I absolutely LOVE Oreo cookies, so I made sure this cake has the best Oreo flavor in every way. It starts with layers of soft and moist black velvet cake made with black cocoa powder – the same ingredient responsible for the color and flavor of Oreo cookie shells. Those cake layers are filled and frosted with cookies and cream buttercream that’s speckled with delicious Oreo cookie crumbs, then decorated with more cookies. It tastes just like a cakey version of an Oreo in the very best way and it’s so easy to make!
One Reader, Cynthia, Says: “This cake is fantastic! It was so moist and delicious. Even after putting it in the fridge, it was still very soft and moist. And the frosting, oh my gosh! This one is a keeper for sure.” ★★★★★
Oreo Cake Ingredients & Substitutions
This cake is extra soft and moist with the perfect Oreo flavor thanks to black cocoa powder in the cake layers + cookie crumbs in the buttercream. Here are some of the key ingredients and substitutions you can make:
- Black Cocoa Powder. Adds a deep black color and the most authentic Oreo flavor to this cake. If you don’t have it on hand, it’s easy to find on Amazon OR you can use an equal amount of Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder or any Dutch-processed cocoa powder instead. Either of those should be easy to find at your local grocery store.
- All Purpose Flour. Otherwise known as plain flour, this creates gluten and helps build structure for the cake. I know that most of my other cake recipes call for cake flour, but I like to use all-purpose flour for my chocolate based cakes. It yields the best texture.
- Granulated Sugar. Not only sweetens the cake but helps soften the overall cake texture.
- Baking Soda + Baking Powder. The leavening agents that help this cake rise.
- Vegetable Oil. Provides a good amount of moisture for this cake. I like to use plain vegetable oil, but you can use any clear cooking oil that you prefer. Just keep in mind that whatever you use might flavor the cake, so choose something you love and are used to baking with.
- Large Eggs. To bind all of the ingredients together and give the cake structure.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. Adds dimension to the Oreo flavor of this cake.
- Full-Fat Buttermilk. Provides tons of moisture while binding the ingredients together. If you don’t have buttermilk on-hand, see the notes section of the recipe card for an easy DIY version using whole milk + vinegar or lemon juice!
- Hot Coffee. This helps bring all of the ingredients together into a cohesive batter at the end of the recipe, and the heat of the coffee blooms the cocoa powder to bring out the beautiful chocolate notes. You won’t end up tasting coffee in the final baked cake, but if you’d rather not use coffee, you can use an equal amount of hot water instead. And if you’re using instant coffee or espresso powder, just follow the instructions on the container to make 1 Cup (8oz) of coffee. It’s usually one heaping teaspoon per 8 oz of water.
- Oreo Cookies. It wouldn’t be an Oreo cake without these! I grind Oreo cookies into fine crumbs and fold them into the buttercream, plus decorate the cake with them!
Delicious Cookies & Cream Buttercream
This starts by making my favorite vanilla buttercream recipe, then grinding Oreo cookies into fine crumbs and mixing them in until you have a beautifully speckled buttercream! The flavor and texture are out of this world. The vanilla buttercream essentially becomes the cream filling element for the Oreo cookie crumbs and it’s so easy to work with as a filling and frosting. And just look how pretty the Oreo flecks are:
My one bit of advice is to grind those cookie crumbs very finely with a food processor if you plan on piping swirls on top of the cake. If you have any large cookie bits in the buttercream, they could end up clogging the piping tip and make things frustrating! If this happens, you can usually dig the piece out with a toothpick, but save yourself the stress and grind those crumbs as small as you can.
How to Decorate an Oreo Layer Cake
There are so many fun ways you can decorate this cake. In the past I’ve added a chocolate ganache drip to the design pictured, and added colorful sprinkles to the swirls in this vegan chocolate Oreo cake. Feel free to use either of those ideas as inspiration or follow the tutorial below to create the look you see here:
Step 1: Fill and Stack the Cake. Use the cookies and cream buttercream to fill and stack the black velvet cake layers, then crumb coat the cake. Chill the crumb coated cake in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to lock in the perfect shape before frosting.
Step 2: Frost the Cake. Use an icing smoother to frost a smooth buttercream finish with cookies and cream buttercream. The cookie crumbs somehow make it really easy to frost smooth!
Step 3: Create the Oreo Cookie Mosaic. Chop up some Oreo cookies into randomly sized pieces and place them along the bottom third of the cake in a mosaic pattern. I spaced mine about ⅛ to ¼ inch apart. I also placed some of the smaller pieces and crumbs toward the top of the mosaic.
Step 4: Pipe Swirls and Top with Oreo Cookies. Fit a piping bag with Wilton Tip 1M (or other piping tip of your choice) and fill it with the remaining cookies and cream buttercream. Pipe swirls on top of the cake spaced about ¼ inch apart, then place a whole Oreo cookie between each swirl.
