This cookies & cream sheet cake combines a soft and buttery white cake with plenty of sweet Oreo cookies. The recipe begins as my white cake, but with a few updates to the batter to make room for the cream-filled cookie pieces. Top the cake with sturdy yet light whipped cream frosting, which is a combination of heavy cream, cream cheese, vanilla, and a bit of confectioners’ sugar. The frosting is lightly sweetened, so there’s plenty of room for more Oreos. This is a fun, simple, and manageable cake for a crowd of Oreo lovers!
Details About This Cookies & Cream Sheet Cake
- Flavor: All Oreo! If you love vanilla cake, whipped frosting, and Oreo cookies, you will ADORE this cookies & cream sheet cake. I was going to add chocolate ganache or chocolate buttercream, but decided to keep everything vanilla so nothing overpowers the actual Oreos in the cake batter and frosting.
- Texture: The cookies and cream cake is buttery, soft, and moist and the frosting has a creamy whipped texture that’s slightly heavier than regular whipped cream, but much lighter than vanilla buttercream. The Oreo cookie crumbs in the cake aren’t crunchy at all—instead, they take on a soft and cakey texture. The cake batter doesn’t require anything complicated, but make sure that you use egg whites (no yolks) and cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. Both of these ingredients help guarantee a softer, lighter cake crumb. Since we’re not using egg yolks, which often weigh down a cake, let’s add fat back into the batter with sour cream. Sour cream keeps the cake light, but adds unbeatable moisture.
- Ease: Sheet cakes are renowned for being easier than layer cakes—no leveling off cake layers, no fancy decor, no crazy assembly required. Slicing and serving is a breeze and you’ll appreciate that this dessert can feed a crowd, but is still completely manageable to make. The whipped cream frosting comes together quickly and most of the work is done by your mixer. Honestly the hardest part about this entire recipe is resisting the urge to eat all those chopped Oreo cookies. (Ok, go ahead and sneak some!)
If you love Oreos, try this super easy cookies & cream pie, homemade Oreos, cookies & cream puppy chow, or 4 ingredient Oreo balls next.
Cookies & Cream Cake: What Works & What Doesn’t
This vanilla cake batter and this reverse-creamed vanilla sheet cake batter proved to be too heavy and thick for the Oreo cookie pieces—both cakes tasted pretty dense. My versatile white cake is my chameleon cake, proving successful when flavored, altered, or doctored up. It’s the starting point for burnt sugar cake, espresso cake, coconut cake, fresh berry cream cake, pineapple coconut cake, pistachio cake, and strawberry cake.
It is, without a doubt, my favorite base cake recipe.
For this cookies and cream cake, I reduced the sugar since we’re adding Oreo cookies. The sweetness was perfect, but the cake tasted greasy and wet as a result of the slightly melted cream filling in the cookies. I removed 1 egg white and reduced the milk, then added a little sour cream since I removed milk. Removing some liquid made the batter thicker, which held onto and soaked in the cookie pieces a bit better.
How to Make Oreo Whipped Cream Frosting
This frosting recipe yields 4–5 cups and there’s only 3/4 cup of confectioners’ sugar in all of it. (Plus the Oreo cookie pieces!)
When it comes to cake or cupcake decor, I usually stick with buttercream or cream cheese frosting—and both are quite sweet. I wanted something different today, so I turned to my creamy, fluffy, thick whipped frosting. It’s made with cream cheese, but you can’t taste the cream cheese. And when you fold in the chopped Oreo cookie pieces, the frosting itself tastes like the cookie’s cream filling! It would be delicious paired with chocolate cake or atop chocolate cupcakes and vanilla cupcakes.
Making whipped cream frosting is very easy. Let me review it with you:
- Beat softened brick-style cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract together until completely smooth. (Below left.)
- As the mixer is running, slowly pour in cold heavy cream.
- Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until thick and airy. (Below right.)
It holds a sturdy peak!
Add Oreo Cookies
If you want to use this whipped cream frosting for other flavor cakes, the process stops there. But for a cookies and cream cake, let’s fold in chopped Oreo cookies. I wanted piping around the edges of the cake, so I left some frosting plain since the Oreo cookies get stuck in a piping tip. I find a small offset spatula is best for frosting 9×13-inch sheet cakes.
And as you can see, the plain frosting pipes beautifully! I used a Wilton 1M piping tip to pipe a zigzag border design.
