A Trio of Oreo Cupcakes

A few nights ago I found myself laying awake at night.  I was busy planning the menu of my imaginary bakery (that I'll purchase when I win the lottery) and contemplating possible recipes to liven up my cupcakes.

That's when it hit me.  I was so excited I had to wake up my husband to tell him all about it.  He was happy- I promise...

Anyway- what's the most delicious, chocolatey (yet mildly shameful) mid-western holiday treat?  Oreo balls! There's nothing glamorous about them- they are a no-bake recipe consisting of three ingredients (Oreos, cream cheese, and almond bark) that sit proudly next to my dark chocolate dipped Irish short bread, sea salt dusted caramels, and other pretentious holiday desserts.  But these are not pretentious- they are anything but. 

There I had it!  Oreo ball stuffed cupcakes.  Can you even imagine anything more sinful?  Well, I'm sure we all probably could- but these have been occupying my every thought for the past two days and they just had to become reality.  And here is my journey (and my first attempt at capturing my baking on film as I go!)  Scroll down for recipes.

First, I used my favorite cupcake recipe to mix up a batch of devils food chocolate cupcakes:

Oof!  They are just screaming for all that Oreo goodness, aren't they?  And would be more perfect for these little cookies and cream themed cakelettes than black and white damask liners?  Nothing, I tell you!  Nothing.

Next, I broke out my trusty cupcake plunger to core these suckers.  Because we all have one of those, right? I got mine as gift from my husband.  How thoughtful, right!  If not, an apple corer works great- or even some fancy (and safe!) knife work will do.

This was my first time using a cupcake corer.  I ended up digging the cores our of the cupcakes on almost every one.  I need practice.  But with the apple corer, I had to dig the cores out of the apple corer.  Sigh.  But they turned out just fine!

See!  How cute.  Next, I whipped up the first Oreo filling- the inside of Oreo balls!  Two ingredients- crushed Oreos and cream cheese.  How can that be bad? 

I was so seriously tempted to just break out a spoon and go to town.  Regretfully, I was preparing these before cheat day (to be ready for cheat day!) so I had to hold myself back. 

Then, after chilling the dough for about a minute until I got antsy, I rolled it into balls and filled some of the cupcakes, like so...

And I also tried going one step further- putting a coated Oreo ball inside the cupcake!  First, I rolled the balls and stuck a stick in each to make dipping easier.  A toothpick would work fine too!  Otherwise you can dip the ball in almond bark and transport it over using a spoon.  You have so many options...

Throw these guys in the freezer to make dipping easier.  When I make Oreo balls usually, I always advise to only freeze them slightly, otherwise when the filing expands when thawing, it can crack the shell.  Since we don't care if we have cracked shells inside of our cupcakes, it doesn't matter how long they stay in the freezer.

Next, I melted some almond bark in the microwave, dipped one at a time and immediately put the whole Oreo ball in the cupcake!  So fun!

Pull out the sticks (easier when they defrost a bit) and these are ready to be set aside.  And don't forget to dip your extras, place them on parchment paper, and enjoy some classic Oreo balls later! 




Alright- it's Oreo cream filling time!  Michelle suggested this when I giddily told her about my idea.  I did a little googling and here is what I came up with- this recipe was so simple, yet so delicious. 

I started out with the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.  I almost entered into a sugar coma just looking at this stuff.  Next, I folded in some cool whip.  Finally, I crushed the Oreos in a baggie- and I was so worried about the pieces being too big to go inside a cupcake.  But silly me, I didnt realize how soft the Oreos would get, so the big pieces turned out great! I mixed this in, and the final filling was complete!

Spoon some into your cupcakes and they are ready to go!

Now, it's time to frost, baby!  I agonized over what frosting to make, but I settled on adding Oreo crumbs to my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe, found here.

I made a double batch of frosting and used 1/2 of a package of Oreos, crushed.  I had a little frosting left over after frosting 24 cupcakes.  But this women knows how to take care of leftover frosting, so this really was a non-issue.

This was promptly delivered to my husband on the couch.  I'm totally the best wife ever.  So delicious. 