More Oreo Recipes You’ll Love
If you love Oreos as much as I do, you’ll want to add these recipes to your baking list:
- Oreo Cupcakes
- Easy Oreo Icebox Cake
- No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake
- 4-Ingredient Oreo Truffles
- Vegan Chocolate Oreo Cake
- Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake (with Mint Oreos!)
Let me know if you make this chocolate Oreo cake in the comments below! And feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me a photo. I love to see what you create with my recipes!
Oreo Layer Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Black Velvet Cake
- 2 Cups (265g) all purpose flour
- 1 2/3 Cups (340g) white granulated sugar
- 2/3 Cup (60g) black cocoa powder* or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 Cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Cup (240ml) full-fat buttermilk*, room temperature DIY recipe in the notes
- 1 Cup (240ml) hot coffee or hot water
Cookies & Cream Buttercream
- 13 Oreo cookies (139g)
- 1 1/2 Cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 1/2 Cups (540g) powdered sugar
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
- pinch of salt, or to taste
Garnish (Optional)
- 12 Oreo cookies
Instructions
Make The Black Velvet Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC) and prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and fitting the bottoms with a wax paper or parchment cake circle.
- Place all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and stir on low for 30 seconds to fully combine them. Add the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix on low until just combined. With the mixer still on low, add the hot coffee (or hot water) in a slow stream, then turn the mixer to medium and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be very thin.
- Pour into prepared cake pans no more than 2/3 full and bake for 32-36 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.
Make The Cookies & Cream Buttercream
- Place the Oreo cookies into a food processor and grind them into fine crumbs. It's important to get the crumbs as small as possible without over-grinding (which can turn them into an Oreo paste).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a large bowl and hand mixer), cream the butter on medium-high speed until it's creamy and pale in color, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle as needed.
- Add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, mixing on low speed and scraping down bowl and paddle in between intervals. Keep the mixer on low speed and add the vanilla, milk, and salt. Mix until fully incorporated and uniform, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
- Mix in the Oreo cookie crumbs on low speed until uniform and well-dispersed.
Assembly
- Once the black velvet cake layers are completely cooled, level them to your desired height. Add a swipe of cookies and cream buttercream onto a cardboard cake circle and place the first cake layer on top. Fill and stack the cake with cookies and cream buttercream, then crumb coat the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 15-20 minutes to let the crumb coat firm up before frosting the cake with the rest of the cookies and cream buttercream.
- To create the look pictures, frost a smooth buttercream finish onto the cake. Reserve 8 Oreo cookies for the top of the cake, then chop the rest into pieces of various size and shape. Press the chopped cookies onto the bottom third of the cake in a mosaic pattern. Place the remaining cookies & cream buttercream into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 1M and pipe swirls around the top of the cake, spaced about 1/4 inch apart. Place an Oreo cookie in between each swirl.
Notes
- The black velvet cake layers can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered tightly in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, you can cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to two months before thawing to room temperature.
- The cookies & cream buttercream can be made ahead and stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to one day. Alternatively, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip with your stand mixer to bring it back to frosting consistency.
Hi Angela! You can certainly try adding the filling in if you’d like! I don’t add it because it clogs up the piping tip and also makes the buttercream a little chunkier (not as easy to get a smooth finish). I also think the taste of the vanilla buttercream paired with the Oreo crumbs mimics the taste of the filling. So at the end of the day, it tastes just like Oreos in buttercream form as-is, but if you’d like to add additional filling, go for it!
Hi Whitney, this cake looks delicious! I am interested in trying this recipe out for a cake this weekend, but I would be doing 2 10-inch layers instead. Do you have any idea as to how I can alter the cake & buttercream recipe to do so successfully? Also, would it be okay for me to add oreo crumbs into the batter itself? Thank you!
Hi Belinda! To make enough batter for two 10-inch cakes, I would make 1.5x this recipe (multiply each ingredient by 1.5). You’ll have more than enough with that amount, but it’s better than having just shy of enough batter. You can keep the buttercream recipe as-is. As far as the Oreo crumbs, I haven’t tried that so I’m not sure if the batter is thick enough to keep them suspended. If you want more of a crunch with this cake I would sprinkle some Oreo crumbs in between layers on top of the filling.
Got it! Thanks so much!!
Hi Whitney…
I’m planning to make your cake recipe this weekend and I’m really excited to try it
I wanted to ask how would I adjust the recipe to make 1.5x the original quantity? I’m hoping to bake it in three 8-inch pans. Could you please let me know what the exact ingredient quantities would be if I make it 1.5x?
Also, would the baking time and temperature stay the same, or would you recommend any changes for this size and pan setup?
Thank you so much for your help!
Hi Sid! Here are the quantities for three 8-inch cake layers. The baking time and temperature will be the same. Hope this helps!
