Girl Scout Tagalong Cake
A decadent Peanut Butter and Chocolate dessert inspired by the Girl Scout cookie, today’s Tagalong Cake is the ultimate birthday cake for the peanut butter and chocolate fan in your life.
Tagalong Cake Recipe
My favorite Girl Scouts cookie is hands down Tagalongs. Peanut butter and chocolate are my weakness.
This cake pays homage to that perfect little chocolate covered cookie with its tender chocolate cake, rich peanut butter frosting, crunchy chocolate ganache topping and, of course, plenty of Tagalongs crushed and sprinkled over top.
If you have a peanut butter and chocolate lover in your life, you need to make this cake for them! It’s special enough for a birthday celebration but easy enough for a “just because” surprise.
We just used a boxed chocolate cake mix so we could focus on the other components of the cake, but you can definitely swap in your favorite chocolate cake recipe.
If you want to make this cake outside of your local Girl Scout’s cookie season, there are copycat versions that you can buy at Walmart and I just found out that you can buy them on Amazon, but I would encourage you to check with your local Girl Scout troop first so you can get the freshest cookies available.
Can this cake be frozen? The individual cake layers can be frozen before being decorated. Store in airtight freezer bags or freezer containers for up to two months.(This set of freezer containers is a crazy bargain.) The cake layers can be frozen for up to two months. Let the cakes come to room temperature before frosting.
How to get perfectly flat cake layers? I tend to just bake and then use this dental floss hack to remove any domes that occasionally occur with baking. However, you can also make homemade cake strips to ensure perfectly flat cake layers. Check out this tutorial from Preppy Kitchen for how to do that.
This cake can also be made into a tagalong sheet cake if you want to skip all of the layering steps!
More Girl Scout-Inspired Recipes
- Samoa Macarons with Caramel-Coconut Filling
- Samoa Chocolate Donuts
- Thin Mint Cupcakes from In the Kids Kitchen
- Homemade Thin Mints from The Soccer Mom Blog
- Homemade Do-Si-Does (Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies)
- Crockpot Thin Mint Hot Chocolate
Tagalong Cake Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- Boxed Chocolate Cake Mix
- Plus Ingredients Called for on the Box
Peanut Butter Frosting ingredients:
- Butter, softened at room temperature
- Creamy Peanut Butter
- Powdered Icing Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
- Heavy Whipping Cream, as needed <— can use milk instead
Chocolate Ganache ingredients:
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Heavy Whipping Cream
Garnish:
- Tagalong Cookies <– can just use one box, if desired
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: swap out the boxed chocolate cake mix for your favorite from-scratch chocolate cake, if desired.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Electric mixer <– this is a great hand mixer if you don’t want to make the investment into a stand mixer
- Three 8″ or 9″ Cake Pans
- 1 Piping Bag fitted with a Star Tip <– a basic piping set will have all you need
- 1 Large Squeeze Bottle
How to Make a Tagalong Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Cake Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Grease three 9″ round cake pans and set aside.
Prepare the cake mix according to package directions.
Allow the cakes to cool completely before removing the domes to make each cake layer level and even.
Peanut Butter Frosting Directions:
Using an electric mixer, combine the butter and peanut butter.
Add in the powdered icing sugar and beat for 2 minutes until smooth.
Add the vanilla extract and 2 Tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. Beat for 1 minute, then add additional heavy whipping cream, as needed.
You want the frosting to hold soft peaks when the beaters are lifted, but not be so tough that it sticks to itself or rips the cake when spread on. Add additional cream if this happens.
Cake Assembly Directions:
Place the first cake layer on your cake plate or a cardboard cake board.
Scoop 1 cup of the peanut butter frosting onto the cake and smooth down with an offset spatula.
Repeat with the second cake layer and third layer, covering the cake completely with the peanut butter frosting.
If desired, scoop the remaining frosting into a piping bag fit with a large star tip and set aside.
Chocolate Ganache Directions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the heavy whipping cream and heat until steaming, stirring frequently.
Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl.
Pour the scalding hot heavy cream over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for 1 minute before whisking until smooth.
