Chocolate Oreo Cake.. Apologies for a long hiatus

So. A new post on this blog. After almost a month and a half, that's quite shameful. But, this is what I'd been doing for a month, immediately after my last post.


I traveled to all those places, and then headed back to Warwick for my final week there. Because of a number of reasons, I decided to head home to do my dissertation (a 15,000 word essay), and leave a month earlier than most everyone. It's a whole other matter that those reasons aren't too valid right  now, but hey, I'm home now, so what can I do. I was busy packing and saying my goodbyes, and I've been home for a week now, unpacking and saying hellos. It's only now that I've got some breathing time to actually write up a post. All you guys that are reading this and have stuck by me, I really, genuinely, thank you. I promise, none of that anymore.



And all you guys that left? I've got a great cake to try and win you back. Is a Chocolate Oreo Cake good enough? It should be, because this cake was amazing. Even more fun, just attacking the entire thing with some forks. There has never been a better feeling.


Look at that dreamy filling

Chocolate Oreo Cake

Avanika original - Individual components linked.

For the cake -
I used the recipe for this cake, from Chocolate Cakes. It's fast becoming my favorite, flavorful, yet sturdy enough to be torted and lifted and moved about {I'm quite rough with my cakes}. Make 1 batch of the recipe, and torte each cake it into 2 layers after it's cool.

For the filling -
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tsp powdered sugar
About 20 oreos, cut into quarters

Instructions -

1. Whip the cream and the sugar together until fluffy. Gently fold in the pieces of Oreos. 

 For the frosting -
Again, I used the recipe from the cake I linked to, it's super easy, and one I use when I need something lighter and not sinfully rich. Follow the instructions to make one batch of the frosting.

Assemble -

1.  Stack the first torted layer, flat side down on your cake board. Scoop on a 1/3rd of the filling.
2. Now add the second layer, pressing down slightly. Scoop on another third of the filling. 
3. Repeat for third layer, and then add on the fourth, making sure the top of the cake has the bottom flat surface of a torted cake, so that it's completely straight and easy to frost.
4. Add a thin layer of the frosting - a crumb coat - and allow to chill for a few minutes in the fridge. Now add on the final layer, and decorate as desired. I like keeping it simple, to give off a homemade cake feel. Cut and serve :)

White Chocolate Oreo Brownies

I've had a momentous achievement in the time between this post and the last. Wait for it...... I've finally learnt how to flip an omelette! Though I've tried a lot, the omelette ends up scrambled most of the time. Not this time though, it flipped beautifully and I had a gorgeous omelette like the ones they serve at cafes. I'm quite proud, even though I get how stupid this sounds, considering my utter lack of cooking skills, it's enough to have made my day. I've learnt how to make pasta and a few other basic things, and while it's turning out to be quite fun to cook, I think I'll learn properly once I'm back home, from Mom.

Anyway, back onto the brownies. SRC took a break last month, to do some re-arranging and a revamp of the rules. I am now officially handling it's Facebook page, which is a super fun thing to do. The group is turning out to be a lot of fun, I actually ended up missing it, and made my recipe almost as soon as we were given our secret assignments, more than a month ago.

This month, I received Eliot's Eats as my blog, which was super interesting because it's written by this couple, that keep their identity anonymous. The name comes from T.S Eliot. I haven't seen anonymous food bloggers around too much, so I was totally kicked by this, and the privelege of being anonymous is something I wish I had too, at times. There's just so much I could have been able to say. Their blog has a lot of stuff on travel and adventure, but I zoomed in onto the food stuff, and after quite some deliberation, picked these White Chocolate Oreo Brownies, that she too made for a SRC post. I'd never baked with white chocolate before, other than the occasional ganache, so I was quite pumped. And I bought a ton of oreos once, which I wanted to use up rather than just pig out on them.

These were so so good. They browned a little too much, but that's because I haven't gotten used to this new oven yet. They tasted amazing, not overly sweet as I had worried, and the Oreo's added amazing flavor. A great recipe to keep, especially when you need something quick and easy.

White Chocolate Oreo Brownies

Recipe from Hugs & Cookies xoxo via Eliot's Eats

1 stick [113 g / 8 oz] butter
1 cup [170 g / 6 oz] white chocolate chips
1/2 cup + 1/8 cup [ 150 g] sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1 cup [120 g]  flour
1/4  t. fine sea salt
15 oreos, cut into quarters

Instructions -

1. Preheat oven to 325 F [160 C]. Grease and line a 9x9 pan, leaving some overhang of the foil to make it easier to pull out later
2. In a small pan under low heat, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring constantly. Be careful, white chocolate burns easily, so use a double boiler if you're comfortable with that. Remove from heat.
3.  Stir in the sugar. Now add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Fold in the flour and salt, stirring until just combined. Toss in the chopped oreos.
4. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 30 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean. Enjoy :)

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

 
Nom nom nom.

Oh these cheesecakes!! I simply don't know what to say about them. These were amongst the top 10 desserts I've ever eaten, that's all.

On Saturday, 2nd of April, India won the cricket world cup, to become world champions! The entire nation erupted, cricket is more of a religion here. I've never been much of a sports person, but the atmosphere here during the final few matches couldn't be missed, and I actually watched about 9 hours of cricket for each match!! And when we won! It was insane, there are tons and tons of news articles about it, so I won't go into it too much. The sense of joy and celebration on the roads was just unbeatable, no other day could you dance on the roads at 2 am with a hundred strangers and not be worried about your safety.

The adrenaline hangover went way into Sunday, with everyone being at their laziest best. That's when I made these.. no experimentation, nothing complicated, just pure comfort food. I've made these cheesecakes quite a few times, the tangy, slightly sour taste combined with the crunch of the oreos is just heaven.

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

Recipe from one of my favorites - Martha Stewart's Cupcakes [India]
Yield - 30

42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds [4 8oz blocks] cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup [240 g] sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt

Instructions -

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line muffin pam with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.
2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Mix in vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Beat in sour cream and salt
3. Stir in chopped cookies by hand, or they might break up too much.
4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes.
5. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.