Vegan Oreo Cake
This vegan Oreo cake is so decadent and nostalgic. Soft and buttery cake layers packed with Oreo cookies, a rich Oreo buttercream and optional chocolate ganache. You’ll get chocolatey and sweet Oreos in every bite!
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Oreo cookies. If you’re in a pinch, you can also use other branded chocolate cream cookies or plain chocolate cookies.
Vegan butter adds depth of flavor whereas a neutral-flavored oil keeps the cake extra moist.
Dairy-free milk. I used soy milk but any variety will work for example oat milk.
Apple cider vinegar. When this is combined with dairy-free milk, it makes vegan buttermilk which makes the cake more tender. You don’t need to mix the milk and vinegar separately as it does its magic in the cake batter!
Baking powder and soda. We’re using two leavening agents to ensure the cake is extra fluffy. Even though this is an eggless cake, it’s undetectably vegan!
Making the cake batter
This Oreo cake batter comes together in one bowl! Mix your dry ingredients, making sure the raising agents are evenly distributed. Then add the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
Finally, add your crushed Oreos and fold through. We’re adding the Oreos at the end because they can disintegrate in the cake batter if you mix them too much.
The batter should be quite runny. The Oreo cookies will absorb a lot of liquid during baking so we need a runny cake batter to balance it out!
Tips for baking the cake layers
The cakes will take around 30-35 minutes to bake, depending on how hot/cold your oven runs. They’re ready when you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out mostly clean. It’s okay if there are a few crumbs on your toothpick.
Ideally, we want the cake layers to be as flat as possible so they’re easier to stack. If you have cake strips, they would be ideal for this cake. Otherwise, if your cakes have domes, allow them to cool and trim them off.
Preparing the frosting
The Oreo buttercream is a dream for any lover of cookies and cream! It’s so creamy and fluffy that it reminds me of ice cream.
It’s best to crush the Oreos into a fine crumb. You can use a food processor or place them in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin. If the cookies are coarser, it will be a little more difficult to spread or pipe the frosting.
Once you add the cookie crumbs to the frosting, mix until it’s just combined. If you overmix the frosting, the crumbs will dissolve and the frosting will turn into an unpleasant gray color.
Tips for decorating the vegan Oreo cake
In addition to an Oreo and vanilla frosting, I topped my cake with chocolate ganache, and whole/crushed Oreo cookies. You can also decorate your cake with:
- Dark chocolate chips
- Fancy chocolate bars or shards of chocolate
- Chocolate fudge sauce
Customizing the cake
This cake will bake well in 3 x 6-inch (15 cm) cake pans. You’ll need to bake it for around 30-35 minutes and it’ll be similar in height to my Biscoff cake.
Alternatively, you can scale up the recipe by 150% to serve 18 people. Divide the batter into 3 x 8 inch (20 cm) cake pans and it’ll be similar to the cake in the picture below.
For a large Oreo sheet cake, bake the cake in a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking pan for about 35-40 minutes.
This recipe will make about 22-24 vegan Oreo cupcakes. I recommend baking them for around 20-25 minutes.
More vegan layer cakes
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Vegan Oreo Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour, spoon and leveled (note 1)
- 1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, optional
Wet ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (375g) dairy-free milk, room temperature
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil
- ⅓ cup (75g) melted vegan butter, cooled
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, white vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 20 Oreo cookies, or ~200g vegan-friendly chocolate cookies, chopped
Oreo buttercream frosting
- 1 ½ cups (340g) vegan block butter, room temperature (note 2)
- 5 cups (500g) powdered sugar / icing sugar, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5 Oreo cookies, or ~50g vegan-friendly chocolate cookies, finely crushed
Ganache Drip (optional)
- ¼ cup (45g) roughly chopped vegan chocolate or chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons (45g) thick scoopable canned coconut cream
To decorate (optional)
- Oreo cookies, or vegan-friendly chocolate cookies, crumbled
Instructions
Make the vegan Oreo cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (320°F). Line 2 x 8-inch (20 cm) cake pans with parchment paper.
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Mix until there are no lumps. Add all the wet ingredients (except the Oreo cookies) to the bowl and mix until combined. Add the chopped Oreos and fold until just combined.
- Evenly divide the cake batter into your 2 pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the center of each cake and it comes out with no wet batter on it (a few moist crumbs are fine). Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 20 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Make the Oreo buttercream frosting:
- Add the vegan butter to a large bowl (if using a hand mixer) or the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla to the bowl. Beat until the buttercream frosting is light and fluffy. Add more sugar for a firmer frosting or add some milk for a thinner frosting. If desired, set aside some vanilla buttercream for piping later.
