A rich double chocolate layer cake with two layers of Oreo cookies inside, a thick cream filling, chocolate buttercream, and an Oreo cookie crumb coating.
Today I’m bringing you a giant Oreo in cake form. A dessert to put all other desserts to shame. A chocolate lover’s paradise. Sweet tooth central. This recipe comes from my very sweet friend Amanda. Amanda is the talented blogger at i am baker, as well as the author of the very popular book Surprise-Inside Cakes.
Amanda has kindly offered to give an autographed copy of her brilliant cookbook to one of my readers. As a thank you, I’m sharing one of her cookbook recipes. And my god, saying it’s “good” does not even do this cake justice.
I need to try making the cover recipe, Rainbow Heart Cake, next.
Her Oreo Cake looks complicated, but it’s no more complicated or time-consuming than a regular layered, filled cake. It looks difficult to prepare, but as long as you take your time reading through the instructions first, you’ll be just fine.
Amanda says this chocolate layer cake makes her happy in every single way, and I can absolutely attest to that! Overload of chocolate = pure bliss. You have the taste of Oreos in every single bite: two layers of rich chocolate cake, a thick cream filling, chocolate frosting, plus two layers of actual Oreo cookies, and an Oreo crumb topping.
Amanda suggests you make this for a large crowd… yeah, you don’t want want this cake around the kitchen tempting and taunting you for “just one more slice.” I speak from experience. Luckily, I had friends take the leftovers!
The Oreo cream filling was my favorite part; it truly tastes like the cream center of an Oreo cookie! Double Stuf Oreo, to be exact—it’s a very thick layer.
Let’s not forget the chocolate chips baked inside the moist chocolate cake layers. Amanda’s recipe calls for pure milk chocolate chopped up, but I didn’t have any on hand so I just used chocolate chips inside the cake instead. If there’s an opportunity to stuff more chocolate in a recipe, we will do it.
Some desserts are simply made to indulge… and this is definitely at the top of that list. A true crowd-pleaser, you will not be disappointed with this show-stopping cake!
It looks like a lot of ingredients, but most of them are repeated in each layer!
And if you’re looking for more Oreo-inspired treats to enjoy, I have plenty! Oreo Cheesecake Cookies, Cake Batter Oreo Cookies, Oreo Cookies & Cream Pie, Oreo Balls, and Cookies & Cream Cake, to name a few 🙂
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Oreo Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
A rich double chocolate layer cake with two layers of Oreo cookies inside, a thick cream filling, chocolate buttercream, and an Oreo cookie crumb coating. For extreme chocolate and Oreo lovers only!
Ingredients
Chocolate Layer Cake
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch process)
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups cake flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature*
- 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 cup full fat sour cream or full fat Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup hot coffee or hot water
- 1 cup milk chocolate, chopped (I used 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)
- 1 15.25 ounce package Oreos
Oreo Cream Filling
- 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup shortening*
- 2 and 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons milk or cream (cream preferred for best texture)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Buttercream
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup milk or cream (cream preferred for best texture)
- 16 additional Oreos, pulsed into a fine crumb
Instructions
- Position oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 350°F (177°C). Generously spray two 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. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.) Then line the bottom of the pan with Oreos in a single layer; I fit about 15 Oreos in each pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend the cocoa powder, sugar, cake flour, baking soda, and salt together on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the eggs, oil, sour cream, and vanilla and mix for 1 minute on medium-low speed.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the coffee and chocolate chips; stir to combine. Some of the chocolate chips will melt as you stir. Try to avoid over mixing the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans over the Oreos. Bake for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
- While the cake cools, make the Oreo Cream Filling. In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and shortening together on high speed until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time, alternating with the milk/cream and vanilla. The filling will be very thick, but you may add more milk/cream if you prefer. Set aside in the refrigerator.
- While the cake cools, make the Chocolate Buttercream. In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter on high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the cocoa powder and vanilla on low speed, then add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, alternating with the milk/cream. The buttercream will be thick. Set aside at room temperature.
- Once the cakes are cooled, assemble the cake. Place 1 cooled layer on a cake stand, cake turntable, or large plate, Oreo cookie side down. Using an offset spatula or knife, cover the top with a 1-inch thick layer of Oreo Cream Filling. Top with the 2nd cake, Oreo cookie side up. Cover the tall layer cake with chocolate buttercream. Working quickly, cover the cake in Oreo crumbs. This will get a little messy, but just pat them up the sides with your hands and all over the top of the cake.
- Slice and serve cake. Leftover cake can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting and filling 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 if you have room in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. Honestly, it tastes much better fresh!
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Rubber Spatula | Cooling Rack | Cake Turntable | Offset Spatula | Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Cake Flour: In a pinch, you can use this cake flour substitute.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Room temperature eggs and sour cream are required for the cake recipe. Since using hot coffee/water, you do not want cold ingredients – cake will not bake properly with varying temperatures of ingredients.
- Shortening: Shortening is required to replicate the taste an Oreo cream filling. If you want a thinner filling, that doesn’t quite taste like an Oreo cream filling – use 1/4 cup butter instead of shortening.
Keywords: oreo cake
Amanda Rettke, author of Surprise-Inside Cakes, is offering one of my lucky readers a free autographed copy of her cookbook. 45 stunning cake recipes!
Her book is full of amazing cakes, for nearly every celebration. And there are TONS of step-by-step photos for every single recipe. She also has a lengthy chapter with helpful tips, including frosting cakes, leveling cakes, and decorating cakes. Plus, she categorizes the cakes from easy to to medium to challenging.
