Funfetti Cheesecake Cake Layers Baked into a Graham Cracker Crust, Cookie Dough Filling, Almond Cream Cheese Buttercream, Graham Cracker Crumble, and Cookie Dough Balls on Top!
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
9whole (large rectangle) graham crackers
1/4 cupbrown sugar
9Tablespoonsmelted unsalted butter
Funfetti Cheesecake Cake
1cup buttermilkroom temperature
4ozcream cheeseroom temperature
1/3cupsour creamroom temperature
4eggwhitesroom temperature
1/3cupvegetable oil
1Tablespoonpure vanilla
1/4cuprainbow jimmies
1/8cup mini chocolate chipsoptional
1 Tablespooncream cheese emulsionoptional for even more cream cheese flavor
1boxwhite cake mixDuncan Hines or Betty Crocker will do
Eggless Cookie Dough
1cupunsalted butterslightly softened
1 cupgranulated sugar
1 cupbrown sugar
4 Tablespoonsmilk
2Tablespoons pure vanilla
2cupsheat-treated all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2cupmini chocolate chips
Almond Cream Cheese Buttercream
2 sticks (or 1 cup)unsalted butterleft at room temp for 15 minutes
1brick (8 oz)cream cheese
1 pinch salt
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
1/2teaspoonalmond extract
6-8cups powdered sugarsifted
1-2 Tablespoons heavy creamoptional - use only if needed for thinning consistency
Garnish
graham cracker crumbles for sides
rainbow jimmies for sides
Instructions
For the Graham Cracker Crust
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees on convection bake, and prep three 6" cake rounds with a swipe of shortening and a dust of flour. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse together the graham crackers, brown sugar, and melted butter until a crust forms. Split the crust between the prepared pans and press firm with the back of a flat measuring cup or a drinking glass bottom. Do not pre-bake. Set aside.
For the Funfetti Cheesecake Cake
In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined and the cream cheese is dispersed evenly. Sift in the cake mix, then gently fold in the jimmies and chocolate chips.
Split batter evenly between the graham cracker cake rounds. Bake for 30-35 minutes until center is baked through.
Let cool in pan for 2 minutes, then flip out gently onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours before assembly.
Eggless Cookie Dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the milk, vanilla, and salt and mix until fully incorporated.
Add in the flour, chocolate chips, and jimmies and mix until just combined.
Split dough into two parts. With one half of the dough, make dough balls for the top of your cake. With the other half of the dough, form the dough into two disks that are smaller than your cake rounds. Depending on how thick you want your dough, press to that thickness. I used plastic wrap and a cake pan to help with this step. Place into the fridge to chill while baking your cake.
For the Almond Cream Cheese Buttercream
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter until it's light and fluffy. Add in the cream cheese and whip up again.
Add in the extracts and salt, then slowly add in the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time. This buttercream is naturally more loose than my regular ABC, so you may not need to add in the heavy cream to thin it out. If you do, add a teaspoon at a time and whip up. Whip up on high speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
Assembly
On a cardboard cake round on a cake turntable, add on a touch of buttercream to the center to act as glue for the cake round. Place down the first cake round. Add on the cookie dough layer, leaving space around the edge. Add on a buttercream rim and some on top. Repeat with remaining two cake layers. Crumb coat, freeze 5 minutes.
Add on a layer of buttercream and smooth the sides with a cake scraper. Add on some graham cracker crumbles on the bottom, and hand place on the cookie dough and sprinkles. Slice with a hot sharp knife when the cake is cold for clean slices. Enjoy!