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!
This cake was spectacular! A hit for my daughter’s 6th birthday (we manage nut, egg and dairy allergies).
I wish I could show you a picture because I feel like we nailed your version!
My daughter said the icing was too sweet (I found it to be well Balanced with the butter), but if I had made it one layer instead of two, that may have helped with the cake to frosting ratio.
Thank you for sharing this recipe…I’ll be scouting your site for future cake ideas now! ❤️
Yay, Michelle! I’m so happy this recipe was a hit! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂 and feel free to tag me on Instagram or DM me to show me a pic! I’d love to see your cake!
I’m wondering if I could leave the filling in the oreos before crushing them and adding to the buttercream. Would it have more of an oreo flavor? Would it be too sweet? Any info would help. I M trying to have it taste as much like an oreo as possible. ThNks
Hi Bill! The reason I left the filling out is to make sure the frosting doesn’t end up too sweet. The vanilla buttercream base tastes similar to the flavor of Oreo filling, so adding the crushed cookies is quite effective for the overall flavor. That said, you could add the filling if you want, it will just make the frosting more sweet.
Cake was great. I subbed some strong black coffee for the water. Think that helped balance the sweetness of the frosting. I only had 8” pans so I did two layers. Frosting recipe was just enough for that. I used the removed cream in the frosting as well but omitted some of the vanilla extract to compensate for that additional flavor. I also made a white icing for decorating with shortening and margarine. Hope it will be a hit at work for the vegan birthday boy who loves Oreos. Thanks for also including volume measurements!
Yay, Amy! I’m so happy to hear that! I bet the coffee enhanced the chocolate flavor all the more. Thanks so much for letting me know!
Hello! I am wondering if you have any clues as to what I did wrong. My cake fell apart when I turned it out on to the rack to cool. Is this because there are no eggs to bind it? It tastes good, very fudgy and chocolatey but obviously would like to to stay together
Hi Kat! I’m sorry your cake fell apart upon release. How did you prepare your cake pans? My first thought is that perhaps the cake got stuck to the bottom of the pan, which can happen if you don’t place a parchment paper circle on the bottom. My second thought is that maybe the cake needed to cool in the pan a little more before trying to release. If the cake was fudgy, it sounds like the cake wasn’t too dry, which is what usually causes cakes to crumble. Let me know if any of those sound like they could be the culprit.
Which kind of vegetable oil would you recommend? Is sunflower oil ok?
Hi Jessica! I’ve never tried sunflower oil before, I always use regular vegetable or canola oil. After Googling it, it seems like it would work just fine as a substitute!
This is the best and easiest chocolate cake recipe that I have ever made and tasted! And I have tried dozens of different recipes! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Yay, Tanya! I’m so happy you loved this recipe as much as I do! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Is there a way I could substitute the Oreos?
Hi Blake! You could use another kind of cookie or go for a vegan vanilla buttercream (https://sugarandsparrow.com/vegan-vanilla-buttercream-recipe/) or vegan chocolate buttercream (https://sugarandsparrow.com/vegan-chocolate-buttercream/) instead.
Hello, I remember the earth balance having a salted and unsalted version, which one do you recommand using?
Thank you.
Hi Hich! I used the unsalted version.
Absolutely delicious! I’ve made several vegan cakes before but I always used apple sauce to sub the egg. They came out delicious but the texture of it was always too soft. I made this for my husbands birthday and it was a hit. The people who weren’t vegans were very surprised. lol
My husband declared we are never buying a vegan cake again.
Yay, Brandi! I am so happy to hear that this recipe was a hit with vegans and non-vegans alike! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know 🙂
My store only has earth balance olive oil spread will that work for the frosting?
Hi Dena! I’m not sure that the olive oil spread will work. You can certainly try it! It may taste of olive oil though.
Hello 🙂
Any suggestions if I don’t have a stand mixer?
Hi Olivia! A hand mixer would be the best alternative. I’ve never tried making this recipe by hand but you could totally try that too. Let me know it goes!
Hi! I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I will tomorrow. I was wondering if coconut milk could be replaced with another non-dairy milk, like almond milk. Or would that would ruin/affect the taste.? From what I’ve heard this recipe’s awesome! I’m sure my family will love it!
Hi Winter! You can absolutely use almond milk in the buttercream recipe! Enjoy!
Thank you so much for the recipe! I made this cake for my 5 year old who is allergic to eggs and dairy and loves it. It’s moist and does not taste like a vegan cake. Thanks!
Yay, Linda! I’m so happy to hear that this recipe was a hit!
Hello!
Could I make this into cupcakes? If so what would the oven temperature be and baking time?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try!
Hi Jess! I haven’t made this recipe as cupcakes before, so it would be an experiment. I would keep the oven temp the same and bake for 15-18 min.
hai i would like to know can i refrigerate the whole cake after decorating them?
Absolutely! This cake stores well in the refrigerator but tastes best at room temp, so be sure to remove it from the refrigerator about an hour or two before serving it.