Allow to cool slightly for 2 minutes before pouring the chocolate ganache into the large squeeze bottle.
Decorating Instructions:
Start by chopping up half a box of the Tagalong cookies. You may want to add more later, but start with half the box.
Create a drip effect along the edges of the cake by positioning the squeeze bottle at an angle right against the top edge of the cake and gently squeezing. Alternatively, you can create a drip effect with a spoon. Try to stagger the drip lengths to create an irregular pattern.
After you’ve gone around the whole outside of the cake, pour the remaining ganache on to the center of the cake and smooth down with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
If desired, pipe dollops of the remaining peanut butter frosting along the edge of the cake.
While the ganache is still wet, sprinkle the chopped Tagalong cookies along the edge.
You can also add whole, individual cookies to indicate how big each slice should be.
Allow the ganache to harden for 10 minutes before cutting into the cake.
Pin this Easy Tagalong Cake recipe for the peanut butter chocolate lover in your life:
Grab your free printable for our peanut butter chocolate layer cake:
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Girl Scout Tagalong Cake
The ultimate Peanut Butter and Chocolate drip cake! This PB & Chocolate cake is inspired by the Girl Scouts Tagalong Cookie and features a tender chocolate cake, luscious peanut butter buttercream and crunchy chocolate ganache drips before being topped with crushed tagalong cookies
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake Ingredients:
- 2 Boxes Chocolate Cake Mix
- Plus Ingredients Called for on the Box
Peanut Butter Frosting ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups Butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups Creamy Peanut Butter
- 4 1/2 cups Powdered Icing Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2-4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream, as needed <— can use milk instead
Chocolate Ganache ingredients:
- 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Optional Garnish:
- 2 Boxes Tagalong Cookies
Instructions
Cake Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Grease three 9" round cake pans and set aside.
- Prepare the cake mix according to package directions.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely before removing the domes to make each cake layer level and even.
Peanut Butter Frosting Directions:
- Using an electric mixer, combine the butter and peanut butter.
- Add in the powdered icing sugar and beat for 2 minutes until smooth.
- Add the vanilla extract and 2 Tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. Beat for 1 minute, then add additional heavy whipping cream, as needed.
- You want the frosting to hold soft peaks when the beaters are lifted, but not be so tough that it sticks to itself or rips the cake when spread on. Add additional cream if this happens.
Cake Assembly Directions:
- Place the first cake layer on your cake plate or a cardboard cake board.
- Scoop 1 cup of the peanut butter frosting onto the cake and smooth down with an offset spatula.
- Repeat with the second cake layer and third layer, covering the cake completely with the peanut butter frosting.
- If desired, scoop the remaining frosting into a piping bag fit with a large star tip and set aside.
Chocolate Ganache Directions:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the heavy whipping cream and heat until steaming, stirring frequently.
- Place the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl.
- Pour the scalding hot heavy cream over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for 1 minute before whisking until smooth.
- Allow to cool slightly for 2 minutes before pouring the chocolate ganache into the large squeeze bottle.
Decorating Instructions:
- Start by chopping up half a box of the Tagalong cookies. You may want to add more later, but start with half the box.
- Create a drip effect along the edges of the cake by positioning the squeeze bottle at an angle right against the top edge of the cake and gently squeezing. Alternatively, you can create a drip effect with a spoon. Try to stagger the drip lengths to create an irregular pattern.
- After you've gone around the whole outside of the cake, pour the remaining ganache on to the center of the cake and smooth down with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
- If desired, pipe dollops of the remaining peanut butter frosting along the edge of the cake.
- While the ganache is still wet, sprinkle the chopped Tagalong cookies along the edge.
- You can also add whole, individual cookies to indicate how big each slice should be.
- Allow the ganache to harden for 10 minutes before cutting into the cake.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 874Total Fat: 61gSaturated Fat: 30gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 95mgSodium: 698mgCarbohydrates: 79gFiber: 4gSugar: 65gProtein: 11g
Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.
I hope whoever is lucky enough to have you make this cake for them loves it!
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