Dunkaroo Cake with Confetti Buttercream

Inspired by a childhood favorite snack, my Dunkaroo Cake is a graham cracker cake with confetti buttercream and white chocolate covered graham cracker crumble.

Dunkaroo Cake

Do you remember Dunkaroos? They used to be a grocery store staple – little graham cracker cookies with funfetti frosting to dip them in. What a treat! I loved that combo then and I love it now. In fact, even in college I was known to drip graham crackers into a tub of Betty Crocker Funfetti Frosting.

I was reminded of this flavor combination by a follower on Instagram who requested I make a cake inspired by Dunkaroos.

How much do we love this follower and her brilliant idea?!

Here’s what we’re looking at:

• Graham cracker cake layers
• Confetti buttercream
• White chocolate graham cracker clusters

Or summed up in one word – deliciousness!

How to Make the Best Tasting Cake

When making the cake layers, don’t forget to follow my go-to tips for getting your cakes to rise and bake well:

• Preheat your oven for 30 minutes prior to baking.
• Use good quality pans like Fat Daddio.
• Spray your pans with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper. 
• Make sure you beat the butter, sugar and eggs well. The texture should be light and fluffy and the volume should increase.
• Don’t overmix your cake batter once you add the dry ingredients.
• Use room temperature wet ingredients.
• Use fresh baking powder.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it

Confetti Buttercream

This confetti buttercream recipe is a favorite around here. Make sure to follow my tips before for making the best buttercream frosting.

 HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BUTTERCREAM

• Sift your powdered sugar
• Use slightly cold butter
• Use heavy whipping cream
• Beat for 5 minutes
• Stir by hand

You’ll want to check out the post linked above for more details on each step to make sure you get the best buttercream frosting. And remember, these steps can be used for any buttercream recipe on my blog.

White Chocolate Graham Cracker Clusters

The last element in this cake is a little texture. These white chocolate coated graham cracker clusters give the cake a little crunch, while playing up the graham cracker flavor.

Enjoy!

Make Sure to Try These Cakes Too!

Dunkaroo Cake

5 from 5 votes

Graham cracker cake layers with confetti buttercream and white chocolate covered toasted graham crackers.

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Ingredients

  

FOR THE CAKE

• 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (120 g) finely ground graham crackers (about 8 full rectangular crackers)
• 1 3/4 teaspoons (7 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (2.6 g) cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon (4.2 g) salt
• 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups (333.3 g) granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups (480 g) buttermilk, at room temperature

For the White Chocolate Covered Graham Cracker Clusters

• 1/4 cup (56.5 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (75g) graham cracker crumbs (about 6 full rectangular crackers)
• 1/4 cup (23 g) milk powder, I use THIS
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 ounces white chocolate chips, melted
• 3 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles

For the Buttercream

• 2 cups (452g) unsalted butter, slightly chilled
• 6 cups (750g) powdered sugar, measured and then sifted
• 1/4 cup (57.75 g) heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons (8.4g) vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup sprinkles
• *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping like I did, you’ll want to make an extra ¼ batch.

Instructions

 

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and then line with parchment. Spray again. Set aside.
• Place the graham crackers in a food processor or blender and pulse until the crackers are finely ground and resemble sand.
• In a medium-size bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until the ingredients are well-blended. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition. After the eggs are all added, continue to beat on medium-high for about 2 to 3 minutes.
• With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Slowly add half of the buttermilk, followed by another ⅓ of the dry ingredients, the second half of the buttermilk and the final ⅓ of dry ingredients. Mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and slowly mix for another 20-30 seconds.
• Divide the batter evenly among your pans (about 20 ounces in each) and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it. Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely.

For the White Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers Clusters

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, milk powder, brown sugar, and salt.
• Pour the melted butter into the bowl and toss to coat the crumbs until they are “wet.”
• Spread the crumbs over the parchment paper and bake for 7 minutes, at which point you’ll toss the crumbs with a fork, and bake again for another 7 minutes.
• When the crumbs are done baking, remove from the oven and allow the crumbs to cool completely.
• Combine the cooled graham cracker crumbs / clusters and the melted white chocolate into a mixing bowl. Toss to coat the graham crackers. Toss in the sprinkles.
• Pour the coated graham crackers over a sheet of parchment paper. Allown the mixture to set.

For the Buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, best the butter for about 2 to 3 minutes.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
• With mixer on medium speed, add whipping cream, vanilla, and salt.
• Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. The frosting will become lighter in color and texture.
• Before spreading on your cake, spend a couple minutes mixing the buttercream by hand with a wooden spoon to push out the air pockets.
• Fold in the sprinkles.

For the Assembly

• Place the first cake layer, top side up on a cake plate or cake board set on a turn table.
• Evenly spread about a cup of buttercream over the cake layer. Sprinkle on about a half cup of the graham cracker crumble and gently pat into place.
• Place the second cake layer on top of the filling and repeat step 2.
• The final cake layer will go top-side down on the filling. Apply a thin coat of frosting around the entire cake to lock in the crumbs. Freeze for about 10 minutes.
• After the crumb coat is set, continue frosting and decorating the cake with the remaining buttercream and crumbs.

  For the piping, I used the Wilton 8B piping tip.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cake

Keyword: Dunkaroo Cake