I’ve been wanting to create vegan versions of my cake recipes for awhile now, but vegan baking is one of those fascinating things that takes a ton of research. It felt a bit intimidating to scour the internet for the dairy-free substitutes, so I just kept putting it off. But with ingredients like eggs, milk, and butter in short supply due to the pandemic, I think now is the perfect time to offer you a cake recipe that uses ingredients you can (hopefully) find! Whether you’re vegan, dairy-free, or you simply need a cake recipe with limited ingredients, this Vegan Chocolate Oreo Cake is so easy to whip up and tastes amazing! Perfect for celebrating a #QuarantineBirthday or just making a cake for the fun of it.
First, let’s talk about this ultra-moist vegan chocolate cake. It turned out so decadent and chocolatey with that melt-in-your-mouth crumb you need in a chocolate cake. I was so surprised at how much of it I ate during my testing sessions (could be pregnancy, but also, it’s just a great chocolate cake)! It’s truly the perfect rival to my favorite one-bowl chocolate cake recipe, only you don’t need eggs or buttermilk for this one. Instead of adding moisture with buttermilk, vegetable oil takes care of all that. And instead of creating structure with eggs, structure and rise are created by the chemical reaction that happens when the vinegar, baking soda, and cocoa powder in this recipe react (science, y’all).
Because of this amazing chemical reaction, it’s super important that you don’t use Dutch Process cocoa powder because the process for making it involves washing cocoa beans in an alkaline solution of potassium carbonate. All of that neutralizes the acidity and cancels out the reaction between the cocoa powder and the baking soda, which in this case can result in a deflated cake. To prevent this, be sure to use a natural, unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe. I use Hershey’s, but any brand will do.
*UPDATE* When I set out to create the perfect vegan buttercream to compliment this cake, I thought Oreos would be perfect! I have tons of vegan friends who enjoy Oreos because they do not contain animal-derived ingredients. However, according to Oreo’s website, they cannot call these cookies truly vegan because the equipment they come in contact with may have cross-contact with milk. If that is concerning to you, you can sub any of your favorite vegan cookie crumbs into this buttercream recipe.
To pair with this cake, I altered my Oreo Buttercream recipe to work with vegan ingredients like Earth Balance butter and coconut milk and it worked like a charm. I have yet to try other butter alternatives, but I love that Earth Balance comes in sticks and behaves a lot like real butter. I’m pretty convinced you could substitute it into any of my buttercream recipes and create a vegan version. So if you’d rather have a straight up (dairy-free) chocolate buttercream for this cake, you can totally use my favorite chocolate buttercream recipe, sub in an equal amount of Earth Balance and dairy-free milk, and you’d be good to go.
To decorate, I added some crushed Oreos to the sides of the cake, then topped it with some swirls using Wilton Tip 4B. I thought it would be fun to add a little pop of color to the swirls, so I sprinkled them with the Fancy Sprinkles Birthday Balloons mix before placing whole Oreos in between. Side note: this sprinkle mix is not 100% vegan, but Fancy Sprinkles has an entire collection of vegan sprinkles you can shop here. I love how it all turned out, especially the little flecks of cookies throughout the buttercream!
I’m so fascinated by the science of vegan baking that I’ll be venturing on a quest for the perfect vegan vanilla cake next, so stay tuned! In the meantime, I cannot wait for you to try this Vegan Chocolate Oreo Cake and hope you love it as much as I do.
Vegan Chocolate Cake with Oreo Buttercream
Ingredients
Vegan Chocolate Cake
- 3 Cups (400g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Cups (410g) granulated white sugar
- 1/2 Cup (45g) natural, unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch Process)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 Cup (180ml) vegetable oil
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Cups (480ml) water, room temperature
Oreo Buttercream
- 2 Cups (452g) Earth Balance vegan butter, room temperature (4 sticks)
- 6 Cups (720g) powdered sugar
- 4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp coconut milk, room temperature or any non-dairy milk
- 18 Oreo cookies, filling removed
Instructions
Make the Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch or two 9-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, vinegar, vanilla, and water and mix on low until combined.
- Pour into prepared cake pans no more than 2/3 full and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.
Make the Oreo Buttercream
- After removing the filling from the Oreo cookies, use a food processor to blend them into a fine crumb. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the vegan butter on med-high until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes), scraping down bowl and paddle a few times in between. Add powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down bowl and paddle between intervals.
- Add the vanilla and coconut milk, then mix on medium for one minute. Scrape down bowl and paddle and add the Oreo cookie crumbs. Mix until incorporated.
Assembly
- Once the cakes are Vegan Chocolate Cakes are cooled and leveled, fill and frost with Oreo Buttercream. To create the same look as pictured, press some Oreo cookie crumbs to the bottom third of the cake after frosting. Pipe swirls of buttercream around the top edge of the cake using Wilton Tip 4B, then sprinkle the swirls with colorful sprinkles. Finish by garnishing with whole Oreos.
Notes
- The Vegan Chocolate Cake 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 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.
