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Samoa Cookie Sheet Cake

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Samoa Cookie Cake with a shortbread crust, caramel chocolate cake, toasted coconut caramel filling, ganache drizzle, and caramel buttercream. Just like the girl scout cookie, but better!
Servings 20 servings, more or less depending on how you slice it

Equipment

  • 9x13 sheet pan
  • 1M Piping Tip
  • squeeze bottle
  • angled icing spatula

Ingredients

Shortbread Cookie Crust

  • 3 cups shortbread cookie crumbles pulse the shortbread cookies into a powder and then measure the three cups
  • 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Chocolate Caramel Cake

  • 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
  • 2/3 cup sour cream room temperature
  • 3 whole eggs room temperature
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon caramel extract/emulsion
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 15.25oz Box Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Dark Chocolate Fudge from Duncan Hines)

Toasted Coconut Caramel Filling

  • 3 cups toasted coconut
  • 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
  • 2/3 cup caramel sauce (either homemade or store-bought)

Caramel Buttercream

  • 1 1/2 cup (or three sticks) unsalted butter left out at room temperature for 10 minutes
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon caramel extract/emulsion
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream plus more to thin it out if needed
  • 7-8 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate Ganache Drizzle

  • 1 cup chocolate melts
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

For the cake & crust:

  • Preheat the oven to 325 F, and prep a 9x13 sheet pan with a swipe of shortening and dust of flour. Set aside.
  • In a food processor, pulse the cookies into a powder and then measure out 3 cups of cookie powder/crumble. Stir the cookie crumbles with the melted butter until it's evenly distributed. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside, no pre-bake required for the crust.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except for the cocoa and cake mix. Sift in the cocoa and cake mix, then gently stir to combine (don't overmix). Pour the cake batter onto the crust, then bake for 27-30 minutes until the center is baked through. Let cool completely before decorating.

For the Filling:

  • Stir together all the ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

For the Buttercream

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter until it's light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in the salt, vanilla, caramel extract, and heavy cream. With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly start to add in all the powdered sugar, about a half cup at a time. When it's fully incorporated, you may need to add in a Tablespoon or two more of heavy cream if needed to thin out the buttercream. Flip the mixer to the highest speed and whip up the buttercream to lighten the texture for about 2 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to stir and beat out the air bubbles.

For the ganache:

  • Stir together the chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds, stir. Heat 30 seconds again and stir again until smooth. Add to a squeeze bottle and set aside.

Assembly

  • Fill a large piping bag with the caramel buttercream and a 1M tip and set aside (enough buttercream for the entire border - so about 2-3 cups).
  • Spread a layer of buttercream in a flat layer with the angled icing spatula. Carefully spread on the filling, then drizzle on the chocolate in straight lines diagonal. With the reserved buttercream in the piping bag, pipe on a braid pattern around the outside border.