If you follow along on snapchat (username: whatsgabycookin) you know that this day was coming. It was a long time in the making and it’s finally here! Slutty Brownie Cake. Buckle up friends, it’s go time.
It all started a few months back when Adam texted me this pic.
All that came with the sketch was the word BOOM. He gets me. I obviously was super excited with the idea and ran with it. I took my favorite layer cake recipe (the one we used for my birthday cake a few months back) and divided it into 3 bowls and then flavored each bowl to be reminiscent of slutty brownies. That means one cake layer tastes like chocolate chip cookies, one with oreos and one like a brownie. It’s basically heaven on earth and it’s seriously a show stopper.
Each layer gets some swiss buttercream in between to hold it all together and then a major ganache topping. In case it wasn’t decadent enough, we added some freshly baked cookies, brownies and then some oreos to the top for good measure. Because when you’re going for it… you might as well REALLY go for it!
Slutty Brownie Triple Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the cake layers:
- 4 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter room temp
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups buttermilk
For the Swiss Buttercream:
- 2 ¼ cups sugar
- 9 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- pinch of salt
- 1 ¼ pounds butter room temp, cut into small pieces
Cookie Dough Layer
- 1 tablespoon molasess
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Oreo Layer
- 8 oreos crumbled
Brownie Layer
- ⅓ cup dutch processed cocoa powder
Optional toppings
- Brownies
- Cookies
- Oreos
- 1-2 cups ganache
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour three 9-inch cake pans.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, Beat in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half the flour mixture. Add 1 cup of buttermilk and mix until combined. Add remaining flour mixture and beat. Add remaining buttermilk and beat. Remove from the mixer and finish mixing by hand if needed. Divide the batter into 3 bowls adding in the various mix-ins for each layer listed below. Once combined, transfer the dough into the prepped cake pans.
- Bake until golden brown and done, about 30-35 minutes. Let cakes cool for a few minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a standing mixer's bowl above the water. Whisk the sugar, the egg whites, lemon juice, and salt in the bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar dissolves, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bowl to a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until they almost hold a stiff peak and are fully cooled, about 10 minutes. Beat in the butter, a little at a time, until the icing is smooth and spreadable.
- To assemble the cake, place one layer of the cake on a cake stand. Spread a ½ inch layer of the Swiss Buttercream on top and carefully place the 2nd layer of cake on top. Repeat the process with additional Swiss Buttercream. Add the last layer of cake of top. Frost the top of the cake with more of the Swiss Buttercream and add a super thin layer of the Swiss Buttercream to the sides of the cake. Frost until smooth. Drizzle with ganache and decorate with any desired toppings and serve as needed.
OMG I love this cake!
Hi,i am having an issue with the swiss buttercream.I followed the recipe but its not holding its shape...its very runny.Can i do something to fix it?
are you taking the egg whites to stiff peaks? That could be the issue if they aren't whipped well enough before proceeding
Also make sure it cooled enough before adding the butter. I would whip it 10 min with an ice pack under the bowl. It will come together though. Just keep spinning.
I had same issue. I’m thinking it was meant to be icing sugar (confectioners sugar). You and I likely did same thing using white sugar .... as recipie didn’t state otherwise 🙁
it's in fact regular white sugar in a buttercream!! I'd whip longer and make sure it's a super stiff peak before continuing with the recipe as printed 🙂
Are the cake layers brownies or cake? I'm looking for a layered brownie cake with real brownies....This looks totally insane by the way!! Amazing!! 🙂
these are cake layers!
Gaby I'm making this cake today for a party tomorrow. Can I make the entire cake with frosting in advance and keep in fridge for the night? Or should I wait to assemble tomorrow? The cake is in the oven now, but wondering if I should make frosting not too, so its one less thing to do tomorrow. Thanks for your help!!
you can make it all today but don't put it in the fridge - it dries out! Just leave it out on the counter and cover with something to keep it fresh!
Hi Gaby,
Is this cake ok to make the day before an event? Are there any specific things I should do to keep it fresh?
that is totally fine!! keep it wrapped up with plastic wrap and you'll be good!
What type of flour do I use, self raising or plain?
all purpose (plain)
Hi! Sounds perfect!
What can I use instead of the molasses?
can't say exactly what would work as a replacement to molasses as I've never tested it with a substitute. Is it an allergy that you're looking to avoid?
Will the flavor be noticeably altered if I use regular cocoa powder instead of dutch processed?
it will still be delish!
How do I make the chocolate ganache?
1 cup heavy cream - warm it over the stove. Add 8 oz bittersweet chocolate - melt everything together until smooth!! Remove from heat, let cool and use!
Thank you and also how much honey should I use instead of molasses
How much time do you need to make and decorate the entire cake?*
2 hours to be safe
Is it fine if I just use a cake box recepie?
it alters the amount of cake in each layer so I can't say if the baking time would be the same or not
Thanks a million Gaby! OMG!!!
I made this today for my daughter's 17th birthday and wow!
It was really very tasty. And I thank all who gave reviews, it was very handy.
I increased the cake by 1 and 1/2 and made a square cake since. The frosting was a little runny and gave me a scare, but Alas! It was perfect.
I made it for my friend's birthday. I don't have 3 9" tins so did a tiered version with the buttercream sandwiched in each cake rather than between the layers. I also really overdid the cookies and brownies on top and cascading down one side, but I'd made so many I figured "the more the merrier". It was well received and the Swiss buttercream was light enough to stop it being sickly. So, thanks for this recipe. It's a real showstopper and tastes great!
Hi, I'm wondering, why do you butter and flour the pan vs. just spraying it with a non stick spray? Can you just spray the pan if not can you tell me what how much flour I use to butter and flour my
Pan? Thanks!
it works either way!!
Hi I was wondering if I could just use American buttercream instead of Swiss buttercream ? And I want to make a bigger version with a 12 inch cake pan instead of 9, how would I do this?
Thanks a lot 🙂
yes you can absolutely use any type of frosting you want!! You can do 12 inch cake pans but the layers will be much thinner than what you see pictured here!
Hi! Thank you so much for the beautiful idea and recipe! Unfortunately, I tried to make it this past weekend and it did not come out great (I am sure due to my fault and not the recipe's). Do you have any advice for what to do if the chocolate layer and the oreo layer came out very dense? Almost bread like. I also found that the molasses to be a bit overpowering, but ironically that layer turned out the fluffiest?
Hoping to make this for a friend's birthday coming up! Thank you in advance for any help you can offer 🙂
well for the molasses layer, I'd just reduce the molasses by half and it won't be quite so molassessy 🙂 For the other layers - did you over mix them? Sometimes when you overmix a batter it can get really dense. You just want to lightly incorporate the add-ins!