Did you make this recipe? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you’re caking!
Hi, ready to put the cake in the oven. Just wanted to check, do you use a fan oven or normal? so difficult to assume when converting from US to UK. much appreciated for the recipe, can’t wait for the finished product!thanks
Hi Olivia! I use a conventional oven, so if you’re using a fan assisted oven you’ll want to follow the adjustments you would make when using a recipe that uses a conventional oven. Hope it turns out beautifully!
Hi! I love your recipes and will be making this for vegan friends. Would you recommend using hot coffee in place of all or some of the water to enhance the chocolate flavor of the cake? Thanks!
Hi Dominique! You can totally use coffee in place of the water in this cake, but just make sure it’s the same amount and temperature as the liquid in this recipe (room temperature). Enjoy!
Hi sorry if this is a stupid question, but when you said 18 Oreos , filling removed, is that 18 pairs of cookies, as in 36 cookies total? Or 9 Oreos separated into 18 cookies?
No worries, Meg! Not at all a silly question! I mean 18 pairs of cookies, so 36 total 🙂
Hi
I baked this cake today. I really love the taste of this vegan cake.
But i would like to use less sugar what measurements should I use to still get this consistency in the frosting with less sugar?
Besides that the color of my frosting was brown instead of white.. I added 18 pairs of Oreo cookies with no filling gave my frosting a chocolaty color, why do u think this would have happened?
Hi Palak! If you use less sugar in the buttercream, it will be more runny in consistency (the sugar helps thicken/stiffen it). You might be able to get away with 1/2 cup less sugar, but since I haven’t tried it, I can’t say for sure if it will be thick enough. As far as the color, the only thing I can think of is maybe you ground the cookies up too finely and/or mixed the cookies in for too long. You’ll want to mix in the cookies at the end just briefly so that the crumbs spread throughout the buttercream but don’t start to affect the overall color too much. You could always try folding them in with a spatula at the end instead of using the stand mixer.
Hi I plan to make this cake for my daughter who Is allergic to gluten and is vegan as well . Can I use gluten free flour instead of all purpose flour ? Thanks in advance
Hi Roopa! You totally can use GF flour. I’ve tried this recipe with GF all purpose flour and it worked just fine!
Hi! I want to make this cake but was wondering if I can use another oil beside vegetable oil? I’ve made your vanilla and buttercream cake and it was a winner, eve one raves about it! Thank you for sharing your recipe and talents!
Hi Joyce! You can use whatever oil you prefer, but just know that if you use an oil with a stronger flavor (olive oil, coconut oil, etc) it will alter the flavor of the cake. The best oils to use for this recipe are canola oil or vegetable oil because they don’t have much flavor.
i have the recipe and i love it
So happy you love this recipe, Julia!
I plan to try this for my daughter birthday, looks amazing.
For your buttercream storage you say leave on counter at room temp and then bring up to room temp when ready to use. I am assuming you meant keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks?
Hi Niki! Yes, you are correct and that is a major typo (just fixed it)! If you’re making the buttercream ahead you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, then bring it back to room temp and rewhip when you’re ready to use it. I’m so excited for you to make this for your daughter’s birthday! Enjoy!
Hi! I’m going to make this cake.. when you say white vinegar is white distilled vinegar the same thing?? Thanks:)
Hi Crystal! Yes, white vinegar and white distilled vinegar are one in the same 🙂
How long to you recommend we cool the cake before frosting and decorating it?
Hi Emory! It usually takes 2-3 hours to cool the cake layers to room temperature. Just be sure that there’s absolutely no warmth left inside the layers and you’re good to move on to decorating!
Thank you so very much, Whitney! This cake was a great hit for my daughter’s birthday yesterday! I made Oreo whipped cream frosting as I am not vegan but wanted to bake an eggless chocolate cake!
So happy to hear the recipe was a hit, Anita!! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Hi! I’m from the uk. Would all purpose flour be. self raising or plain flour?
Hi Rhiannon! Love your name. The equivalent of all purpose flour is plain flour.
made this cake today for my sons birthday, the batter was yummy, will
keep you posted!!!
Yay, Angi! Hope it’s a hit and happy birthday to your son!
Have you ever made the whole cake and froze it assembled. I want to make it for my daughters 21st birthday and let it defrost while traveling to see her. Thanks so much, excited to make it – looks delicious.
Hi Joyce! I’ve actually never frozen an assembled cake before, but I hear it’s totally possible. Here’s a great article on how to do it: https://cakebycourtney.com/how-to-freeze-thaw-and-transport-your-cakes/
Hi! Do you think it would turn out ok if I substituted half the vegan butter for shortening??
Hi Maureen! I’ve never tried that before but my hunch is that it will work. Let me know if you end up trying it!
Hi there,
Just made this cake for my husband’s birthday with the kids. Super easy & came out beautifully. This is the only Vegan cake mix that has worked for me, credit to you!! I will use this again & again!
thanks so much,
Emma
Yay, Emma! So so happy to hear that this recipe was such a hit! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