It's frosting time!  Fill up your piping bag (or use a knife, we don't have to be fancy here!) and go to town. Add some garish if you like, and you'll end up with something like this!

A little almond bark drizzle on the top to match the filling!

Or some simple crushed Oreos (Which I topped the Oreo cream cupcakes with!)

And a little chuck of cookie for the plain Oreo ball filling guys.  At the grocery store, I saw some other cute garnish ideas- like the 100 calorie packs of Oreos or the Oreo minis.  If you have any of these on hand, that would be so stinkin adorable.

These all were so good and so different!  The Oreo ball filling was so dense and rich; I loved it!  The dipped Oreo ball ones were great- very texturally interesting.  And the Oreo fluff was addicting.  Love it. 

Maybe next time I'll try this in cake form instead of cupcakes- the cake itself was so light, it didn't quite stand up to such dense fillings. But regardless, these were definately cheat day worthy.  And the recipes are....

Step One: The Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/too-much-chocolate-cake/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix

1 (5.9 ounce) package instant devils food (or chocolate of any kind) pudding mix

1 (8 oz) container of Daisy sour cream (full fat)

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup warm water

2 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees  

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, or your trusty stand mixer. 
Pour batter into 24 cupcake tins with paper liners

Bake as directed on your box mix.

Step Two: The Fillings
You'll need to first pick a filling.  Please note, if you are crazy like me and want to do both, make sure to adjust the proportions!  I did 2/3 of the Oreo ball recipe, and 1/3 of the Oreo fluff recipe (and for the fluff, I have quite a bit leftover.  No problems there- as it was delicious on it's own!)


Option 1: Oreo Ball Filling
Recipe from: all around the interwebs

Ingredients
1 package of Oreos
1 (8 oz) package of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened slightly

Directions

In a food processor, process the Oreos until they are very finely ground.  Add in the cream cheese and process just until a ball of dough forms.  Chill in the fridge for a few minutes before handling.  Roll into balls.  You can fill the cupcakes with the filing as is, or dip in melted almond bark.

Option 2: Oreo Fluff Filling
Recipe from: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1913,150160-224196,00.html

Ingredients
1 (8 oz) package of Philadelphia cream cheese (Softened)
14 oz. Sweetened condensed milk

16 oz. Cool whip

16 oz. pkg. Oreo cookies (crushed in baggie)

Directions
Mix softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk.  Fold in cool whip and add the crushed Oreos.  Voila!


Step Three: Cookies and Cream Cheese Frosting

Start with My Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting.  I made a double batch, and added 1/2 package of Oreos, finely ground. 

Frost and decorate the cupcakes, and there you have it! 

The Best Cream Cheese Frosting

This frosting deserves it's very own post for a few reasons.  One- I will use it all the time in other recipes- therefore needing to reference it all the time.  Two- It's the best cream cheese frosting I've ever had.  It's basic, it's simple, and the proportions are just right.  So here you have it:

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (right out of the fridge!)

5 tbsp softened butter
(I have used regular butter, as well as Irish Butter- Oh.  My.  Goodness.  The Irish butter was amazing)  

2 tsp real vanilla (none of this imitation garbage!)

2 cup sifted powdered sugar (plus up to 2 additional cups depending on level of consistency desire.  2 cups is for a spreadable frosting, appropriate for bars.  4 cups would be for a very stiff frosting, for a crisp finish on a cake.)   Sift after measuring- if you feel like it.  Which I often don't.  

Directions
Beat cream cheese and add the softened butter and vanilla. 

Gradually add the powdered sugar.

Recipe from: http://www.slashfood.com/2007/10/24/last-cream-cheese-frosting/

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

Recently, I have become obsessed with the idea of filling moist, delicious cakes with cheesecake.   I feel that this artery clogging, absolute indulgent genre of dessert is 100% in the spirit of cheat day and therefore warrants my very first post.  (And yes, I'm now giving cheesecake filled cakes their own genre- they are that good.)

This all stemmed from the wedding of my two dear friends.  The groom asked for their wedding cake to be red velvet cheesecake flavored.  Luckily for me, I'm great friends with the amazingly talented baker (Michelle)  who ultimately made this for them, and I got to hear firsthand all of her ideas on how to construct it and what recipes would be used.  The wedding cake she made was hands down the best cake I've ever eaten, to date.

