Brace yourself for irony. Last time I posted it was all about the Whole30, and getting back on the Paleo wagon. This time it will be all about sugar, dairy and wheat. All I can say is it wasn’t for me. And all the camo, Army-guy themed everything? That wasn’t for me either. When it’s my birthday, there won’t be any of this. But it wasn’t my birthday– it was Elias’s. At seven, this represents a cross section of things he loves: Oreos and ammo coexist for him in a perfect universe of sugar and military ops. So it was his day, and I did my best to make his vision a reality.
You may remember the owl cake I made three years ago. Per Elias’s request, I made it again last year, exactly the same or maybe slightly better. Then this year, with the cookie-n-cream version, I kicked it up a notch. Here’s how:
I stacked up the pyrex bowls so you could see how they would work.
I buttered and floured the bowls, then lined them with baking parchment. Later when taking them out, I wished I had buttered the parchment too. So do that.
Filled them with batter. I used Magnolia Bakery’s Yellow Birthday Cake recipe. If you use a mix I will hate you forever. Who are you, Rachel Ray??
Baked and cooling. Allow LOTS of time for cooling. The night before would be ideal.
I needed to slice the cakes into layers because Elias wanted cookies and cream filling in between. Also the previous two times I’ve made this cake I felt that the layers were too thick anyway. However, doing this was tricky and made the resulting towering owl quite precarious!
I used this handy dandy cake slicer I got for Christmas (thanks D&P!). Even though my cakes were a fraction of the size. This thing still helped because it keeps your blade level.
All the pretty slices ready for action!
Begin filling– I used homemade cream cheese frosting, again from Magnolia Bakery. There will be no end to the scowls if you get that horrible swill from a can.
Put some Oreos in a baggie and smash with a rolling pin. Then add the crumbles to the top of your filling. I think cream cheese frosting is best here because you need something with some tensile strength.
In past versions, these two layers were one solid chunk. You can see the benefits of slicing.
Keep filling and stacking! An extra pair of hands is very useful at this moment.
Have courage!!
You may need a lovely and talented assistant.
You need a long thin support to poke all the way through all the layers. I used a wooden skewer. Then begin to frost.
As to frosting, you know the rules. Make your own. This is Lucia’s chocolate frosting. It’s very easy (1/4 c soft butter, 1/2 c sour cream, 3 T brown sugar, tsp vanilla, 6 oz melted chic chips, then just whip it. Keep whipping it until it’s all fluffy and beautiful. Low fat sour cream will suck. Don’t go there.)
Frost it all over except for the chest area, which will be white.
Use some of the cream cheese frosting from the filling for the chestal regions.
If a tiny commando comes by, give him a beater to lick.
Painstakingly apply mini-chips to the chest.
The ears are made from Oreos cut in half (one half for each ear). Poke them gently into the skull and then frost.
To make the eyes, carefully open two Oreos. Use a little cream cheese frosting to stick them on the face. Then dab cream cheese frosting on the back of a Junior Mint and place it for the pupil.
The toes and beak are banana Runts. I bought a box of Runts and sorted out seven banana ones. Then I put a seven candle on top. And heaved a sigh of relief. Done!!
Our owl friend lived in the fridge until the party. Moving it from place to place was nerve-wracking.
How to serve? Simply decapitate and slice head. Then slice up body. I forgot to take a pic of the piece on a plate, but it looked real nice. Especially when the plates were camo.
Happy birthday boy! That’s what it’s all about.
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