powder and mix on low speed just to incorporate them into the batter. Turn the speed back up to medium-high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until you have a smooth, bright white frosting.

Assembly:

Lay one cake layer on a turn table. Cut the chilled Oreo Truffle filling in half and lay one half down on the cake. For the other half, spread a thin layer of frosting, press on half the Samoa crumbs and drizzle on half the caramel sauce. Lay the second cake layer down and repeat these steps. Then add the third cake layer on top. Apply a thin layer of frosting all over the cake, leaving a space where you can see which half is which. Chill for 30 minutes or so until the crumb coat is set.

Put another thin layer of icing on the Samoa half and then press the toasted coconut into the frosting. For the Oreo half, use the rest of the frosting and apply it smoothly, filling in the hole where you can see which half is which. Press the 12 reserved cookie halves on top of the cake and chill until serving.

Notes:

-The Oreo Truffle filling can be made and frozen in advance. I prepped the fillings and baked the cake one night and then assembled it the next day.

-I buy the Samoa knockoff cookies at Superstore.

Cake from Snickers Cake. Frosting from Momofuku’s Birthday Cake.