CHECK OUT ALL THOSE RAINBOW CHIP SPRINKLES!!!

Once again I’ve been inspired by a childhood favorite treat – one that graced the lunch boxes of so many Americans growing up, and even for a hidden snack for parents during those moments of survival to get through the crazy. If you’ve never heard of Cosmic Brownies before, you’re in for a fun little treat! Chocolate on chocolate would be an understatement for the flavors we have here – its the brownie-like texture, thick-ganache layer, and of course, those signature rainbow chip sprinkles that really make this treat something memorable. Now, it’s in a cake, and tastes even better than ever!

I knew this cake needed to happen the moment I saw these sprinkles on a shelf at one of my favorite craft stores. They look exactly like the cosmic brownie sprinkles I remembered my Mom putting in my lunch when I was a kid. After sharing a sneak peek of this cake on my Instagram page, I quickly learned that there are many of you who still buy Cosmic Brownies as a fun treat to have on hand.

So, the rainbow sprinkles were a no-brainer (and you can find them at Smiths/Kroger/Amazon/Wilton/Sweetapolita), but how to make this cake more than just a chocolate cake? Well, the secret is in the frosting, or in this case, the straight-up-ganache covering the entire cake. My chocolate cake tastes enough like brownies in the first place (that’s how it was designed after all!), so I knew a thick layer of ganache would do the trick. Speaking of tricks, there’s a serious trick to getting the correct consistency to spreadable ganache…

First, you’ll need some really yummy chocolate. I don’t want to send you all on a wild goose chase finding the top of the line quality chocolate, so I used something that I really love using most because of it’s accessibility: Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips. In order to echo that familiar Cosmic Brownie taste, I opted for the semi-sweet instead of the dark or the milk chocolate chips. It cuts through the sweetness of the rainbow chips and cake well enough.

Next, you’ll need some heavy cream. Sounds familiar? It is! This is the exact way I make all my chocolate ganache drips for my drip cakes. However, this time, we are adjusting the ratio of chocolate to cream. Usually we’d do a 4:1 ratio or sometimes a 1:1 ratio, but this time, we are making sure we have enough chocolate, and a little bit of cream, to balance perfectly to make a spreadable ganache. You have have noticed my ganache drips, and doesn’t spread… thats because of the ratio. The more chocolate you add, the thicker it is. The more heavy cream you add, the more thin it is. You are in complete control of the consistency of your ganache. Same for this spreadable ganache!

Stir the chips and heavy cream in a bowl, microwave until they have melted together when you stir (don’t over-nuke it, or you will seize the chocolate – nuke it a little at a time). When everything is smooth and creamy, you get to…

WAIT FOREVER.

Just kidding. It only feels like forever because, well, it’s chocolate, and it’s torture waiting sometime when it comes to chocolate. The chocolate ganache needs to come back to room temperature, and in so doing, thicken up a bit. It needs to thicken enough to spread without it melting or oozing everywhere. This will depend on how chilly your kitchen is.

Don’t cheat – if you place it into the fridge, it may set up too quickly, and you’ll have to re-microwave it all over again and start the process from the beginning. I suggest making the ganache the day you bake your cake (GASP!!). I know, I know, I usually advise you to bake and decorate on separate days, but this time you’re just doing the cake and frosting on the same day, and then decorating/assembling the day after. Still similar, I guess.

This cake is thick and rich and I couldn’t be happer with the results. No buttercream, I know. It totally works, though! If you’re feeling adventurous, you can always roll the cake in the sprinkles. But this time, I just pressed them on with my hand over a cookie sheet to catch any that may escape.

For the top of this guy, I wanted to do something simple. The rainbow chip sprinkles steal the show, it’s pretty obvious, so I just sliced up some of the Cosmic Brownies and arranged them on top. I love how it turned out!

If you have a Cosmic Brownie lover in your life, or you life in a country that doesn’t have this fun little treat, I can’t wait for you to try this one!!!! It will be in your top 5 favorite cakes, easily!

Here’s a quick little video showing the assembly process:

As always, I can’t wait to see what you create in the kitchen! Make sure to tag @bakingwithblondie on Instagram so I can get in on all the fun. 🙂

Cosmic Brownie Cake
Author: Mandy | Baking with Blondie
Thick chocolate layers slathered with chocolate ganache and rainbow chips – echoing an ever-favorite childhood treat that would be the star of snack time: Cosmic Brownies!
Ingredients
  • Chocolate Cake[br]
  • ⅔ cup sour cream
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 3 whole eggs + 1 egg white
  • 1 Tablespoon Mexican Vanilla
  • ½ cup dark chocolate cocoa
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1 Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Cake Mix OR Ghirardelli Chocolate Mix
  • *¼ cup all purpose flour for high altitude
  • [br]
  • Chocolate Ganache[br]
  • 24oz or 1 lb of Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
  • [br]
  • Rainbow Chip Sprinkles
  • Cosmic Brownies
Instructions
  1. FOR THE CAKE: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep 3 6-inch cake rounds with a wipe of shortening and dust of flour. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Sift in the cocoa, cake mix, (flour if high altitude) and toss in chocolate chips. Stir until just combined. Split cake batter evenly between prepared cake rounds. Don’t overmix.
  3. Bake for 25-27 minutes, or until center is fully baked. Do not overbake. Remove rounds from the oven, let cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes, then flip upside down onto wire rack to cool to room temperature.
  4. FOR THE GANACHE: In a medium/large glass (microwave safe bowl), stir together the chips and heavy cream.
  5. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Add another 30 seconds and stir until all the chocolate has melted into the heavy cream and everything is mixed together thoroughly.
  6. Let cool at room temperature for 4-6 hours until it’s thick enough to spread like frosting.
  7. ASSEMBLY: Add a touch of ganache on the cardboard cake round or cake stand, place the first layer of cake in the center. Add about 1/2-2/3 cup ganache as the filling layer, then place the next cake round on top. Repeat with the final cake round and crumb coat. Place into the freezer for 5 minutes.
  8. Add on the final coat and gently press on the rainbow chips over a cookie sheet (to catch them). Slice up the Cosmic Brownies and arrange on top.