Can I Make This as a Layer Cake?
If possible, I always choose making a sheet cake instead of a layer cake because sheet cakes are quicker and easier to decorate and slice. Plus there’s no assembly required and you can serve it right out of the baking pan. (Three of my favorite quarter sheet cakes are this vanilla sheet cake, this banana cake, and this yellow sheet cake, and we always enjoy this chocolate sheet cake that’s made in a half sheet pan.) That being said, you can absolutely turn this into a cookies & cream layer cake if needed. Divide the batter between 2 9-inch round pans or 3 8-inch round pans and use parchment paper rounds to help the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. See recipe note for details. The frosting yields enough for filling and frosting a 2- or 3-layer cake.
PrintCookies & Cream Sheet Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is soft and buttery white cake filled with cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos!). Top with light and fluffy whipped cream frosting. Each ingredient serves a purpose so for best results, I don’t recommend making substitutions.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (285g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (180g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk, at room temperature*
- 1 and 1/4 cups chopped Oreos (110g, about 10 whole Oreos)*
Whipped Cream Frosting
- 6 ounces (170g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup chopped Oreos (90g, about 8 whole regular Oreos)*
- optional: mini or regular Oreos for garnish
Instructions
- Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Generously grease a 9×13-inch cake pan.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg whites. Beat on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. Mixture will appear curdled and that’s ok. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients just until incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not overmix. Whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl, then fold in the chopped Oreo pieces. Avoid over-mixing.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for around 32–35 minutes or until the cake is baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. The cake must be completely cool before frosting.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed until creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract, and then beat on medium speed until combined and completely smooth, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl. Switch the mixer to low speed and with the mixer running, carefully pour in the cream in a slow and steady stream. After all of the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until thick and stiff peaks form, about 1–2 minutes.
- Frost the cake: If you’d like to pipe any frosting on the cake like I did in the photo above, set aside about 1 cup of frosting. Fold chopped Oreos into remaining frosting (or all of the frosting if you are not piping any of it). Spread onto cooled cake—it will be a thick layer of frosting. I find a small offset spatula is best for frosting 9×13-inch sheet cakes. For the pictured piping, I used a Wilton 1M piping tip and piped a zigzag design around the border.
- Serve immediately or cover and set aside for a few hours before serving. Or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day, then bring to room temperature before serving. You can definitely serve the cake cold, but many preferred it closer to room temperature. Frosting is sturdy enough at room temperature or in warmer weather for a few hours.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. The frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Assemble and frost the cake the next day when you are ready to serve. Frosted cake can be frozen up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. Here’s my how to freeze cakes page.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Cake Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Small Offset Spatula | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip
- Whole Milk & Sour Cream/Room Temperature Ingredients: Whole milk and sour cream are strongly recommended for the best taste and texture. A full-fat plain yogurt would work instead of the sour cream, but the cake may not taste as light. Same goes with a lower-fat milk. All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read here for more information.
- Layer Cake: Grease 3 8-inch or 2 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. Divide the batter between the pans. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for around 24–26 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cakes are done. The frosting yields enough for filling and frosting a 2 -or 3-layer cake.
- Cupcakes: My vanilla cupcakes recipe is essentially this same recipe, only halved, so I recommend using that. Fold in about 3/4 cup of chopped Oreo pieces before spooning/pouring batter into liners. Halve the frosting recipe above. For close to 3 dozen cupcakes, follow the the cookies & cream cake batter recipe above and the baking instructions for cupcakes. Use the frosting recipe as written above.
- Amount of Cake Batter & Frosting: If it’s helpful for using different size cake pan sizes and conversions, this recipe yields about 7 cups of cake batter and 4–5 cups of frosting.
This cake looks delicious! Can I substitute 1/2 cup liquid egg whites in this recipe? Thank you!
Hi Leslie, I recommend 4 egg whites from fresh eggs, but you can absolutely try using 1/2 cup carton liquid egg whites. (Some readers have done that with success in similar cake recipes.) Let me know how it turns out!
Hi – we love this recipe! My son recently requested it with whole Oreos ….do you think it would work to put a layer in the bottom and then pour the batter on top?
Hi Ramona, we haven’t tried that, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work! Let us know how it turns out!
