Four-layer Birthday Cake with Cookie Icing

The star of any birthday party is the cake. What? Oh, right, it’s the guest of honour. But a close second is: the cake. And the most memorable ones are big and flashy and delicious. This cake is all of those things. Just telling people when they ask “what kind of cake is it??” that “oh, it’s a 4-layer cake with cookie icing” is going to get you some wide eyes and gasps in return. Cutting into it is bound to illicit a second round. Make it for a birthday party where you, the baker, want to be the star in the birthday baby’s eyes.

See how this recipe fits into a complete Kids’ Party Dessert Table here!

Four-Layer Birthday Cake with Cookie Icing

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake:

• 2 tbsp hot water
• 1 tbsp decaf instant coffee powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup canola oil

Vanilla Cake:

• 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract

Buttercream Icing:

• 15 black and white cookie sandwiches
• 1 ½ cups butter, room temperature
• 6 cups confectioners sugar
• 5 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 tbsp whole milk

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees and grease two 9-inch circular springform cake tins. Line the bottoms of each with parchment paper by tracing the bottom of your cake tin on the parchment and using kitchen shears to cut them out. You can cut four circles out at this point and set two aside for the other layers.

In a small bowl combine the instant coffee powder with the hot water and stir to dissolve; set aside. In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk until fully incorporated and set aside. In a second large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the eggs and sugar on a low to medium speed for about 1-2 minutes or until it becomes light in colour. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the milk, vanilla extract, oil and the instant coffee mixture until everything is fully combined. Incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet: keep your hand mixer on a low speed and using a small ladle, add the flour mixture one scoop at a time to the mixing bowl. Once the chocolate cake batter is uniform, divide it into the two prepared cake tins and transfer to the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes. To test that the cake is done, insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake; when it comes out clean, the cakes are ready to come out of the oven. Pop both cakes out of the springform pans and set them aside to cool completely.

Prepare the vanilla cake batter as follows. Your oven should already be preheated to 350F degrees. Reassemble your springform pans and again, grease them and line the bottoms with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk until fully incorporated and set aside. In a second large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and butter on a low to medium speed for about 1-2 minutes or until it looks whipped and airy. With the mixer on low, add one egg at a time and beat until fully combined. Slowly pour in the milk and vanilla extract and mix until fully combined. Incorporate the dry ingredients with the wet: keep your hand mixer on a low speed and using a small ladle, add the flour mixture one scoop at a time to the mixing bowl. Once the cake batter is uniform, divide it into the two prepared cake tins and transfer to the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes. To test that the cake is done, insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake; when it comes out clean, the cakes are ready to come out of the oven. Pop both cakes out of the springform pans and set them aside to cool completely.

While the cakes cool, prepare the icing. In a food processor, pulse the cookies until they form a crumble that resembles wet sand and set aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter on medium speed for 5 minutes or until it is light and fluffy. Turn the electric mixer down to low and slowly add the confectioners sugar one spoon at a time until well combined. To finish the icing, add the vanilla extract one teaspoon at a time and then the whole milk one tablespoon at a time. Divide the icing in two and fold the cookie crumble into one half of the icing.

To assemble: Use a serrated bread knife to level off each layer of cake by slicing off the domed portion of each cake, leaving each completely flat. (This will ensure that your cake doesn’t tip over.) Drop a small dollop of cookie crumble icing on the base of your cake stand and spread it evenly into a 2-inch circle, to ensure that the cake doesn’t slide around the cake stand. Place a vanilla cake layer onto the cake stand and top with an even layer of cookie crumble icing. Repeat this for the rest of the cake, alternating between chocolate cake and vanilla cake layers. Once your cake is assembled you can apply a crumb coat using the plain icing. The crumb coat is a very thin layer of icing covering the entire exterior of the cake and is used to ensure the cake stays under the icing and no holes become visible once the cake is fully decorated. After the crumb coat is applied, allow it to set in the fridge for 1 hour. Once set, frost your cake evenly using the remaining plain icing. Use your sprinkles to decorate the cake as desired.