Oreo Cake Recipe

hand holding oreo cake slice next to oreo layer cake

4.86 from 188 votes

The best Oreo cake made with soft, fluffy layers of white cake, huge chunks of Oreo cookies, and a vanilla buttercream that tastes just like real Oreo cream filling. If you love cookies and cream, this is your cake.

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 733kcal

Author: Liz Marek

Equipment

Three, 8"x2" cake pans

Ingredients

Oreo Cake

21 ounces All-Purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
12 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
21 ounces sugar
9 large egg whites room temperature - fresh or boxed is fine
15 ounces milk room temperature
3 ounces vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
6 ounces roughly chopped Oreo cookies about 18 Oreos, without filling

Oreo Frosting

24 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
48 ounces powdered sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
4 Tablespoons white food coloring optional
3 ounces crushed Oreo cookies about 5 Oreos, without filling (You can add more or leave these out.)
2-3 Tablespoons milk (hot) for thinning

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Oreo Cake

Before you begin: Bring the butter, egg whites, and milk to room temperature (cold ingredients will curdle the batter). Preheat the oven to 335º F. Prep three 8"x2" cake pans with cake goop or your preferred pan release. Weigh all ingredients before mixing.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate cup, combine the milk, oil, and clear vanilla. Set aside.
Place the softened butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and cream until smooth. Sprinkle in the sugar and whip on medium-high until light, white, and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
With the mixer on low, add the egg whites one at a time, letting each fully combine before adding the next.
Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Add ½ the liquids, then ⅓ dry, then the last ½ of liquids, then the final ⅓ dry. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
Scrape the cream filling out of the Oreos and roughly chop them into ¼-inch chunks. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans, sprinkle the chopped Oreos over the top of each, and gently fold them in with a knife until just combined.
Bake at 335º F for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Flash chill in the freezer for about an hour, or wrap in plastic and freeze up to a week to lock in moisture. Trim the domes and edges once cool if desired.

Oreo Buttercream

Add the butter to the stand mixer bowl and cream until smooth with the whisk or paddle attachment.
Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time on low speed, mixing until combined and smooth (a mixer lid or towel keeps the sugar from puffing up).
Add the clear vanilla, white food coloring, and salt and mix about 5 minutes until smooth and creamy. For extra-creamy frosting, melt about ½ cup of the buttercream in the microwave and pour it back in while mixing.
If the frosting is too thick, add 2 to 3 Tablespoons of milk and mix until combined.

Assemble

Fill and frost the cooled cakes with the Oreo buttercream (crumb coat, chill 15 minutes, then a final coat).
Mix the crushed Oreos into about 1 cup of leftover buttercream for the dollops on top. Crush the cookies fine if piping so they do not clog the tip.
Finish with the dollops and whole or halved Oreos.

Video

Notes

Ingredient notes

Clear (imitation) vanilla is what gives the cake and frosting the real Oreo flavor and keeps everything bright white. Pure vanilla works but tints slightly and tastes less "Oreo."
Scrape the cream filling out of the cookies before chopping. Left in, it melts during baking and leaves holes in the crumb. Save it to mix into the frosting if you like.
Egg whites only (no yolks) keep the crumb white for the best cookies-and-cream contrast. Fresh or boxed whites both work.

Pan options (full batch makes about 12 cups of batter)

Three 8"x2" rounds: full batch, bake 35 to 45 minutes (standard)
Two 9"x2" rounds: full batch, thicker layers, bake 35 to 45 minutes
Half-sheet pan (12x18): full batch, bake 30 to 40 minutes (a full batch will overflow a 9x13)
About 36 cupcakes: fold a few chopped Oreos into each well, fill liners ⅔ full, bake 18 to 25 minutes

Make-ahead and storage

Frosted cake: keeps about 48 hours at room temperature (room-temp cake tastes best). No fruit filling, so it does not need immediate refrigeration.
Cake layers: bake, wrap warm in plastic, freeze up to a week (longer if well wrapped). Defrost in the fridge 24 hours before decorating.
Do not refrigerate un-frosted layers uncovered or they will dry out.

Substitutions

White cake base out of reach? The WASC cake recipe (doctored mix) is sturdy enough to hold the Oreos too.
Less sweet finish: fold the crushed Oreos into a Swiss meringue buttercream instead of American buttercream.
Oreo varieties: Double Stuf, Golden, mint, and gluten-free sandwich cookies all work in the cookie role (see the variations in the post).

Critical do-nots

Do not leave the cream filling in the chopped cookies, it melts and leaves holes.
Do not fold the Oreos into the whole bowl of batter, add them at the pan so they do not sink and stick.
Do not use cold egg whites or cold milk, they will curdle the batter and the cake will not rise properly.

Nutrition