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, can I add black coloring to the oreo buttercream, was not sure if it would alter taste as I’m trying to get a deep black color.
Thanks
Hi Kyla! You can add black food color gel to this buttercream, but I’m not sure how much you’ll need. As an alternative, I just posted this recipe for Dye-Free Black Buttercream that tastes just like Oreos (it’s made with black cocoa powder which is the main ingredient in Oreo cookies). You’d need a double batch to fill and frost this cake: https://sugarandsparrow.com/dye-free-black-buttercream/
Hi your cake pictures here is 3 6 inch cakes, correct? It just looks bigger/wider?
Thanks
Hi Dennille! It’s a triple layer 6-inch cake. My layers are about 1.5 inches tall each. It’s the magic of photography!
Hi! Would it be possible to substitute dairy-free milk and still have this recipe work? I am trying to bake for a family member who is lactose-intolerant, and prefers to eat mainly dairy-free. He’s okay with eating chocolate in things, but I usually substitute dairy free milk and vegan butter.
Do you think this would still work? Thank you so much!! I’m really looking forward to trying to make this.
Hi Abby! I have never tried a non-dairy milk in this recipe so I’m not sure what the results would be. Instead, I would recommend the chocolate cake recipe from this vegan version (it truly rivals the non-vegan chocolate cake!): https://sugarandsparrow.com/vegan-chocolate-oreo-cake-recipe/
My son requested this cake for his 10th birthday and it turned out amazing!! I used two 8″ round pans and it was perfect. I wish I knew how to attach a photo! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Yay, Vickie! I’m so happy to hear that this recipe was a hit!
Hi if i making 3 8 inch tins how much do i need to multiply the recipe by thanks
Hi David! For three 8 inch tins, you’ll want to make 1.5x the recipe. Enjoy!
Hi Whitney!
First off, thank you so much for always answering all my questions. You are so helpful, patient and so kind.
What would be the bake time for three 6inch pans vs three 8inch pans? (This kind of stuff hurts my head)
Also, could regular milk be substituted for buttermilk or is the buttermilk a game changer here?
Thanks so much!!!
Hi Kate! I think the buttermilk is a game changer, and I always make mine the DIY way by adding vinegar to whole milk (instructions are in the notes of the recipe). Three 6-inch pans will be about 32 minutes and three 8-inch pans will be about 36 minutes. Be sure to check with a toothpick for doneness regardless of the pan size. Hope that helps!
How would I make this as a two-tier 9inch cake?
Hi Grace! You could make this recipe as is and have thinner layers (about an inch tall) or you could make 1.5x the recipe and make taller layers but you’ll have a little extra batter left over. I have never baked this in a 9 inch pan before so I’m unsure of the baking time but I would check the cakes at 30 minutes and go from there. Hope that helps!
All of you’re recipes are out of this world. Is this enough frosting for crumb coating, filling and frosting?
Thank you so much, Kathy! Yes – this buttercream recipe makes enough to fill, crumb coat, frost the cake, and pipe on top.
Hi Edna! You totally can. Just make sure the coffee is hot!
Hi Whitney,
Just wondering if you think it would be ok if the entire cake gets frozen (frosting and all). I need to make it a week in advance and won’t have a chance to assemble and frost the cake when I want it for. Thanks
Hi Danelle! I’ve never frozen a decorated cake before, but I know people do it! That said I’m not entirely sure what the best practices for storing a decorated cake in the freezer are, but I’m sure there’s a lot of info out there on the topic. I would do a little Google research to see how to best make it happen and go from there 🙂
Make sure that your icing has a fine consistency. If it has a thick consistency, add a tablespoon of fresh cream to it and whisk again.
Hello, are the Oreos used for the buttercream mini Oreos or regular sized Oreos
I used regular sized Oreos, but I’m sure you could use minis!
Hi Whitney! I’d like to use your Oreo buttercream recipe for four 6-inch layers. Is there typically extra buttercream in this recipe or how much extra should I make? Looks delicious!
Hi Amanda! This recipe makes about 6 Cups of frosting, which should be enough for that additional layer of filling. You might not have enough to add any decorations with the frosting at that point though. If you’re planning on doing any additional decorations after filling and frosting the cake, I recommend making 1.25x the recipe (multiply each ingredient by 1.25) just to make sure you have enough. Hope that helps!
Yay, Emily! So happy to hear that this recipe is a hit! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Hi Olivia! I’m so sorry to hear your cake sunk! Did you use dutch process cocoa? I only ask because this recipe specifies to use non-Dutch process cocoa because it adds too much leavening agent. There are so many reasons why a cake might sink in the middle and it’s hard to tell without seeing your method of making this cake, quality of ingredients, etc. The most common reasons are expired baking powder (it expires every 6 months!), opening the oven door too much or prematurely, and not using room temperature ingredients (unless otherwise specified). I’ve listed all the most common reasons here to help you troubleshoot: https://sugarandsparrow.com/why-cakes-sink/ hope that helps!
Hi, did you crumbcoat this cake & if so did you use the Oreo buttercream? Is the quantities above for crumbcoat & final layer?
Looks beautiful x
Hi Charlotte! I did crumb coat this cake (always do!) and used the Oreo buttercream. Crumb coating will work with any buttercream you’re using for the final frosting layer.