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'Older Than Dirt' Cake

I love snarky birthday cakes! 

I love snarky birthday cakes SO much! This Older Than Dirt' cake is up there with my ‘Holy Crap You’re Old’ TP Cake and Poo Emoji Cupcakes on the favorites list 😉

And there's even more reasons to love this one! This 'Older than Dirt' cake is soo much less work than the other aforementioned cakes. It's more colorful, messier, and just as fun!

Why it makes such a great birthday cake - 

  • Dirt cakes are some of my favorites to decorate – there’s nothing messier than dirt, so you can’t go wrong decorating! 
  • Chocolate cake layers that come together with simple ingredients in one bowl - and super easy-to-make chocolate cream cheese buttercream frosting! 
  • The chocolate ganache drip (0nly 2 ingredients!) adds even more chocolate and a fun 'mud' look to the cake - and really – what beats chocolate and Oreos and ganache for a birthday cake? Add on a few gummy worms and you've got a sure-fire winner of a cake! 
Recipe and instructions are below!

(Disclosure: As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, and my posts often contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you!) 

FAQs

"Any tips for frosting the cake?" 
  • I thought you'd never ask! 😉 

  • I actually have an entire post on frosting cakes! If you're short on reading time though, I'll hit the highlights here. Or if you prefer, here's the same info in a YouTube video

    • First, some equipment will be super helpful - I always recommend a 
      • Cardboard cake circle - (or a fully flat plate) 
    • (If you don't have any of those cake-specific supplies, you could try using the 'wheel' of a microwave turntable, and cutting down something like a large plastic lid. My first DIY scraper was definitely cut from a food container lid!) 
    • First, make sure your layers are flat and even - if they're domed or uneven trim the tops down a bit. 
    • A crumb-coat is highly recommended to keep crumbs out of that final frosting layer! 
    • Finally, when you apply your final frosting coat, I highly recommend chilling or flash freezing your cake first (unless you live in a very humid area). This really helps firm up the frosting next to the cake and make it easier to smooth! 
“How do I store this cake?”
  • (If I assemble a cake ahead of time, I always store it in the fridge because of the cream cheese in the frosting. Allow to come to room temperature before serving though.

  • If covered well, and cake will last 3-4 days in the fridge. Good luck getting it to last that long though! 😉 

One quick time-saver hack - 
  • I've noticed from paging through search results for this cake - most of them are super-simple sheet cakes. If you're on the fence about this one, know that you don't *have* to make the layers from scratch! 
  • Obviously, I recommend scratch layers because man - there's just not beatable taste-wise! But I also recognize that sometimes you need to save to time / hassle / mess in the kitchen. Doctoring up 2 boxed cake mixes by substituting in buttermilk for water, butter for oil, and adding an extra egg will give you surprisingly good cake layers! Just an option 🙂 

 

Older Than Dirt pinterest pin

Older Than Dirt Cake

A birthday rendition of the popular 'dirt cake' - make this deliciously hilarious 'Older than Dirt' chocolate Oreo birthday cake!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Decorating time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Dirt Birthday Cake, Dirt Cake Decoration, Dirt Cake Recipe, Older Than Dirt Birthday Cake, Older Than Dirt Cake, Oreo Dirt Birthday Cake
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 795kcal
Author: Sarah H

Equipment

Ingredients

Older Than Dirt Cake layers

  • 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (350g)
  • 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar (450g)
  • 1 ¼ cup cocoa powder (100g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks/250g, softened)
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream frosting

  • 8 ounces cream cheese (one package, softened)
  • 1 cup butter (two sticks, softened)
  • 5 ½ -6 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 4-6 Tablespoons milk
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter

Drip & Decorations

Instructions

Older Than Dirt Cake layers

  • Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (180C) or 325 FC (160C) for a convection oven. Grease 3 8-inch cake pans with non-stick or baker's floured spray.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low for a minute to combine dry ingredients. Add softened butter 1 Tablespoon at a time until well incorporated into the dry ingredients and no lumps of butter are visible.
  • Next, whisk eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla together until well combined. With the mixer on low, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients in a steady stream until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
  • Fill the three pans evenly - I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part, and each of mine weighed out to about 550g. Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans, and cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
  • Once your cake layers are cool, level them (if needed/desired). This can be done with a cake leveler or a large serrated knife and a ruler.
  • Ensure cake layers are well-cooled or chilled before decorating. This is a great time to start prepping your frosting and ganache!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream frosting

  • Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with cocoa powder and milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.

Assembly

  • Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle. Spread the layer with frosting, and use your offset spatula to press in slightly to the center and create a bit of a ‘rim’ around the outside of the cake. Sprinkle the frosting with chopped chocolate, Oreo pieces, and a drizzle of chocolate ganache if you’d like (recipe below).
  • Add your next cake layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.
  • Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer. I usually do this with my large offset spatula.
  • Firmly set your crumb coat – about 10 minutes in the freezer. Once your crumb coat has set, add your final layer of frosting and texture – I used a small offset spatula followed by fewer-than-usual passes with a bench scraper for this part; it added an irregular mud-like texture to the cake sides that I liked. Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge to set the frosting.

Chocolate ganache drip

  • Place chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl. Microwave on half power in 30-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.

Decorating

  • When your ganache has cooled to a moderate temperature – it should feel slightly warm and still be fairly liquid – transfer it to a squeeze bottle or piping bag. (Or use a spoon; you'll just have a little less control.)
  • Slowly drizzle ganache around the upper edge of your cake, pausing every inch or so to let more fall in a drip down the side of the cake. I left a few breaks in the drip to make room to add some gummy worms to the sides. Return cake to the fridge or freezer to set the drips.
  • Top your cake with your cake topper! Transfer some frosting to your piping bag – I used the large star tip – and add a rim of frosting swirls around the top of the cake. Decorate gummy worms and sprinkles of chopped chocolate and Oreos - I covered the cake top with worms, chocolate, and Oreos and added a few gummy worms to the sides of the cake as well.
  • And you're done! Serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 795kcal | Carbohydrates: 103g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 39g

Did you make this Older Than Dirt Cake?

Let me know how it went – or make my day and find me on Pinterest or on Instagram and tag @IntensiveCakeUnit in your photo!

You can also add a comment or a recipe rating at the bottom of the page! 🙂

Mentioned in post 
Chocolate Cake layers 
Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

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