You can start small and then work your way to the more intermediate/advanced recipes.
A few recipes I’ve bookmarked:
- Stripe Birthday Cake (with 6 colorful layers)
- Paw Print Cake (with a hidden paw print design inside!)
- Daisy Cake (chocolate cake with a white cake daisy inside)
- Pumpin Cake (in the shape of a pumpkin!)
- Cherry Cake…
Sally’s is my all-time favorite site for baking. Every recipe I’ve ever tried has been outstanding EXCEPT for this one. Took a loooong time to make and looked beautiful. But to eat? Insane sugar overload. Icing was EXTREMELY sweet. Nobody finished a whole piece. I ended up throwing 3/4 away. Not worth the money, time, and labor. What happened to your old Oreo cake recipe? Used espresso powder in batter? White icing with chopped Oreos? THAT one was amazing. Couldn’t find it so used this one. This recipe nearly caused a diabetic coma from overly sweet icing. Choc chips in batter were also too much.
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Hi Sarah! I haven’t made this cake in ages, and it comes from another baker’s cookbook who typically makes incredible cakes. It could be time to revisit this recipe. Are you thinking of this cookies & cream sheet cake? There isn’t espresso powder in the recipe, but it’s a top favorite.
I have always loved Sally’s recipes. I use this site almost exclusively and my family raves about my desserts. However, this cake was absolutely terrible. The frosting was way too thick and sweet while the cake itself was bitter and powdery. It fell apart and made a huge mess, I was embarrassed to serve it. Do yourself a favor and pick a different chocolate cake recipe from this site and just add oreos to the bottom. I never write reviews but for the amount of time I spent making this cake I felt I needed to say something. I’ll be sure not to use a recipe from an affiliate partner again, just stick with Sally!
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Wendy, thank you for the feedback on Amanda’s recipe. This chocolate cake is certainly a favorite and I can look back at the frosting layer included in the Oreo Cake.
Sally- any suggestions on how to adjust this to make cupcakes out of it? We have a birthday ski trip come up and cupcakes will be much easier to eat/ transport than cake. Thanks so much!
Hi Janine! You could bake the cake batter as cupcakes, fill the cupcakes with the Oreo cream filling and top them with the chocolate buttercream. We’re unsure how many it would make. Let us know if you give it a try! You may also love these cream-filled chocolate cupcakes.
I have 8” pans – how do I adjust for the smaller pan. Should I use 3? Thank you
Hi Ronna, you can use 2 8 inch pans. The bake time will be a little longer.
I made this cake for my grandson and it was a hit.I wasn’t crazy about the Oreo white filling between the layers so next time will use the butter cream version. The only problem I had was pouring the batter over the oreos in the cake pan, the Oreos didn’t stay at the bottom but started floating around.. What did I do wrong ?
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Hi Lauren! Make sure to slowly and carefully pour the cake batter into the pan to avoid displacing the Oreos. You can always use a toothpick to nudge rogue Oreos back into place. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
I love all of your receipes, but I am not sure if it was my cooking but this cake was to sweet and was not a fan of the cream
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Hi Sally, I’m really excited that I found this cake recipe and I’m a relative novice at baking. Can you explain why this recipe calls for cake flour and your triple chocolate cake recipe calls for all-purpose? They seem similar, but I’m sure there’s some good reason for it. Thanks!
Hi Emily! I love this Oreo cake and hope you do too if you try it! I actually did not develop this recipe though. It’s from another baker, Amanda (website I Am Baker), who included it in her cookbook. I find that cake flour is too light paired with cocoa powder and the ratio of dry to wet ingredients in my chocolate cake recipe, so that one uses all-purpose.
Sally, could I crumble up the Oreos for this cake instead of laying them whole in the pan?
Hi Cally, that should work just fine. Enjoy!
For something different from buttercream, do you think a cool whip icing would work well on this cake?
Hi Aimee, Of course! We love the whipped cream frosting on our cookies and cream cake.
Hey Sally. Just made this and so far the taste test tells me its another yummy cake thanks to you. Just missed the weight measurement. Had to drag out my measuring cups for the first time with one of your recipes. Is this a new or old development? Thanks again for amazing cakes. Your recipes make me look sooo good.
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Hi Jennifer, This is an older recipe that hasn’t been updated yet to include weight measurements.
Made this for my husband’s birthday and it was a hit. I would advice to line baking tins with parchment paper.
Sally i wanted to find out if I can use less sugar in the recipe.
Hi Ndulamo, Sugar is used for moisture and texture in baked goods as well as taste. You can certainly try reducing the sugar, but the resulting texture will be different than intended.
This cake was amazing. It looked great, and tasted delicious. The only issue I have is that I don’t think you should refrigerate the chocolate icing – it’s too thick and tore the tender cake to shreds. When I make this again (which I definitely will, it’s THAT good) I will make the chocolate icing only when I’m ready to ice and put the cake together, and I will add far more cream (maybe milk instead?) to thin it out. As it were, I used probably half a cup and it was still too thick, even though I let it come to room temperature after bringing it out of the fridge.
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This cake was rich and delicious as promised! It looked gorgeous as I presented it to the birthday girl at the dinner table, but as I tried to cut and serve I realized getting through the two layers of Oreos baked in was nearly impossible. As a result everyone had a mashed mess on their plates. Any tips for easier slicing??
Hi Erin, that’s completely normal with this recipe. Was the cake refrigerated before slicing? Room temperature makes it a little easier. I recommend using your sharpest knife and even dipping the knife into hot water (then quickly wiping dry) before slicing.