3 Cups (398g) all purpose flour
2 1/2 Cups (500g) granulated sugar
1 Cup (90g) black cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 Cup (180ml) vegetable oil
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 Cups (360ml) buttermilk
1 1/2 Cups (360ml) hot coffee or hot water
Can this cake be made with a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer?
Hi Vicki! It can be made with a hand mixer. Just follow the same mixing times/speeds!
thanks so much! Making this for a Special birthday!!
Yay, Vicki! I hope it’s a hit!
Your recipes make the most amazing cakes! We used the hot coffee instead of water and added 1.5 TB espresso powder to both the cake and icing. The coffee flavor balances the sweetness so nicely.
Also filled our 6” pans a bit less than usual (decorations always get squished in our cake dome!) and managed to squeeze 12 cupcakes out of the batter. Baked them for 17 minutes and they turned out perfect.
Yay, Jordanne! So happy to hear this recipe was a hit!
Hello,
Can this recipe be used for two or three tier wedding cakes? Will it hold up nicely?
Hi Kim! This recipe will work perfectly as a tiered cake!
This recipe is AMAZING!!! So moist and delicious, went down a treat. Thanks for sharing it Xx
Yay, Vicki! So happy you love this recipe and thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Hi, Whitney! Can i use brown sugar instead of white? Thanks!
Hi Winces! I’ve never tried it before, so I can’t say how it will affect the texture or taste of the cake (brown sugar is made with molasses), but I’ve heard it works.
Hi, I made this cake for Mother’s Day, it turned out pretty good for the first time. With a little more practice it will perfect like your cakes Thank you for such good teaching! You really explain everything that goes in to making these cakes. Keep up the good work!!! This is great therapy, I really enjoy it
Thank you! So happy that this recipe was a hit and you’re finding some therapy in baking. That’s one of the reasons I love it so much!
Hi!! I’ll be making this tomorrow for a birthday. Can I use hot coffee instead of water?
Hi Michele! You can certainly use hot coffee instead of hot water – it makes the flavor of the chocolate even more rich! Enjoy!
It was outstanding!!! Making it for another birthday today! I wanted to do 3-8inch layers. I was going to do 1.5 recipe. That should work, right?
Yay, Michele! So happy you love this recipe! And yes, for three 8-inch layers just multiply all the ingredients by 1.5 and you’ll have the perfect amount.
Hi!! I made this cake before and I LOVED it!! Just wondering, would it be ok if instead of 3x 6inch cake pans I used 2x 8inch pans? Would the cake still be high enough to decorate then? Thank you!!!
Hi Christina! Yes, you can definitely use 2 8-inch pans instead of 3 6-inch pans. I’ll add that to the recipe instructions for future reference. So happy you loved the recipe!!
Your frosting looks so smooth! Mine came out pretty thick and isn’t smoothing very well. I did have to use heavy cream vs whole milk but typically those are interchangeable. Any thoughts?! ThAnks so much!
Hi Kayla! You can definitely interchange heavy whipping cream and whole milk (I do all the time!), and if your frosting is too thick, just add a little more milk/heavy whipping cream to thin it out to your liking. An extra Tbsp or two should do the trick!
Hello, I made this recipe last week for an 18th birthday cake and it went down a storm. Sorry to be a pest but please can I have the original quantities for the 3 8inch tin recipe. It made the most delicious moist cake and I’m a 8 inch pan kinda girl thank you
So happy you love this recipe, Chesca! To make enough batter for three 8″ cake pans, make 1.5x the recipe (multiply each ingredient by 1.5).
Hi, can I use table salt instead of kosher salt?
Hi Judith! Yes, you can!
In the frosting when grinding the Oreo cookies, do we keep the frosting and all in the middle or just the”cookie” part? Thank you!
Hi Chance! Yes, I kept the cream filling in there before grinding the cookies. If you want you can scrape the cream filling out first – I’ve done that in the past and it works great but is a little more time consuming. Surprisingly the flavor isn’t much different whether you scrape the filling out or not, so I chose to keep things simple!
Hi Anna! Thanks for catching that. I originally wrote it for three 6-inch cake layers, but it actually made a lot of batter (enough for three 8 inch layers), which is why the recipe states 8-inch. It’s the same cake recipe as my chocolate cake recipe though, which I recently converted to make just enough batter for three 6 inch cake pans, so I’ve gone ahead and updated it here as well. Thanks for catching that!
Hi Zoey! Thanks for the feedback! I’ll look into decreasing the ingredient amounts to ensure that there’s a more exact amount of batter in this recipe.
Hi, Trish! This recipe does make a little extra batter (it’s really hard to make a recipe exact for one specific size pan). I always fill the cake tins 2/3 full and haven’t had a problem with them spilling over. Maybe next time just add batter until they’re 1/2 full to prevent spillage. So sorry about that!