sugar cookie cake frosted with thick chocolate buttercream

EJL: What do you want me to bake you for your birthday?
TopHatAndGoggles: Inside-Out Oreos.
EJL: ?

My friend continued in a detailed and loving description of a treat composed of Hershey's chocolate smashed between two sugar cookies. Alright, I said. But I'm making it into a cake. And changing a few other things, too. (I love chocolate. I do not particularly love Hershey's).

This was a dense treat, a lot more like a bar than a cake. We ate it by slicing off squares and picking them up like brownies. I think there are some small children out there who would enjoy this enormously. TopHatAndGoggles ate a good 3/4 of a pan all by himself, so I think I can safely call this venture successful.

 
Inside-Out Oreo Cake
This one's for Mr. TopHatAndGoggles


1 C butter, softened
1 1/2 C white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C milk

3 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla until fluffy. Add dry goods.

Press into two 8 x 8 cake pans. It will be sticky. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden. The centers will fall in.

Let cool for a few minutes and then frost while it's still warm. Ideally, the frosting will melt and meld with cake into a tasty solid bar of chocolate and cookie-cake.

My favorite cake frosting is the buttercream. I start with a very basic recipe: 1 Tb butter to 1 C powdered sugar to 1 Tb milk. With that basis I add whatever other flavorings I need (vanilla, chocolate, pomegranate, what have you) and taste test (the best part) until I have the right ratios.


Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
2 Tb butter, soft
2 C powdered sugar
3 Tb milk (extra Tb because of the chocolate)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 C chocolate, melted

Beat all ingredients together. Taste and alter. (I made this particular batch very dense (aka didn't add very much extra milk) which I think worked very well for this cake).

Almost gone...

My buttercream frosting-tasting game plan:
if it tastes too manufactured and sweet and ick (aka there is too much powdered sugar), add more butter;
if it's too thick, add milk;
if it's not sweet enough add powdered sugar AND a little milk (the ratio between these depending on the thickness of frosting);
and almost always add a little vanilla, too, because it makes the other flavors stand up and shout.

Nothin' but crumbs.

Do you have any other desserts fashioned off nostalgic childhood favorites? I have a great desire to make a Hostess Cupcake one of these days.