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…
I’m not a fan of shortening. I am planning to just double the butter for the filling as you suggested but I am wondering if coconut oil (the refined/flavorless kind) would be a better substitute since its texture is similar to shortening? So excited to make this for my daughter’s birthday! Your recipes always turn out so beautifully for me. Thank you!
Hi Sally !
Can I add a third 9 inch layer to this cake ? Would I have to 1.5x the recipe in order to do so?
Impossible to remove the cake from the pan and cake taste is just ok. Not nearly as good as other recipes on your site.
★★★
Hi Sally- I am making this cake for my son’s 13th birthday and forgot to add the oil — will it be ok?
★★★★★
Hi Neely, Without the oil I’m afraid the cake will be pretty dry.
My daughter picked this cake for her birthday. I followed the advice of another reviewer and substituted Sally’s triple chocolate cake for the cake portion, but made the creme filling and chocolate buttercream frosting as written. I added crushed oreos to the filling layer instead of baking them into the cake. The result was truly AMAZING! Everyone loved it and it looked beautiful! Thank you for such a great recipe. This is my new go-to baking site! All the recipes I have tried are reliably delicious!
★★★★★
Hi Sally, would it affect this delicious looking cake if I used 1/4 cup olive oil instead of canola or vegetable oil? Or could I use 1/4 cup Greek yogurt instead?
Also, my daughter would like to have the lollies come tumbling out like one of your cakes I made for her birthday last year – is there enough mixture to make 3 layers? Either that or I might just put lollies in the cream filling. Thanks for your help.
Hi Mel, I don’t recommend olive oil but you can use melted coconut oil instead. For three layers you can make 1.5 times this recipe.
Hi Sally! I was hoping to turn this cake into cupcakes. How full shall I fill each liner? Thanks so much (I love your blog)! 🙂
Hi Janie, no more than 2/3 full for cupcakes. Enjoy!
I just made this cake for my stepson’s high school graduation party. It was delicious, but it is not a cake for the faint of heart! I read the recipe through a few times and read some of the reader comments here to get a full picture of making it. I used round parchment paper and sprayed the pans with cooking spray, placed the parchment round in the bottom of the pan, and then sprayed the parchment to avoid sticking. It worked really well. I also used half of the Oreo crumbles in the middle layer of the cake and half on top of the cake. I was curious about how all the textures would go together and I found myself really happy with the textures and with the cake itself. Thanks Sally and Amanda!
Hi Sally!
Thank you for posting this cake. I made the cake and froze the layers last night and I can already tell it will be delicious. However, I must be doing something wrong. All of the Oreos floated to the top either when I poured the batter in or while it was cooking. Although I don’t think that will alter the flavor too much– do you know what could have gone wrong?
Thank you for your time!
Hi Penelope! The oreos will float to the top if the batter is too thin, but by following this recipe as written– the batter should be on the thicker side. Did you use regular Oreos? Regardless, the cake will still have the same flavor no matter where the Oreos end up. 🙂
Good recipe! I made this for my birthday a year ago and named it “Herz Kampf” (heart struggle) after what would likely follow consuming it. The cake seemed monstrously – deliciously – big. I would suggest thawing it if you refrigerate it, as the bulk of intact Oreo pieces combined with cold frosting resulted in a kind of clumping effect. I also lined the pans with parchment paper just to stay on the safe side and omitted the whole Oreos on the bottom for ease of slicing.
Hi Sally,
Firstly I want to say thanks for so many great recipes. Have tried lot of them and all of them come out great. I have one question regarding the red velvet cake recipe. I am using two 9*2 pans as mentioned in the recipe. Baking at 170. But my cakes are getting burnt from bottom and sides. And still not getting cooked in middle. It is taking abt 50 min for the cake to get cooked in centre. And meanwhile it gets over cooked from sides and bottom. I have tried making it 4 times. But always It is the same.pls suggest. Thanks
I was very disappointed with this recipe. I made it for Valentine’s day for my boyfriend and another couple, and it was an absolute disaster. Even with the nonstick spray, the oreos lining the pan make it extremely difficult to remove the cakes! Then, it is absolutely impossible to slice the cake because of the whole oreos! The cake itself wasn’t great, and the filling and frosting just tasted like powdered sugar. I’m a big fan of this site, but severely disappointed by how this turned out.
Sally,
You have renewed my love for BAKING. I made just about every sides. cookies, rolls, bread, you name it!. Just the right amount of sweetness, and goodness galore! Last week I made the moistest butter cake. My children could not have enough of it. Their best is the Honey dinner rolls. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes. And I love reading your little intro’s….
This is looks so lovely! I would like to try this for my son’s birthday but in cupcakes form. I’m a very beginner in baking. Is there any difference if I bake this in cupcakes? Like, the temperature and baking time. Thanks.
The bake time might be around 20 minutes or so. Same oven temperature.
Hi! I actually have the cookbook referenced here and the icing and filling ingredient quantities don’t seem to match. Is there a reason you used a half cup less powdered sugar for the filling and 1/4 cup less butter in icing?
Hi Amy! You can certainly make the cake either way. We liked the filling a little less sweet (though it is still plenty sweet!) and liked the thicker frosting made with less butter. Feel free to try the cake either way and I’d love to know how you like it too!