I decided to try my hand at one- using this groom’s wonderful idea as well as some of the Michelle's recipes, and some taht I found on own!  While I can’t take credit for this concoction, I can most certainly share with you my take on the recipe!

Also, I apologize for this post lacking pictures of construction.  I made the cake a while ago, before I decided to start a blog.  However, I do solemnly swear to be better about this in the future.  Here are the recipes I used, their sources, and my construction notes along the way.

One thing I will note as I made this cake- it turns out best, and is least stressful, if you make it over the span of several evenings!

Step One: Bake the Cake! 
Recipe Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/too-much-chocolate-cake/Detail.aspx
I did this on Tuesday evening, to be served on Friday

Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package of Red Velvet Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant white chocolate pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) container of full fat sour cream (I used Daisy)
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs 1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp real vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees  

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, or your trusty stand mixer. 
Pour your batter into two greased 9inch round pans. 
Bake as directed on your box mix.

Here’s the trick: Once the cakes are cooled, cut two parchment paper rounds for each and sandwich the cake between then.  Then wrap the cakes in saran wrap.   Then wrap them again.  Then slip them into a gallon zip lock freezer bag and suck the air out.  Then throw them in the freezer.  I don’t know why or how- but this changes the texture of the cake for the better.  (Thanks for this tip, Michelle!)  Just remember to take the cakes out and let them defrost in the fridge the day before you assemble!!

Step Two: Bake the Cheesecake! 
Recipe from:  The Joy of Cooking, page 980
I did this on Wednesday evening

(Note, if making this on it’s own- which is AWESOME- you must use their shortbread crust.  It’s freaking incredible)

Ingredients (all at room temperature)

2.5 lbs (five 8 ounce packages) Philadelphia Cream Cheese
(It’s something about the water content of cream cheese- but this brand is particularly amazing and  always works out great in my recipes)

1 ¾ cup Sugar

3 tbsp flour

½ tsp vanilla

5 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

½ cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Beat cream cheese until creamy, about 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go.

Gradually add the sugar and flour and beat until smooth and creamy (another 1-2 min.)

Beat in your vanilla (the recipe calls for 1 tsp of lemon zest here which I omitted)
Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, until just incorporated (making sure to scrape the sides and beaters as you go.)

Finally, on low speed beat in the cream.

Pour into a 9 inch spring form pan fitted with a parchment paper round in the bottom.

Bake at 500 for 15 min and then lower the oven temp to 200 for 1 more hour.  Turn off the oven and prop it open with a wooden spoon to ensure it doesn’t crack!

Side note: This turned out a bit brown in my current oven, but is turned out great when I've made it at my parents house.  You’ll have to experiment with your oven.  Next time at home I’m going to drop the oven temp from 500 to 200 degrees after about 5 minutes.  The great thing about this recipe is you can just scrape off the brown sections- it doesn’t have to look perfect!  It’s inside of a cake!!

Step Three: Frosting and Assembly!  
I did this on Thursday

First, make a double batch of my favorite cream cheese frosting, found here:
http://cheatday.blogspot.com/2011/03/best-cream-cheese-frosting.html

Next, prep the cheesecake.  I simply leveled it with a large chefs knife, and cut off the edges that were brown.  This made an absolute mess in my kitchen.  A very delicious mess.

Finally- it’s time to layer!  Remove the parchment from one of your cake rounds, and flip it onto your cake stand.  Put a layer of cream cheese frosting on the cake.  Then, flip the cheesecake on top.  Here, you may choose to cut off any parts of the cheesecake that are too brown.  Mine was actually fine.  After your cheesecake is stacked and ready, put another layer of frosting.  Finally, flip the last red velvet cake on top and you are ready to frost the whole shebang!  I didn’t do a crumb coat- it turned out fine without- but you most certainly could!  Finally, I shaved some white chocolate (read: old almond bark I had in my cabinet) for a little bit of style, and I was done!  I chilled this sucker and served it the next day- to many oohs and ahhs

UPDATE:  So I made this recipe again for Christmas, and took a few pictures along the way.  Enjoy!