Delicious! And very straightforward baking. I ran out of time to do the piped frosting so I mixed Oreos into the whole batch of frosting and used some additional Oreos—cut in half—to decorate the top. This was fine for the first night, but the Oreos were soggy in the leftovers. (This isn’t a complaint about the recipe, just a warning to my fellow bakers.) I will definitely make this cake again, and I will probably use the frosting for other cakes—it’s so easy and delicious.
Hi there! I have a request for a 3-layer cookies and cream birthday cake that requires some fancy decorations. Would a swiss merengue buttercream work flavor-wise/stability-wise on this cake (I wouldn’t be adding oreos to the icing)? And is it dense enough to hold up under a fair amount of icing/decorations? It looks amazingly fluffy but I’m just concerned SMBC might be too heavy for it? I believe the SMBC recipe I’m using is also yours! Thanks!
Hi Kelly, absolutely, Swiss meringue buttercream would work wonderfully here. Hope the cake is a hit!
What about ABC frosting? I want to make/decorate cupcakes and since these will be sitting out all day at an event, want to avoid anything with cream cheese. The ABC recipe I use holds up well in these conditions. Thanks!
Do you think this would make a good Bundt cake? Or is there just not enough batter?
Thank you!
Hi Sandra, This batter will fit into a Bundt pan. We haven’t tested it so we’re unsure of the bake time needed. We’d bake it at 350. Let us know how it turns out for you!
This recipe came out really dry for me, although I did my best to follow it to a T. Any feedback on how you think this may have happened would be appreciated! The icing came out perfect!
Hi Debra! The most common cause of dry cakes is baking them for too long. Always keep an eye on your cake in the oven as all ovens are different and the bake time could be shorter. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. Here’s more tips for baking perfect cakes for next time!
This is absolutely the best cake I’ve ever made. I love Sally’s yellow sheet cake and triple chocolate cake, but this cake may knock those off my favorite list. The cake rose perfectly in Denver with the only high altitude change being adding 2 tbsp of flour and baking a few minutes longer. I frosted with a different frosting because I didn’t want to have to refrigerate the cake. I’ll be making this many more times, it’s so fluffy and good!!
Hi, can I use all purpose flour instead of cake flour? I don’t have cornstarch to make the cake flour substitute.
Hi Willow, no I do not recommend regular all-purpose flour. (I wouldn’t waste your time or ingredients trying because the cake will be very heavy.) Best to wait until you have cake flour to try this recipe.
I currently don’t have Heavy Whipping Cream or Heavy Cream. Would Whipping Cream work? What type of adjustments would I have to make? Thank you so much!
Hi Anne, whipping cream will work!
Y U M. This just might be the fluffiest cake and fluffiest frosting I’ve ever made. I used my stand mixer with a paddle to cream the butter and sugar, then switched to the balloon whisk when I added the egg whites. Similarly, with the frosting, I switched to the balloon whisk once I started adding the heavy cream. This might be a new go-to, along with the lemon blueberry cake.
How does the frosting take on color? I love this type of frosting but need it to be light blue (without Oreos on it) and also some pipe green grass. Would that work? If not, I can stick with ABC but agree with you that this would balance the cake nicely.
Hi Hilary! Here’s the plain version of this whipped frosting recipe. The whipped frosting holds onto food coloring nicely and we strongly recommend using gel food coloring or natural food coloring powder. It’s best to add the food coloring when you add the heavy cream.
I’m a huge fan of the blog, I bought the book, pull 90% of my recipes from here and recommend it to everyone. But this is not my favourite recipe. I found the icing turned out runny, a bit on the sour side and just kind of lacking something. Next time I will use buttercream and sprinkle some broken Oreos on top. Haven’t cut into the cake yet but it does look good.
Hello, You mentioned adjusting the recipe because the Oreos added extra sweetness and greasiness. I’d like to use the Thin Oreos because I’m more about the chocolate than the sweet stuff between the cookies. Will that impact the quality of the cake? Perhaps make it too dry?
Thank you.
Joanne
Hi Joanne! You can use the thin Oreos without any changes. Enjoy!
Hi! quick question. Do we alternate between dry ingredients and the milk or do we just incorporate all of the dry ingredients and then the milk? Thanks!
Hi Marlo, you can incorporate all of the dry ingredients and then the milk. Enjoy!
Hi Sally, I usually follow your recipes to the T and love them. However, I have not got all the ingredients for this one and need to bake it today! Please can you let me know if I can make the following substitutes?
