Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!
The last few years I have seen this "eye cake" floating around on Pinterest.
I thought it was so cute and would be easy to replicate.
The eyes are made of Oreo's so I started to think "Why not make the whole cake cookies and cream?"
(If there's one thing I love just as much as Halloween it's cookies and cream.)
Thus this cookies and "scream" cake was born.

You will need:
1 and 1/3 Cups of  All-Purpose Flour
2/3 Cup of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, Plus More For Dusting the Pans
1 and 1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
1/2 a Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 a Teaspoon of Salt
1 and 1/3 Cups of Granulated Sugar
2/3 Cup of Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
4 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup of Water
2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract
1 Cup of Sour Cream
1/4 a Cup of Vegetable Oil

Preheat the oven to 325o.
Grease 2 round 6"pans, then line the bottom with parchment paper.
Dust the parchment paper with a small amount of cocoa powder.
Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
Whisk in both sugars until evenly combined.
Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, and vanilla.
Whisk in the sour cream and the oil.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and add the sour cream mixture.

Stir until no dry streaks of flour remain, being careful not to overmix.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, around 35 to 40 minutes.
Let cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare the cookies and cream buttercream frosting. 

You will need:
1 Cup of Salted Butter, Softened
4 Cups of Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
A Pinch of Salt
2-3 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream
12 - 14 Oreos, Finely Crushed (About 1 and 1/4 Cups of Cookie Crumbs)

In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth, creamy and light, about 4 minutes.
Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating until well combined.
Beat in the remaining powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt,
Add just enough heavy cream to get the frosting to a nice pipeable consistency.
Stir in the crushed Oreos.

Stack the cakes with a thin layer of the cookies and cream buttercream in between the layers.
Cover the cake with the cookies and cream buttercream and smooth.

Prepare your eye decorations

You will need:
Oreo's
Mini Oreo's 
Brown M&M's

Carefully twist an Oreo in half, making sure not to separate the cream filling or break the cookie.
Take the cookie with the cream filling still attached and gently place a brown M&M "M" side down into the filling, creating an eye.
Repeat to create a second eye to complete the pair. 
Continue with both sized Oreos until you have your desired amount of eyes.
I placed my M&M's in different places on the Oreo to create different looks.
Some looking up, down , to the side, etc.
Place a small dot of the cookies and cream buttercream on the back of the completed Oreo eye.
Gently place onto the cake, and add it's pair.

Continue until you have achieved your desired look.
Enjoy!

This was such a fun cake to create.
I love how a simple decoration takes it to a whole new level.
I also love the added touch of the cookies and cream buttercream.
The Oreo flavor isn't just for decoration now.
What is you favorite Halloween candy?

All my love, 

Autumn