Cookies and Cream Cake -- The Birthday That Started a Walk

Mia turned one. January 14, 2023. The birthday party at Angela's house — small, family, exactly right. Lourdes made pancit for long life. I made lechon kawali. James made the cake (chocolate, architecturally sound, the engineer's birthday cake). Mia ate the cake with both fists, the frosting becoming a medium for abstract expressionism on her face, her hair, the high chair, and Pete's shirt (Pete, who sat too close to the cake and learned that one-year-olds have projectile frosting capabilities).

Mia took her first steps at the party. Not planned — not announced, not the Hallmark movie first steps — just a sudden, wobbling, three-step journey from the couch to the coffee table, the baby deciding in the middle of her birthday party that today was the day the crawling ended and the walking began. Angela screamed. Lourdes screamed. I screamed. James calmly recorded it on his phone. Pete ate more cake. Mia looked at all of us screaming and sat down, apparently overwhelmed by the response to three steps, the three steps that were also the first steps of a Santos woman's journey, the first three steps of a walk that will continue for decades, through kitchens and hospitals and markets and the particular geography of a Filipino-American life in Alaska.

I held her after the cake. She was heavy with frosting and birthday and the weight of one year of being alive, and the weight was the same weight as love — heavy, sticky, warm, impossible to put down once you're holding it.

James made the chocolate cake that day, but every year since, I’ve thought about what I’d make if it were my turn — something just as celebratory, just as unapologetically joyful, and maybe even more prepared for the abstract expressionism that happens when a one-year-old gets both fists into the frosting. This cookies and cream cake has become my answer: it’s festive enough for a first birthday, sturdy enough to survive the chaos, and the kind of thing that makes a whole room go quiet before it makes them go loud again. Mia took her first three steps toward the coffee table that day; I figure a cake this good deserves at least that much of a journey to the dessert table.

Cookies and Cream Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 20 Oreo cookies, roughly crushed (divided)
• For the frosting:
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 Oreo cookies, finely crushed

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, lining the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
3. Combine wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, cooled coffee, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Make the batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined — do not overmix. Fold in half the roughly crushed Oreos (about 10 cookies).
5. Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 32–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Make the frosting. Beat the softened butter on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt and beat for another 2 minutes until light and spreadable. Fold in the finely crushed Oreos by hand.
7. Assemble the cake. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread a generous layer of frosting over the top, then press the remaining roughly crushed Oreo pieces into the frosting. Set the second layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake evenly.
8. Decorate and serve. Garnish the top with additional whole or halved Oreos as desired. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing to allow the layers to set. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 620 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 31g | Carbs: 84g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 480mg