SNICKERDOODLE Layer CAKE with BISCOFF COOKIE BUTTER FROSTING
1 box butter cake mix……………………..…………...2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3.4 oz. box Instant Vanilla Pudding……………3 large Eggs
3/4 cup Buttermilk (TIP: I keep can of powdered buttermilk in the pantry to make up as I need it)
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil…………………………………..1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup Sour Cream ~or~ plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
CINNAMON STREUSEL:
1/3 cup Brown Sugar (I like dark)……………...…..1/3 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 TB Cinnamon…………………………………………....3 TB butter, melted
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously spray two 8” round or square pans with non-stick baking spray (containing flour) and set aside.
Put all the cake ingredients into the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until all ingredients are well combined. (Use a rubber scraper to scrape down sides of the bowl and get any batter that’s stuck in the bottom of the bowl.) Set aside and prepare streusel.
Cinnamon Streusel:
Combine all dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Cut the butter (with pastry cutter or fork) into dry ingredients so that it’s all crumbly.
Put half of the cake batter into each prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the Cinnamon Streusel over each cake layer ~ then stick a butter knife deep into each pan, swirling the streusel. I pressed the streusel gently into the batter with the back of a spoon.
Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. The tops will brown, get a little bit hard and puff up, and look like an actual giant snickerdoodle cookie! Let them cool completely on a rack.
While they’re cooling, make the frosting:
BISCOFF COOKIE BUTTER FROSTING
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks or 12 TB) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup Biscoff Cookie Butter (near the peanut butter at grocery store ~ aka Speculoos)
4-6 cups powdered sugar………………………….1 tsp. cinnamon
about 2-3 TB milk (can use cream or half-and-half or even Cinnamon or Sugar Cookie flavored liquid coffee creamer)
Beat together butter and cookie butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Lower speed, and gradually beat in powdered sugar. (It will be somewhat thick.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and raise speed to medium. Gradually the milk (1 TB at a time) and beat until it’s fluffy and smooth.
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To assemble:
Put a dab of frosting on the cake plate; then center and place the bottom layer of cake (right-side-up) on the frosting (this will help prevent the cake from sliding). Put strips of waxed paper under the edges of the cake, to catch frosting drips and keep the plate clean.
Put about 1/2 cup of frosting on the bottom layer (maybe a little more), and spread (almost to the edges of the cake). Put the top layer on and VERY GENTLY press down the top layer, to press the frosting filling even and closer to the sides of the cake (you can even up the cake, by pressing a tiny bit more on any part that’s higher than the rest of the layer). Fill in any gaps between the layers with a little bit of frosting (off-set spatula or butter knife).
Now, do a CRUMB COAT: Put about a cup of frosting on the top of the cake and gently spread out to the edges and down the sides, with the off-set spatula or butter knife. You want a very, very thin coating of frosting all around (called a CRUMB COAT because this will “seal” any crumbs in so they don’t show later when you frost the cake) (If you get crumbs on the spreader, don’t mix that excess frosting into the bowl of fresh frosting!) I let the cake sit now, for about 5-10 minutes so the crumb coat hardens up (this gives you time to clean up kitchen).
Now, you can finish frosting the top and sides of the cake with the fresh frosting (using the off-set spatula or butter knife to smooth out the frosting. You can even use a lightly-dampened finger to smooth out the frosting.) When you’re all done frosting the cake, gently slide the waxed paper strips out.