1. Use 5 medium egg whites instead of 4 large
2. Use All purpose flour (I don’t have cornstarch handy either)
3. Use buttermilk + a little extra butter or use just plain yogurt, instead of sour cream
Also, will it make a difference if I remove the filling from the cookies for the cake? I am afraid it may be too sweet as I am planning to make a buttercream icing instead of the cream cheese one.
I am trying to bake in 2 x 8″ square cake tins.
Thank you very much!
Hi Priya, we may be too late in replying, so sorry! We generally don’t recommend making that many substitutions. If you are missing that many ingredients, you may want to look for a different recipe altogether. We have lots of cookies and cream recipes on the site to choose from–happy baking!
EVERYONE of your recipes I have tried turns out FANTASTIC. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Hi Sally. Can this cake be baked in a glass dish?
Hi Sandra, absolutely! Bake time may be just a few minutes longer.
Hi Sally! I love all your recipes…I’ve not made this before but I trust it bc all the recipes I’ve tried from you in the past have been incredible. I’m making this for my daughter’s bday. Silly question coming…can I substitute monk fruit for the sugar do you think? Thanks!
Hi Yaela! We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes. Thank you!
Just another fantastic recipe from Sally! I made this as directed for a birthday party. Then made the same recipe into mini cupcakes – delish!!! I love how light this cake is. And the whipped cream frosting is a nice change from standard buttercream. This is a keeper for sure.
Can’t wait to try this one for my daughter’s birthday! Would this recipe cover with fondant well?
Hi Cherie, We don’t typically decorate with fondant, but this cake should hold up just fine under it. Enjoy!
I would give this 10 stars if I could. I have a Cookies & Cream lover in my family, and he came home from college this weekend and I made it for his birthday. We all loved it. The cake is light and fluffy and the frosting is the least sweet frosting I have ever made. In fact, our other adult son isn’t a cake person (too sweet) and he really loved this. We served it with a side of Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. Thanks for another winner, Sally!
I made this recipe yesterday (as a 3 layer cake, not a sheet cake) and it is perfect! The cake is moist, flavorful, and the chopped Oreos add a nice little crunch. For the whipped cream frosting I put the Oreos in a food processor because I didn’t want to separate the cream for decorating and it didn’t get stuck in the piping bag. A wonderful and easy recipe I can’t wait to make again!
I made this for my son’s birthday and it was incredible! The cake, the oreos, the frosting…perfection! Can’t wait to make it again!
Hi. This looks delicious. Can I do the DIY version of cake flour for this cake or would it affect the taste ? Thank you
Hi Vandana, Yes you can use this cake flour substitute if needed. Let us know if you give it a try!
I doubled the recipe to make a construction site cake for my grandson Elliott’s 2nd birthday. One cake was left whole and one was cut up. Used Favorite Chocolate Buttercream icing as we needed “dirt” color. We had a lot of fun decorating and the cake was a big hit!
Hello Sally, good evening!
I want to know if it is possible to “use” (put) this recipe in a bundt cake pan instead of a sheet pan.
I look forward to your reply.
Best regards.
This batter will fit into a Bundt pan. We haven’t tested it so we’re unsure of the bake time needed. We’d bake it at 350. Let us know how it turns out for you!
Any idea whether I could use Bob’s GF 1-to-1 flour instead of regular cake flour? I have to bake for a crowd and I know some are GF.
Hi Veronica, we haven’t tested this recipe with GF flour but let us know if you do!
I made these as cupcakes (but using the full recipe so I can take them to a gathering), and they are so delicious! The cake is lovely and light and the frosting is so good. Doesn’t leave you with that overly sweet buttercream feeling, but is just the right amount of sweet. My 10 year old requested them for his birthday next month!
How many cupcakes were you able to get from this recipe ?
About 3 dozen. See recipe notes for more cupcake details!
Hi Sally, how do I make it into 3 layer 9 inch cake for both the cake batter and frosting? Totally making this for my husband’s birthday! Thanks xx
Hi Liz, See recipe note 5 for making this as a layer cake. Enjoy!
Can I make a layered and sculpted cake with this? I have a request for a ‘cookies and cream’ doll/dress cake, so I will be carving it into a dome/skirt.
Hi Kelly, We have not ever tried carving this cake before but let us know if you try!