Ombre Oreo Chocolate Cake

By Connie
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This ombre oreo chocolate cake is a tall and layered thing of beauty. Deeply flavourful chocolate cake covered with an oreo Swiss meringue buttercream and decorated with shards of white chocolate.

Hello 2016! Can I still say that? Or are you kinda over and done with it now that the excitement has passed and you’ve already OD’d on champagne and confetti and it’s already almost February?

Welcome welcome to the first post of the year! This ombre oreo chocolate cake is the most bomb thing that has happened to my life in a long while so that’s why I’m starting off the new blogyear with it. This cake is a drop dead gorgeous bombshell. Ain’t gonna lie, because I’m interning full time and studying the rest of the time, excitement is kind of a scarcity these days… UNLESS you also find stage 4 coccyx wounds, bowel movements or dysphagia exciting! Anybody else? Ok, just me probably.

ombre oreo chocolate cake

About this ombre oreo chocolate cake

This tall ombre oreo chocolate cake is made of four layers of moist chocolate cake filled with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. Oreos were twisted and separated. I crushed the cookies into a fine crumb and added it into a portion of the vanilla buttercream then added the cream filling into the buttercream as well for that signature oreo flavour. I spread this oreo buttercream sporadically halfway down the outsides of the cake and then used my pastry scraper to smooth out and evenly drag the oreo buttercream throughout the vanilla buttercream.

For the chocolate shards on top, I melted a heck of a lot of white chocolate and spread it thinly on some parchment. Then, I sprinkled some oreo crumbs in rows across the chocolate so that when I cut it into triangles, only the corners would have crumbs for a geometric play with texture.

white chocolate shards

Hitting a breaking point

Gonna dump some seriously heavy stuff on you today. If you’re already feeling down, I don’t want to drag you with me. Carry on to the recipe at the end of this post!

I have hit the breaking point that I’ve been trying to avoid ever since I started my internship. I do this thing where I put a lot, and I mean A LOT of unnecessary and unrealistic pressure on myself. Even with the smallest mistakes and the less than awesome interactions that I have with others, I shoot myself down until I feel completely worthless.

Example, when I forget a detail such as checking a patient’s bowel charts and I have to go back to gather that detail after my preceptor prompts me to do it. I feel like crud when that happens because I blame myself for not being absolutely perfect the first time. You know, all those strange, self-deprecating thoughts and the like. I’ve been trying and trying to push those negative thoughts back and it has worked up until now. Recently, they’ve all resurfaced… tenfold.

ombre oreo chocolate cake

The doubts 

For the first half of January, I felt incompetent, incapable, and overwhelmed. Those feelings were so destructive to my confidence that I couldn’t feel comfortable in my role. Every single possible negative thought ran through my head:

“I’ll never be good at my job.”

“I’ll never improve. This is it, I’m always gonna be only half-OK at everything.”

“I bet everyone is doing so much better than I am. I’ll never be as good as them.”

“Why can’t I handle this stress? I’m so weak.”

“There’s so much to do, there’s so much to do, there’s so much to do. I have no time!!”

white chocolate cake decoration

I thought about quitting. I thought about pursing other things. I reminded myself of the promise that I made a long time ago to be HAPPY. Anything that is in the way of my happiness needs to be stopped. But I can’t make that decision right now. What if these crappy feelings are just stemming from being overworked and tired? What if I just need more time to practice and get better? I mean, it’s only been 4 months into internship right? Playing devils advocate with myself is one way to explore options but am I just overthinking everything?

ombre oreo chocolate cake

Seeing the bigger picture

Either way, I decided that my current emotions are not a reflection of my passion for this field of work. Yes, I’m feeling completely crappy right now and yes it’s work related, but no it does not mean that I won’t love what I do once I find the perfect place for me in the field of dietetics. When I get over the roller coaster learning stages, the constant stumbling and the juggle of a bajillion simultaneous projects, it will be allll better. Until I get past these parts of this journey, I’ll just have to keep reminding myself to see the big picture. At the end of this, I’ll have my dream career in learning about nutrition and its effects on human health. THAT, is what I’m working towards.

ombre oreo chocolate cake

Realizing and finding strength

A couple things in particular helped me get over those feelings. I CRIED (A LOT). I talked about it with my boyfriend and closest friends. They literally had to take me by the shoulders and shake some sense into me. They also reminded me that I was blaming myself for THE TINIEST mistakes and the MOST RIDICULOUS things. They taught me the most important lesson ever: you’re still learning, it’s actually the best time to make mistakes. This is what internship is for: learning and developing skills to be better in the future.

Self-confidence and the ability to be REAL with myself is not second nature to me. I tend to push myself down all the time; a lot of negative self-talk goes on in my head. There’s a purpose for it though! It sounds ridiculous but I do that to keep myself grounded and humble. I don’t ever want to let myself forget to be open to learning and practice.

