I will start by saying that this is one of those cakes that will make you SAD when the last bite is gone! This cookies & cream cake has layers of moist, velvety vanilla cake speckled with chopped Oreo cookies. It’s paired with the most delicious Oreo buttercream that takes the cookies and cream flavor BEYOND and is a total hit wherever it goes. Plus, it’s so fun to make with all the cookie elements – folding them into the cake batter and mixing them into the buttercream (filling and all)! If you have an Oreo lover in your life (or if that’s you), this cake is a must-bake.
Why You’ll Love this Cookies & Cream Layer Cake
- Moist & Fluffy. This recipe uses a variation of my favorite vanilla cake recipe as a base, which bakes up with the perfect texture.
- Speckled with Oreos. Both the cake layers and the frosting are speckled with Oreos! Bigger, more defined chunks in the cake layers, and finer crumbs in the buttercream.
- Delicious Cookies & Cream Flavor. Between the Oreo speckled cake and buttercream, every bite of this cake has the perfect cookies & cream flavor. I should be indifferent to cake by this point, but I legit couldn’t stop eating it during the photoshoot!
- A True Crowd Pleaser. For real though, who doesn’t love Oreos?
Cookies & Cream Cake Key Ingredients
Here are the key ingredients that make this Oreo cookies & cream cake next level, as well as substitutions you can make if need be.
- Oreo Cookies.You’ll chop Oreo cookies for folding into the cake batter, then grind more Oreos into finer crumbs for the buttercream frosting.
- Cake Flour. The low protein content in cake flour produces a softer, fluffier texture, which is perfect for this cake. If you don’t have cake flour on hand, you can make your own version using all-purpose flour and cornstarch. The details are in the notes section of the recipe card below!
- Unsalted Butter + Vegetable Oil. I use both butter and oil for the base fats in this cake recipe, which creates a rich and moist texture in the cake layers. If you’d rather use salted butter, simply omit the salt from the recipe. And as far as oil goes, I prefer plain vegetable oil but you can use whatever oil you’re used to baking with (canola, coconut, avocado, etc).
- Sour Cream. This makes the cake supremely moist! If you don’t have sour cream on hand, the best substitutes are going to be plain yogurt or creme fraiche.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. I use a little extra vanilla to really enhance the creamy notes in this cookies & cream cake.
- Whole Milk. This is my go-to milk for bringing all the ingredients together at the end of the recipe because of the high fat content. It creates a nice rich texture in the final bake. You can substitute this for other kinds of milk, just note that the texture may not be as velvety.
The Most Delicious Oreo Buttercream
I fill and frost these cookies & cream cake layers with my favorite Oreo buttercream. It really takes the overall flavor to the next level (like, can’t stop eating this cake level)! Basically, it’s a silky smooth vanilla buttercream with crushed Oreo cookies added, filling and all. The little bits of cookie look so irresistible suspended in the frosting, and the vanilla buttercream base gives it the perfect cream-to-cookie ratio.
The biggest key to success with this Oreo buttercream is to grind the cookies as small as you can before mixing them into the vanilla frosting. I like to use a small food processor for this part, but you could alternatively place the cookies into a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. The finer the cookie crumbs, the easier the frosting will be to work with when decorating. For example, I was able to use a scalloped cake comb to get this grooved texture and pipe those swirls on top with Wilton Tip 1M! The smaller the crumbs, the less chances of your piping tip getting clogged.
Cookies & Cream Cake FAQs
Can I use other kinds of Oreos? Yes! You can use any flavor of Oreo cookie as a substitute for any of the Oreo elements in this recipe.
How small should I chop the Oreos that get folded into the cake? The Oreos that get added to the cake batter should be roughly chopped, with the biggest pieces being about ¼ inch thick. The bigger the pieces, the more likely they’ll sink to the bottom of the cake layer in the baking process. So just keep that in mind.
What if I don’t have a food processor (for the frosting part of the recipe)? As an alternative to a food processor, you can place the Oreo cookies in a Ziploc bag and grind them down with a rolling pin. It’s a little more time consuming but it works.
How did you get the grooved texture on the sides of the cake? I used the scalloped cake comb from this set after getting the icing semi-smooth with my icing smoother. There are many ways to decorate an Oreo cake though, like this one with an Oreo mosaic, or this one with smooth frosting and colorful sprinkles. Feel free to get creative!
More Oreo Recipes You’ll Love
- Oreo Layer Cake
- Oreo Cupcakes
- No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake
- Easy Oreo Icebox Cake
- Oreo Truffles or Peppermint Oreo Truffles
- Vegan Chocolate Oreo Cake
Let me know if you make this cookies & cream layer 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!
Cookies & Cream Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cookies & Cream Cake
- 10 Oreo cookies, chopped (107g)
- 2 Cups (210g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Cup + 2 Tbsp (225g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp (30ml) vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 Cup (80g) sour cream, room temperature
- 3/4 Cup (180ml) whole milk, room temperature
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)
- 6 Oreo cookies
Instructions
Make The Cookies & Cream 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.
- Roughly chop the Oreos into pieces that are about 1/4 inch. There can be some bigger pieces in there, but keep in mind that the bigger pieces may sink slightly in the baking process. Once the Oreos are chopped, set them aside.
- Add the sifted cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer and large bowl), cream the butter on high for two minutes. Add the sugar and vegetable oil and continue to mix on high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix for one minute on high speed, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
- Turn the mixer off and add the dry ingredients all at once. Mix on low speed until just combined, then add the milk slowly and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the chopped Oreo cookies.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for five minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface.
