Dunkaroo Cake
Graham cracker cake layers with confetti buttercream and white chocolate covered toasted graham crackers.
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
- 1/2 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 1/4 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 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Slowly add half of the buttermilk, followed by another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, the second half of the buttermilk and the final 1/3 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.