This Girl Scout Samoa Cookie Cake stars three chocolate cakes layered with a brown sugar coconut filling, caramel frosting, and a chocolate ganache drip.
The Girl Scout Samoa cookie (or Caramel deLite for some of you) is my favorite Girl Scout cookie so I selfishly created this chocolate, coconut, and caramel flavored cake to satisfy my own cookie craving.
Girl Scout for Life
I actually grew up as a Girl Scout, starting as a Brownie and working my way up through the ranks as a Junior, a Cadet, and graduating as a Senior.
I even received my Gold Award in high school after collaborating on a project with three other Girl Scout friends to create a community garden. As I transitioned out of Girl Scouts, my local council presented me with a lifetime Girl Scout membership and overall, my time as a Girl Scout is an accomplishment I’m really proud of.
A Cake for Samoa Lovers
In honor of my time in Girl Scouts, I created a Girl Scout Samoa Cookie Cake (Caramel deLite in some parts of the country, but we’re not going to get into that here) encompassing the chocolate, coconut, and caramel deliciousness of this classic cookie.
The cake starts with my go-to chocolate cake recipe which is layered with a brown sugar coconut filling and finished with a caramel frosting and chocolate ganache drip to represent the classic chocolate drizzle on top of every Samoa cookie.
Cookie Season All-Year Long
For those that love Girl Scout cookies, I’m hoping this cake helps your cookie cravings between the Girl Scout cookie seasons. Or, if you’re like me, maybe you have a few Girl Scout cookies stashed away in your freezer for emergencies. In which case, use them to make this Girl Scout Cookie Samoa Cake.
- Three 6-inch chocolate cakes
- 1½ cups brown sugar coconut filling
- 4 cups caramel buttercream frosting
- 1 cup chocolate ganache drip
- 6-8 Samoa cookies, optional
- ½ cup toasted coconut flakes, optional
- Place a single chocolate cake layer on the cake stand. Rim the chocolate cake with the caramel frosting and fill the inside with the brown sugar coconut filling (~ ⅓-1/2 cup of filling).
- Repeat this process with the second layer.
- Top the second layer with the final chocolate cake layer.
- Frost the cake with the caramel frosting, creating either a 'naked' look or covering the cake completely with the frosting in a more traditional style.
- Chill the cake for 30-minutes prior to adding the ganache drip.
- To add the drip, pour a small portion of the ganache onto the top of the cake and using an offset spatula gently smooth it over the top and over the edge.
- Put the remaining ganache into a piping bag and cut a small piece off the tip. Use the piping bag to add more drips along the edge of the cake or to elongate drips that have already started.
- Place the cake in the fridge to set completely before adding topper decorations, about 30-minutes.
- On top of the center of the cake, add more of the brown sugar coconut filling (~1/4 cup), leaving about a ½ inch bare around the edges of the cake for decor.l
- Place the remaining caramel frosting into a piping bag with a 1M piping tip and add dollops of frosting to the top layer. Place a Samoa cookie into each dollop, and decorate with toasted coconut flakes, as desired.
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa sifted
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ cup hot water
- 2 tsp instant coffee
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup buttermilk room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Grease three 6-inch cake pans and dust with cocoa powder. Line bottoms with parchment then set aside.
- Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir on low to combine.
- Dissolve the coffee in the hot water then set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.
- Temper the egg-milk mixture by slowly whisking in the hot coffee (you don't want to cook the eggs!)
- Add the coffee-egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. The batter will be very thin, that's okay!
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. (I used a kitchen scale to ensure the batter is evenly distributed.)
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pans in the oven halfway through. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool 10 minutes in the pans then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 3 cups sweetened coconut
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Whisk in the evaporated milk, brown sugar, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Bring to a boil, whisking constantly.
- Reduce heat, and continue to cook over low heat, whisking constantly until thickened, 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from heat and fold in the coconut.
- Allow mixture to cool completely and thicken before use.
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- Place the chocolate into a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream until it just begins to boil with tiny bubbles around the edges.
- Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute.
- Using a whisk, mix together the chocolate and cream until it's fully blended.
- Let the ganache cool to room temperature for about 15 minutes before creating the drip onto the cake.
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 tablespoon meringue powder
- 8 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- ⅔ cup caramel sauce
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
- In the bowl of a mixer, beat the softened butter and shortening until creamy.
- Add in the meringue powder, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix on low to combine.
- With the mixer on low, stream caramel sauce and half of the heavy cream into the bowl and mix on medium-high. Add more cream (1 tablespoon at a time) until a medium-thick frosting consistency is reached.