Make The Oreo 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 cake layers are completely cooled, level them to your desired height. Add a swipe of Oreo buttercream onto a cardboard cake circle and place the first cake layer on top. Fill and stack the cake with Oreo 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 Oreo buttercream.
- To create the look pictures, frost the cake with Oreo buttercream and use a scalloped cake comb to create a grooved texture on the sides. Place the remaining Oreo 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 cookies & cream 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 Oreo 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.
I was wondering if I could reduce the sugar in the cake batter since all the Oreo pieces would make this really sweet. Would it affect the rest of the cake if I brought the sugar down to 1/2 cup instead?
Hi Anna! The sugar in this recipe is already reduced to account for the sweetness of the Oreos. If you reduce it any more, it will affect the overall texture and rise of the cake (it will be more dense and less tender). I can only recommend making it as-is!
What if I want to make this into a sheet pan Cake
Hi Brandi! You can bake this recipe in a 9×13 pan! Make the batter as-is and bake at 325F (slightly lower oven temp) for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!
Hi! I would like to make an eggless version. Do you have any recommendations for egg substitute.
Hi Pankhuri! I haven’t tried an eggless version of this recipe yet but if you want to experiment with my eggless vanilla cake recipe it should work to fold in 10 chopped Oreos into the batter at the end: https://sugarandsparrow.com/eggless-vanilla-cake-recipe
A friend’s daughter wants a cookies and creme cake for her birthday with leopard print on the sides. Is this frosting stable enough to stencil leopard print with icing or should i use an edible cake wrap? I thought the bits of cookie might make the leopard print look a bit messy.
Hi Scottie! A leopard print cake sounds so fun! I do agree, the cookie crumbs would make the leopard print look messy. Here’s how I would approach this recipe with that design in mind: only grind up about 6-7 cookies for the frosting, then reserve about half of the buttercream after step 3 of the instructions (before adding the cookie crumbs). To the other half of the buttercream, mix in the cookie crumbs and use this to fill and crumb coat the cake. Use the reserved frosting to make your leopard print frosting for the exterior of the cake. Hope that helps!
Can this recipe be made into a sheet cake?
Hi Paige! Yes, you can make this recipe as-is and it will bake well in a 9×13 pan. Lower the oven temperature to 325ºF and bake for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!
Hello. Can I bake the cake in one 8 inch cake pan and then cut it into 2 layers ? I can’t fit two 8 inch pans in my oven at the same time.
Hi Lina! I have never tried baking this recipe as a single cake and torting it, but if you want to try it, your pan will need to be quite tall as the individual layers bake up to a little over 1.5 inches each. If your pan is tall enough you could try lowering the baking temp to 325F and baking for 10-15 minutes longer than the listed bake time, then checking for doneness and adding more time from there. Otherwise, I’d recommend baking one layer at a time to be safe. Hope that helps!
I made this for a friends birthday and she loved it! I used SMBC and it was delightful! I was wondering how you would scale down the recipe for a smash cake/bento cake so 3 4inch pans?
Yay, Lizzie! I’m so happy you loved this recipe as much as I do! If you want to scale the cake down to have enough batter for three 4-inch pans, you’ll want to make 1/3 of the recipe. In other words, divide each ingredient by 3. Hope that helps!
I’d like to make this cake for my son’s birthday next week but I would like to omit the cookie filling (whose ingredients I dislike) and just use 170g of the cookie portion of the Oreos. Do you have any thoughts on how this might affect the cake and is there anything I need to add to compensate for the missing cream filling?
Hi Rosemary! You can certainly scrape out the filling from the Oreos and grind up just the cookie part for the frosting. It won’t affect the consistency at all. I’ve made this frosting both ways (with filled cookies and without) and there isn’t a noticeable difference in consistency or flavor. Hope that helps!
Is there a way to incorporate cream cheese to the frosting? Thanks in advance!
Hi Cal! Yes, that sounds delicious! You can replace half of the butter in the recipe with full-fat brick-style cream cheese (so in this case, 6 Oz of cream cheese + 3/4 Cup (170g) unsalted butter, both at room temp). Whip the cream cheese with the butter in Step 2 of the frosting instructions. Hope that helps!
I want to make this for my birthday but don’t want to make the cake from scratch. Could I use a vanilla cake mix from the store
Hi Evelynn! Yes, you could add chopped Oreos to a vanilla cake mix and then make the buttercream from this recipe to go with it.
Hi , I would really like to try this recipe for my son’s birthday. I will use 8 inch pans But the quantities show that the cakes might be bit small . I want a good size cake. How can I increase the quantities ( not double) so it’s a nice size cake . Thanks in advance
Hi Tanzeela! This recipe makes enough for two 8-inch layers that are almost 2 inches tall each. That’s enough to serve about 20 people. If you want to have enough batter for three 8-inch layers, you can make 1.5x the recipe (multiply each ingredient by 1.5). Hope that helps!
My daughter wants a small cookies and cream cake for her graduation this spring and we’re going to give this one a try (we’re really excited about it). But she doesn’t like cakes with heavy frostings. Do you have a lighter frosting option for this one???
Hi JD! I would recommend making a swiss meringue buttercream and folding the oreo crumbs into that if you want something less sweet/lighter: https://sugarandsparrow.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream/
What happens if i dont have cake flour
Hi Hellen! If you don’t have cake flour you can make a homemade version using all purpose flour and cornstarch. The specific measurements are in the notes section of the recipe card.