The One Swap That Makes Brooklyn Blackout Cake Even Tastier

Here's the real tragedy of Brooklyn blackout cake: Nobody is ever going to taste the real thing. Generally speaking, the dessert combines layers of moist devil's food cake with a chocolate-pudding filling, covered with a rich, ganache-like frosting and finally coated with chocolate-cake crumbs. This famous creation came from the kitchen of Ebinger's, a family-owned Brooklyn bakery that was wildly popular in the 20th century. But when Ebinger's closed in 1972 after a 74-year run, its beloved cake also disappeared. Brooklynites were bereft: A New York Times writer trying to recreate the cake for a 1992 cookbook went through 15 different versions just trying to engineer the old magic.

If getting the real thing is impossible, that does free you up to experiment a bit. Obviously there's nothing wrong with a cake that's essentially chocolate piled on chocolate. Still, there's one easy way to make Brooklyn blackout cake a little livelier — and a whole lot tastier. In the original version, the crumb coating is made from the sliced-off tops of the cakes, so it's not really introducing anything new into the mix. Why not swap out that crumb coating for crushed store-bought cookies? They're crunchier than cake crumbs, offering a bright pop of texture in addition to whatever new flavors (Oreo, gingersnap, vanilla wafers, and so on) that you want to introduce.

The options are pretty much endless, though you'll want to look for cookies on the crispier end of the spectrum — i.e., no Fig Newtons. (Here's some of our favorite store-bought cookies for inspiration.) With its chocolate pudding filling, Brooklyn blackout cake already has a bit of a nostalgic dirt cake vibe — which you could enhance by coating it with crushed Oreos, one of the central elements of dirt cake. Nutter Butters will take the flavor closer to the classic chocolate-peanut butter matchup. Try gingersnaps for a spicier note, but if you want the warm flavors of gingersnaps but less spice, Biscoff is a good alternative — so are graham crackers. (Coating with crushed graham crackers and mini marshmallows? That's a s'mores blackout cake.) Vanilla wafers offer an even milder flavor, solid crunch factor, and a good aesthetic contrast with the dark-colored cake.

The easiest way to make cookie crumbs is with a food processor: Simply pulse until you get the texture you want. (With any cookies with a creamy filling, like Oreos, take care not to overdo it, lest you inadvertently make cookie butter.) If you don't have a food processor, no worries: Just put the cookies in a plastic zipper bag, seal it, and use a rolling pin to crush them up. It's all downhill from there. Just lightly press the crumbs against the sides of your frosted cake to adhere them to the icing.