Birthday Time for Kailyn!

While it's a real drag to have to go back to school after a 2 week break on your birthday, I've tried to make it a little easier by helping her celebrate early.  What;s better than have cake on Sunday, the day before your actual birthday?

Kailyn decided on a fabulous looking cake on Pinterest - Cookie Dough Brownie Cake.  I had to make some slight modifications, which I'm notorious for!  First adjustment was the actual brownie cake.  The original called for 3 cake layers, but I only have 2 round cake pans.  I discovered a recipe on the back of the Ghirardelli Premium Baking Cocoa, and you can't go wrong with that!

Grand Fudge Cake
2 cups of flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of softened unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup of heavy cream
1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350*.  Grease 2 round cake pans.  In a med. bowl mix the dry ingredients and set aside.  Using the stand mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time.  Next add the dry mix, cream, and milk.  Mix until smooth.  Divide into 2 cake pans and bake for about 30 min., and then turn off oven and set timer for 5 min. to help the middle set up.

The middle layer is the cookie dough one, and I mixed this up while the cake was baking.  Since I was only go to use 2 layers, and this cake is pretty decadent, I decided to half this part.  This is the recipe I used -

Cookie Dough Filling
1/2 cup softened unsalted butter
2/3 packed brown sugar
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup of mini chocolate chips

Beat the butter and brown sugar together.  Next add the powdered sugar, and finally the flour and salt.  It's going to be thick.  Add the cream and vanilla.  I added some milk to lightened it up a bit more.  You want it spreadable.  I added the mini chocolate chips next.  The original recipe had you add chocolate chips with the ganache, but with it being the cookie dough layer, I thought it made more sense to put them in the middle layer.

The topping I actually used the exact recipe.

Ganache 
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate bar, broken into small pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, warm up the cream, but do not boil.  Add the chocolate and slowly melt.  Turn heat off and add syrup and vanilla.

Use a pretty pedestal cake plate for this masterpiece.  Put one layer down, spread the cookie dough layer evenly, add the top cake, and coat the entire cake with the ganache.  Delicious!

Here's to a fantastic 17th birthday for Kailyn - and a happy 1st day back to school for second semester!