This was an amazing cake and I highly recommend it. I have never baked before and this was my first cake and I have to say it was really fun. The only thing I did differently was instead of using crushed up oreos for the top, I used an oreo pie crust instead because it was much easier for me to grind up. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, now my fiance thinks I can actually bake :-).
Hi Sally,
First of all I’d like to say how much I love your blog. I just started baking last year and I’ve already made a lot of your recipes (red velvet, carrot cake, triple chocolate cake etc). They all turned out great!!! You’re doing a great job! As far as the oreo cake, I’ve already made it once for a friend’s birthday (huge hit!!) and now I want to make it for my 2-year-old son’s birthday. I want to make a 2 tier cake (7’ and 9’) covered in fondant. Do you think that the cakes will hold all that weight? Will the bake time for the 7’ round pans be longer?
Thank you so much !
Thanks so much Irene! This cake should hold the weight of fondant.
Made this cake- actually turned them into cupcakes. Placed an oreo in the bottom of parchment paper (I cut natural parchment paper into ovals and use a small glass to form into the cupcake slots- the parchment peels beautifully from the cupcakes and- you can overfill the cupcakes without worry).
Then i poured the batter right in. Once they were cooled, I used an apple corer to make a small rivet and a wide (very wide) icing tip to fill the hole. Then used same time to make put buttercream and dipped upside down into the crumbles. Shook off excess.
I froze most of the cupcakes (just place in freezer baggy- and zip close- nothing special done). And they were equally (maybe more so) amazing when eaten frozen!!! I thawed some out and thawed out nicely. Being a buttercream- it freezes well.
Am making a half batch in a few minutes. Froze leftover icing and just had a request for a few more. (Ate all of the frozen reserved ones!!)
i made this for a friend’s birthday. He is a major chocoholic and it was really good, even though I personally like lighter desserts. The cake themselves were really moist. Just have to watch carefully when baking. I used some vintage glass Pyrex cake pans from my mom and the oreos sort of floated up in the cake, but it worked out fine.
I agree the buttercream was way too dense for the recipe itself. I ended up mixing in close to another 1/4 cup of the cream after I had let it set in the fridge and then come back to room temp. It spread great after that and spread easily.
The filling tasted so much like an oreo. It was a hit and my chocoholic friend is going to be in a food coma for awhile!
I am NOT impressed with this cake. I made this cake for my mother for Mother’s Day. It takes FOREVER to make. It doesn’t taste like an oreo cookie.. The cake was VERY DRY. The chocolate buttercream was so thick that it wouldn’t spread, and I followed the recipe EXACTLY as it was. I had to add extra cream to it to actually get it to spread. Needless to say, it was very disappointing, especially after spending the ridiculous amount of time it took to make it.
Hi Sally
I have a question about the filling. For the cream, I have heavy whipping cream. Is that the same or do I need to find a different cream?
Yep, you can use heavy whipping cream. enjoy!
Sally, Would it be okay if I added a teaspoon of peppermint extract to the oreo filling?
Definitely! I would start with 1/2 teaspoon and add more if you want more.
I made this recipe for my son’s tenth birthday and it was amazing! I used Pamela’s Artisan Gluten Free Flour as well as gluten-free “sandwich cookies.” There was no way you could tell it was gluten-free. And it only got better the longer it sat! It was quite the hit!
Sally,
How do you think this would be in a 9 x 13 pan? I hate to make “layer” cakes!
The recipe makes quite a lot of cake and I fear there may be a little too much batter for a 9×13. However, you may certainly try it. Perhaps fill the pan only halfway and then use any extra cake batter to make cupcakes (about 18 minutes bake time for the cupcakes). I am unsure of the bake time for the 9×13 cake. Same oven temp, though.
I absolutely love this recipe (only got to making it today) but it tasted divine.
However, is it only me, or was this close to impossible to get out of the pan once cooled?? I would strongly suggest using oiled parchment paper to line the pans prior to cooking rather than just spray….. What do you think?
Ditto! Was thinking I did something wrong. Brilliant idea to line with parchment paper…
This cake was delicious!! Soo indulgent and perfect for a chocolate lover like me!
We LOVE this cake. First my partner made it for my birthday/our wedding. Today we just made it again for my mother’s birthday. And next week, we will make it again for a friend’s birthday. It is really unlike any other chocolate cake (and I consider myself kind of a connoisseur!). Thanks for sharing!
I bake all the time and this just did not turn out. The cake was good but both frostings were way to thick and crumbly. I measured by grams and followed the recipe exactly. Don’t know what happened….
Made this for Father’s Day (thanks for the quick reply on using 8 inch cake pans – worked perfectly) – my entire family loved it – so decadent. My husband gave me your cookbook for Mother’s Day which has been awesome too! Enjoying baking my way through the recipes!
Sally – Looking forward to making this for Father’s Day. Can this cake be made using 8 inch round pans? I don’t have 9 inch pans. Thank you!
Definitely! The bake time will be a little longer.
Miss Sally! I finally got the chance to make this beauty! My nanny family had a school picnic the other night and asked if I would make something for it. Of course it had to be a show stopper, so I chose this! I wasn’t at the picnic but the mom reported that everyone went crazy for it! Bravo. 🙂 Next on my list are your scones! Mmmm, can’t wait! Hope you have a great weekend, pretty lady!