There is a Chinese proverb that I live by “There is always a mountain taller than the other.” There will always be someone who’s smarter and more skilled than I and I shouldn’t let myself believe, not even for a minute, that I am a pro in anything. After this episode though, I’m realizing that there are some flaws to my methods. Biggest flaw: I was being unrealistic with myself and I destroyed my own self-esteem by nit-picking at every little thing I did or not did not do. Second biggest flaw: I never gave myself credit for achievements.

ombre oreo chocolate cake

Lessons learnt from going through hard times

Despite the hard circumstances, there was a pivotal moment. It was one of those life defining moments that challenged my strength of character and changed my outlook on life, especially my perspective of myself.

  1. Cry hard. Until you’ve got nothing in you. Cry until you hyperventilate. Then deep breathe and get back at your problems logically. Maybe grab a glass of water first though, crying dries you out.
  2. Be real with yourself. Evaluate this: Are you putting yourself down because you actually suck or are you just being negative and letting yourself sink into a downward uncontrollable spiral?
  3. Change the negative talk. Ok, so you actually suck. Doesn’t mean you’re gonna suck forever! You will though if you keep talking down on yourself. If no one else supports/believes in you, you have to be your own source of strength.
  4. Share your thoughts and open up to other people. Being your own cheerleader is tiring. No matter how positive you are, you just get worn out sometimes. Talking to others doesn’t make you weak. I felt magnitudes of relief when I finally opened up to my friends about how I was feeling.
  5. This one was shared by my wise friend, Chris: Compartmentalize. Work will always be stressful and one way to not let it affect other areas of your life is to separate work thoughts from personal life thoughts. Once the work day is over, clock out physically AND mentally.
  6. Self-care. You are no good to anybody if you don’t take care of yourself.
  7. Recognize what you’ve achieved so far and give yourself credit for how big your workload is! For me, a huge part of the stress stemmed from having too many roles: intern, event coordinator, food blogger and taking care of some tenant/contracts business for my parents etc.

ombre oreo chocolate cake

More tall layered cake ideas:

Galaxy Cake (chocolate mocha)

Gold Hazelnut Praline Ganache Cake

Skyscraper Strawberry Shortcake

Ferrero Rocher Cake

Recipe for ombre oreo chocolate cake:

Ombre Oreo Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake and oreo buttercream decorated with oreos and shards of white chocolate.
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients
  

Chocolate Cake

  • 3 cups sugar
  • 2 2/3 cups AP flour
  • 1 cup + 1 tbsp cocoa
  • 3 tsp baking soda
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1.5 cup buttermilk
  • 1.5 cup strong black coffee OR 2 tsp powdered instant coffee plus 1 cup boiling water
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 10 large egg whites
  • 2 1/4 cup white sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 cups unsalted butter room temp, cut into cubes
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 18 oreos

White chocolate shards

  • 1 cup good quality white chocolate
  • 4 oreos

Oreo Decoration on top of cake

  • 10 oreos

Instructions
 

Chocolate Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F
  • Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl
  • Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (Batter will be thin)
  • Pour batter evenly into 3 9" circular pans
  • Bake 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean
  • Let cool to room temperature

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • Separate the cream filling from the cookies and crush cookies into a fine powder, place in separate bowls and set aside
  • Combine sugar, egg whites, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer
  • Place over boiling water (not IN boiling water)
  • Whisk by hand until sugar is completely dissolved
  • Transfer bowl to mixer and beat until you reach medium peak consistency
  • Slowly add butter one piece at a time
  • At some point, the buttercream will look curdled and gross, THIS IS NORMAL DON'T PANIC
  • Keep adding butter and beating the buttercream until you reach a silky smooth texture
  • Split buttercream in half, one half to remain vanilla, the other half for oreos
  • Add the crushed cookies and the cream into one half of the buttercream

White Chocolate Shards

  • Remove the cream filling and crush cookies into a fine powder, set aside
  • Gently temper white chocolate in the microwave using 30 second intervals at medium heat
  • Pour chocolate onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread into a rectangular shape
  • Sprinkle crushed oreo cookies in 3 equally spaced rows parallel to the long side of the rectangle
  • Allow chocolate to set overnight
  • When chocolate is set, cut along the rows of cookie crumbs to get 3 long strips, then cut each strip into different sized triangles

Oreo Decor

  • Remove the cream filling and break the cookies into 4 pieces – precision does not matter here, we want the pieces to be different sizes and shapes!

