Oreos. Cupcakes. Chocolate ice cream. Three of my favorite things in the world, all blended up into one delicious beverage– I fully support this vision of liquid sustenance. Baked Sunday Mornings is taking on the recipe for Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcake Shakes from Baked Occasions this week, which sounds great in its own right, but the book suggested a number of other ice cream-cupcake variations, and since there ain’t no milkshake like an Oreo milkshake, I decided to build mine around Oreos. I do believe this is the first time I’ve ever put a cupcake in a milkshake, and while I’m not convinced that it’s really necessary, it was fun to try it (my blender didn’t think so), and it was a welcome, indulgent after-work treat during my last week of school! Thus, I present Oreo Chocolate Cupcake Shakes, which I highly encourage you to try if you’re of the cupcake shake persuasion.
I started with my Oreo Cupcakes recipe, which is the very first recipe that I ever posted on Stellina Sweets (almost 5 years ago– what?!), and it continues to be my most requested among friends. I make them with 100% black cocoa powder (no cutting in regular cocoa), so they literally taste like an Oreo in cake form, plus there are Oreo crumbs in the frosting, as well as an Oreo crumb crust on the bottom. I do not mess around when it comes to Oreos– I go all in! I thought about using cookies and cream ice cream, but I decided on Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Therapy instead– it’s been a hell of a school year, so I felt like a deep dose of chocolate was warranted! 😉
This may be the easiest recipe in Baked Occasions— that is, once you make the cupcakes. At first I considered using store-bought cupcakes because I had no intention of making cupcakes this week, but then I realized I could bring them for my family’s Memorial Day BBQ, so that’s what I did, holding one back to toss into the blender for this recipe. (I cut the recipe in half for just one milkshake.)
You simply combine your choice of ice cream and frosted cupcakes with milk in a blender and whiz it until smooth, then pour it into a chilled vessel and top it with whipped cream. I meant to sprinkle Oreo crumbs on top, but ultimately forgot to do so before sticking a fat straw into my jar of milkshaky goodness and inhaling it in under 3 minutes. (I’m trying not to focus on the fact that I drank ¾ of a pint of ice cream, plus the cupcake, plus whipped cream… because sometimes you just need to do that.)
You can adjust the consistency of your milkshake by adding milk to thin it out or ice cream to thicken it. The recipe intro advocates for a thick shake to be eaten with a spoon; I personally prefer mine drinkable through a jumbo straw– a much more rapid milkshake delivery system, in my opinion.
Needless to say, the shake was scrumptious. However, I can’t really say it was superior to a regular cupcake-less shake, to be honest. (It also blew my blender’s fuse, so it would probably prefer an ice cream-only milkshake.) I would probably not make a batch of cupcakes for the sole purpose of making milkshakes, and I don’t think a regular well-made shake is worse off in any way, but as I said above, it was fun to try. If someone felt like making me one, I would gladly enjoy the hell out of it. 🙂
Baked Occasions includes this recipe in honor of Boxing Day, which is celebrated on December 26th in the UK and several countries in the British Commonwealth. (Since we’re finishing up the last few remaining recipes of the book which are mostly from December, we are no longer aligned with the holiday calendar.) While largely a shopping holiday now (similar to Black Friday in America), Boxing Day was traditionally a day where people gave gifts or money to service workers in gratitude of good service. This is such a lovely sentiment, and a shame that we don’t bother celebrating it here! (But alas, even in Europe, they now resort to door-buster sales as the main hallmark of the day.) The recipe intro says it’s a day to revel in leftovers, and this is a great way to use up uneaten holiday desserts!
If you wish to make decadent milkshakes any time of year, I highly recommend these– you can find the recipe for Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcake Shakes over at Baked Sunday Mornings, or make this Oreo variety with the same ratios of ice cream, cupcakes, and milk. Take a look at my fellow milkshakers’ variations too! 🙂
© Dafna Adler & Stellina Sweets, 2017.
