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Do you love Oreos? This Cookies ‘n Cream Oreo Cake is FULL of chocolate and Oreo flavor. Dark Chocolate Cake filled with marshmallow buttercream and tons of Oreos! You’re going to learn how to make an Oreo cake in this post – and it’s amazing. (Also, the cake itself is egg- and dairy-free!)
BEST Oreo Cake Recipe
I can vouch for how good this cake is because I made it twice in a week. The first time, I was going to a party and just felt like making a cake. Normally I go with cookies or brownies for a party because they’re just easier, but I was totally craving cake. Normally when I crave cake I crave vanilla. So something must have been going on with my hormones because I really wanted a CHOCOLATE cake and I wanted Oreos too.
I decided to make a rich, deep, dark chocolate cake using my favorite recipe and then sort of turn it into a giant Oreo by making a frosting that tastes like an Oreo filling. I also crammed in a bunch of Oreos because why not?
Everyone raved about it and one of the girls there actually requested it for her birthday cake the following week. This cake is proven to be delicious and tested and taste like a giant Oreo!
Oreo Cake Ingredients
- Cocoa Powder: The cake is made super dark by using Hershey’s Special Dark Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. They sell it pretty much everywhere these days. You can use regular cocoa powder or Dutch Process but it won’t be as Oreo-like.
- Baking Soda and Vinegar: The cake itself is also EGG-FREE and DAIRY-FREE. The rise is created by a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. I also use coffee in the cake to bring out the chocolate flavor, but you can skip that and just increase the water if you don’t want to use coffee.
- Coffee: You can omit if you don’t do coffee, but it really just brings out the flavor of the chocolate.
- Vegetable Oil: It’s a neutral oil that keeps the cake super moist.
How to make Oreo Cake
1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix all the wet ingredients in a large measuring cup or bowl.
3. Whisk them together – this recipe is unbelievably easy.
4. Pour into prepared pans. Bake, then cool on wire rack before frosting.
Easy Marshmallow Frosting
The BEST part of this cake is the filling. This cookies ‘n cream frosting really does taste like the center of an Oreo cookie – sweet and fluffy! It’s a super easy frosting I like to eat with a spoon. It’s delicious between the cake layers.
- It’s made by using a combination of butter, shortening, AND marshmallow fluff, which gives it that telltale Oreo filling taste.
- Heavy whipping cream to make it nice and fluffy.
- Oreos: Because if you’re making an Oreo cake you need Oreos on top!
Tip From Dorothy
Expert Tips
- You could also frost the cake with cream cheese frosting or whipped cream frosting.
- You can use regular unsweetened cocoa but the recipe won’t turn out as “dark”
- If you don’t want to use coffee, just more hot water instead. Hot water is important because it helps to bloom the chocolate, increasing that chocolate flavor.
Storage
Store this Oreo Cake recipe loosely covered at room temperature for a few days. The cake freezes well and can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator, well wrapped with plastic or in an airtight container.
FAQ
Yes, I think so. With the fluff and the powdered sugar this is a sweet frosting and the salt helps. Just make sure to use UNSALTED butter.
It won’t taste as much like Oreo filling, but you can do an equal sub with butter.
I’m not sure about the marshmallow cream, but you can use Earth’s Balance Vegan Butter Sticks for the butter and non-dairy milk for the heavy cream.
Theoretically yes, but the cake won’t have that deep dark chocolate Oreo flavor – that comes from the special dark or dutch process cocoa.
Oreo Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 cups (372g) all purpose flour
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened DARK cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (355ml) hot water
- ½ cup (118ml) hot coffee see note
- ¾ cup (177ml) vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (95g) vegetable shortening
- 1 7 ounce jar marshmallow cream/fluff
- 3 cups (339g) powdered sugar
- ½-1 teaspoon salt (see note)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons (15-30ml) heavy whipping cream
- 10 Oreos crushed
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8” or 9” round cake pans. (I also like to line the bottom with parchment paper for easy removal.)
- Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk hot water, coffee, oil, vinegar, and extract in a large measuring cup or bowl. Slowly stir the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring or whisking until smooth.
- Pour batter evenly into pans. Bake for 34-38 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean 3” from the side (the middle may still have a few crumbs stuck to the toothpick). These dome quite a bit (in an 8” pan).
- Let the cakes cool completely before removing from pans and frosting.
Make the frosting:
- Beat butter and shortening with a hand mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Mix in fluff until smooth. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar, the add 1/2 tsp salt, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of the cream. Mix on medium speed until smooth, adding more cream as needed for consistency. Taste and add more salt if the frosting is too sweet.
- To assemble the (naked) cake: remove layers from the pans. Level them as needed using a serrated knife. Place one cake layer on a serving plate, top with half the frosting and smooth it to the edges. Top with half the crushed Oreos. Add the second layer and repeat with the frosting and crushed cookies. Serve room temperature but store loosely covered in the refrigerator.
- Note: to coat the cake completely with frosting, double the frosting recipe.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- To omit coffee, you can use 1/2 cup hot water instead.
- In the frosting, use 1/2 teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter. Taste – if it’s too sweet add a few pinches more salt up to an additional 1/2 teaspoon. If using salted butter, reduce to 1/4 teaspoon to start. Adding salt cuts the sweetness of frosting.
- Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder is the best one for the most “Oreo” taste, but Dutch process or black cocoa will yield similar results.
Can I use margarine instead of butter?
I don’t recommend it.
I just made this cake and when I got the cakes out of the pans to my cooling racks they completely cracked in half! I let them cool in the pans for 30 minutes and then put them on cooling rack to make sure they were good and cool before I frosted them. Was I not suppose to do this? I have never had this happen before and I am thinking that’s because there are no eggs in it?
Do you have an oven thermometer by chance to check the temp of your oven? Cakes often crack as they cool when the oven is too hot (so they bake too fast on the outside then crack as they fall).
Making this cake now! Is it supposed to be watery? And for the frosting, is the unsalted butter supposed to be room temp? Thanks! Will review again when finished!
The cake is very liquid, yes. And room temp butter – yes!
Well it is wonderful!!!!
Great cake to make!!!!!
What role does the vinegar play in the cake mix?
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