Putting it all together

  • Cut and level off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface
  • Place one layer of cake on a plate/cakeboard and place on a spinning turntable/lazy susan
  • Generously spread a layer of vanilla buttercream
  • Place the second layer of cake on top
  • Repeat with vanilla buttercream and place final layer of cake on top
  • Crumb coat the entire cake with vanilla buttercream, then refrigerate for 20 minutes
  • Once cake is cold and crumb coat is hardened, start applying your final layer of buttercream
  • Starting at the bottom of the cake, roughly spread OREO buttercream halfway up the sides in an ombre fashion (more on the bottom and less as you get closer to the top of the cake)
  • Cover the other half of the sides and the top of the cake with VANILLA buttercream
  • Using a pastry scraper or spatula, gently smooth out the sides of the cake in one swift motion: Place your scraper/spatula gently against the cake and in one motion, turn the lazy susan 360 degrees so that your scraper/spatula ends back where it started. You will drag oreo and vanilla buttercream along with you and that is NORMAL, you want the two to blend together. Put excess buttercream that you dragged off the cake into a bowl for future finger dipping
  • Keep smoothing it out until you’re happy with how it looks, then smooth out the top of the cake.
  • Final optional step: Sprinkle shards and crumbled oreo cookies on top as you wish
Author: chocolate + connie
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cake, chocolate

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a comment below and tag @chocolateandconnie on Instagram.

 

Join the Conversation

  1. Learning how to keep your mental health afloat is such a scary, overwhelming, and constant uphill battle. Holy shit. I came to similar realizations to yours not too long ago…

    Would love to catch up some time when you have a free hour one day 🙂

    1. Hi osh! Wow, it feels so good to know that someone else has been through this and knows how shitty this feels. I gotta say I’m surprised though, you’ve always been a high achiever and basically a pro at anything you’ve ever pursued – you should have so much confidence that you can achieve greatness in anything!

      Yes, let’s catch up and swap stories! It has been too long since we talked forealz.

  2. You opening up to your inner circle was the first step. Talking about it in public is the next step. So proud of you! Even though you may not think it, but you are doing so well, mistakes and all. It’s totally normal. But you also need time for you. Find something that gives you peace. And definitely whatever happens, at the beginning of the day leave your personal stuff at the door when you walk into work. At the end of the day, leave work at work. You got this.

    1. Thank you Jenine for being so genuine and being a great support. Only now that I’m sorta over the negative (it still comes back daily but less aggressively), I can see in hindsight how much I have achieved and I need to definitely recognize that more. Your advice about clearing the mind before and after work is priceless – I’m so glad that I can lean on you!

  3. I get it. Believe me, I get it all too well. I demand perfection from myself – and when mistakes happen it’s the end of the world. Hubby asks me why can I overlook (and forgive) mistakes in others, but not myself.

    As for your cake – beautiful!!

    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I really appreciate you opening up and telling me that 🙂 I do the same thing, i have very diff standards for myself compared to the standards that I have for others. Good thing we both have partners who are real with us and will tell us when we’re treating ourselves poorly!

  4. That looks amazing! Oreo ombre frosting, white chocolate shards, and everything else–I love it! 🙂

  5. Wow, this is gorgeous! Well done, I think your worries have no ground to stand on – you’re doing great as far as cakes and blogging go, just as the other aspects of your life. Wel all carry our own burdens and worry about the exact same thing, guess that brings us all to the same level at the end of the day.
    Keep up the good work!

    1. Hi Olguta, thank you so much for dropping by and speaking encouraging thoughts – it’s just what I needed to hear. You’re completely right, we all have our burdens and doubts… some are just louder than others ahaha.

  6. Hi Connie!

    It’s good that you realize you’re struggling and that it’s SO WORTH IT for you to follow through with pursuing your dream job. How long is your internship? I know how you feel, girl, you’re SO not alone when it comes to being nit-picky and self critical. It’s easy to feel alone in it, because it’s not something most people openly talk about, but I have had my share of self criticisms, too. I’m glad it sounds like you have a good support system around you. ..

    And chocolate cake 🙂 Which looks delicious, by the way. Beautiful photography. Swiss meringue buttercream?! YUM!

    Hang in there <3

    1. Hi Amber!

      Internship is about 10 months long. I hope it’ll worth it! I think I just need a reality check and to keep making the active effort to tell myself that I’m DOING OKAY. You’re totally right, it’s not a very open dialogue when one is experiencing mental stress. It’s still quite the stigma eh? Which actually makes everyone who are going through those problems feel even more alone. Thank YOU for reading and speaking out by leaving this comment 🙂

  7. oh Connie I’m so happy you’re doing better-I understand how those sort of self-deprecating/anxious thoughts can overwhelm. YOU’RE AMAZING. true facts.

    I mean….you made this insanely gorgeous and delicious cake! WHICH I NEED-and am thusly pinning!

    1. im feeling better but those thoughts are always in the back of my mind and they’re always resurfacing. days are dark for now, but once im finished with internship… i think things will be better. thank you for always being there and giving me support <3

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