Let’s assemble this incredibly fun cake, step by step:

1. Prepare Oven and Pans:

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease the parchment as well.

2. Make the Cake Batter:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the vanilla cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, sour cream, clear vanilla extract, and almond extract.

Mix with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined (follow general timing on cake mix box, usually about 2 minutes).

3. Color and Marble the Batter:

Spoon out a little less than half (about ⅓) of the cake batter into a separate bowl.

Slowly add pink gel food dye to this smaller portion until you reach the desired pink color. Stir gently to combine.

Layer the cake batter into the prepared pans by alternating dollops or spoonfuls of the white cake batter with the pink cake batter.

Once all batter is in the pans, gently swirl with a knife or skewer a few times to create a marbled effect. Don’t over-swirl, or the colors will blend completely.

4. Bake and Cool the Cakes:

Bake at 350°F for 28-35 minutes (check specific cake mix timing, adjust as needed for added sour cream), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before gently inverting them onto wire racks, removing parchment, and letting them cool completely.  

5. Make the American Buttercream Frosting:

While cakes cool, make the frosting. Beat the softened butter in a large bowl (or stand mixer bowl) on high speed until light and fluffy (about 3-5 mins).

Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar, 2-3 cups at a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated, then increasing speed briefly. Scrape the bowl.

As the frosting starts to thicken, alternate adding the heavy whipping cream (or milk) and the vanilla and almond extracts with the remaining powdered sugar. Add the salt.

Once all powdered sugar is added, continue beating on medium-high speed for 1 to 2 minutes until the frosting is very light, smooth, and fluffy. Adjust consistency with tiny amounts of cream/milk if needed.

6. Divide Frosting & Prepare for Assembly:

Separate out about 2 to 2 ½ cups of the white frosting into a separate bowl. Add pink food coloring to this portion, 2 small drops first, mixing well and repeating until you reach your desired pink shade.

Using a spatula, put all the pink frosting into a large piping bag or large Ziploc bag. Cut the tip off, about ½-inch up. Set aside. Reserve the remaining white frosting.

Prepare the cookie crumbs: Take 1 ½ cups of Circus Animal cookies and crush them (using a Ziploc bag and rolling pin or food processor) until pieces are smaller than a dime. Set aside ⅔ cup for the filling, reserve ⅓ cup for the base decoration. Chop the separate 7-10 cookies for the filling.

7. Assemble & Crumb Coat:

Level the tops of the completely cooled cake layers if needed. Add a dollop of frosting to your cake plate/board to secure the first layer. Place the bottom layer of cake on top.

Using your piping bag filled with pink frosting, pipe a ring around the outside edge. Fill the center with more pink frosting. Gently spread with an offset spatula to create an even layer.

Sprinkle the ⅔ cup of crushed cookies evenly over the pink frosting layer. (The recipe also mentions adding chopped Oreos here – clarifying based on ingredients, use chopped Circus Animal Cookies if desired, or just the crushed). Let’s use the crushed per directions.

Take some remaining pink frosting (from the piping bag) and pipe/spread a thin layer on top of the cookie crumbs. This helps the next cake layer adhere.

Place the second cake layer on top (preferably upside down for a flat top).

Use some of the reserved white frosting to apply a thin crumb coat over the entire cake. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Refrigerate the cake for at least 15 minutes to harden the crumb coat.

8. Final Frosting & Sprinkle Border:

Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Frost the top and sides smoothly with the remaining white frosting. (Optional Ombre: Add a few dots of the leftover pink frosting randomly onto the white frosted sides and then smooth with your bench scraper to create a subtle ombre effect).

Use your icing smoother or large offset spatula to smooth the edges and top.

Take the remaining ⅓ cup crushed cookies and gently press them onto the bottom 1-2 inches of the frosted cake to create a border.

9. Make and Apply Ganache:

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the white chocolate chips (or pink candy melts) with 3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream.

Microwave at 50% power for 1 minute. Remove and stir until smooth. If needed, return to microwave for another 15-30 seconds at 50% power, stirring until fully melted and smooth. Do not overheat white chocolate.

Add an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, stirring well, until the ganache is just runny enough to drip nicely down the sides of a cold cake.

Add a couple of small drops of pink food gel (if using white chocolate) and whisk until smooth and desired color is reached. Let cool slightly.

Transfer ganache to a squeeze bottle or piping bag with a small tip snipped off (or use a spoon). Carefully apply drips around the top edge of the chilled cake.

Pour the remaining ganache onto the center of the cake top and gently spread it out to the edges using a small offset spatula. Add sprinkles immediately to the top before the ganache sets.

Allow the ganache to set until slightly firm (can chill briefly).

10. Final Decorations:

Frosting for piping dollops wasn’t explicitly reserved in the main frosting step, but assuming some white or pink was kept aside OR using the Italian Meringue Buttercream from the original recipe source’s instructions if applicable (This version uses ABC only). Assuming some white ABC was reserved: Fit a piping bag with a large star tip (like 1M). Fill with reserved white frosting. Pipe decorative dollops or rosettes around the top edge.

Place whole or halved Circus Animal Cookies on the dollops or around the base/top as desired.

11. Chill and Serve:

Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve (at least 30 mins for ganache/frosting to set). For best texture, let sit at room temp for 20-30 minutes before slicing. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.