- Add the cookie crumbs to the frosting and mix until just combined. Try to not overmix.
Make the ganache (optional):
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave. When the cream is hot, stir through the chocolate and remove from the heat. Stir the mixture occasionally to encourage the chocolate to melt. Once you have a smooth ganache, set aside to cool.
To assemble:
- When the cakes have completely cooled, slice any domes off your cakes.
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread or pipe around 1 cup of frosting on the cake. Place the remaining cake on top. Spread or pipe the frosting on the top and sides of the cake.
- Optional: Use a spoon or a piping bag with a small round nozzle to drizzle the chocolate ganache down the sides of the cake. Pipe the remaining vanilla frosting on top of the cake. Decorate the top and sides of the cake with Oreo cookies and cookie crumbs.
- Slice the cake and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container or loosely covered in plastic wrap for 2 days at room temperature, 3 days in the fridge or up to 1 month in the freezer. If you chill the cake, make sure you let it come to room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving.
Notes
- Make sure you measure your flour accurately, otherwise your cake will be dry and dense. If you’re using measuring cups, spoon and level your flour by fluffing up the flour in its container, use a spoon to add flour to your measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. Using your measuring cup to scoop flour out of the container will pack too much flour into your cup and batter. Alternatively, use a kitchen scale and the gram measurements.
- If you only have a spreadable vegan butter, use it chilled in the frosting. Room temperature spreadable vegan butter is too soft for frosting.
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Where do you find vegan oreos? The ones sold in US grocery stores are not vegan. Is there an option online?
The original Oreos in the US are vegan. Here’s an article from All Recipes talking about this. Alternatively, you can use any vegan chocolate cream-filled cookie.
I never bake and managed to pull this off pretty well! I’ve never had success with butter icing and this method worked like a charm! I was so stoked with the result and so were those who ate it!
I will defo come back to this recipe, I’m going to try it with a bit of mint flavouring in next time 💚
Oh that’s amazing, Celia! So glad that you found this recipe approachable and that everyone enjoyed the cake. And ooh, a mint oreo cake sounds delicious!!! Thanks so much for your feedback 🙂
I followed the recipe and the batter turned out really thick. In the notes it said that the batter should be a little runny. I added extra oat milk to thin it out and put it in 2 8 inch round pans and baked for the recommended time. The cakes didn’t rise at all and they are sp thick and dense. I’m starting again with a new batch, hopefully it goes better this time.
Hi Brittany, it’s strange that your batter was too thick! This can happen if you pack too much flour in your measuring cups. If you measure the flour inaccurately, it can add an extra 50% of flour which will make the batter thick, and the cakes dense. Try spooning and leveling the flour, or use a kitchen scale. I hope that helps!
I made this (but a much less pretty version :D) on the weekend and it was easy and delicious :). One thing I would add is a pinch of salt though with the dry ingredients. But overall just great! Thank you for the recipe
Hi! I’m so glad that you found this cake approachable and tasty! Good point about the salt, especially if you’re using unsalted butter. Thanks so much for the feedback 🙂
This recipe was easy to follow as well as to adapt! I reduced the sugar in the batter to 1 cup and it was still plenty sweet! I also kept it simple, e.g. I made the buttercream frosting plain (didn’t add crumbled cookies). I also reduced it by half and it was more than enough for a thin layer of frosting between the layers and to cover the entire (8 inch) cake! My just-turned-15 years old loved it as their birthday cake! Thank you!
Aw, I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake, and for a special birthday! It’s great that you were able to customize the recipe to your tastes, as well. Thank you so much for your feedback and for taking the time to leave a comment!
How would I bake this if I want to make a smaller cake that serves 6 people? Which pans and bake time?
Hi Jane, if you halve the recipe, bake it in 2 x 6-inch (15cm) cake pans for about 25-30 minutes. If you’d like slightly bigger serves, use 65% of the recipe and bake it in the same 6-inch pans for about 30-35 minutes. Hope that helps!
Hi, I am making this for my bday party, becuse one of my friends can’t have egg. This sounds delish!
Wonderful, enjoy baking and let me know how you go!
Hi!! Just wondering if there is an alternative instead of coconut cream on the chocolate ganache?
Yes, you can use any dairy free cream or a smaller amount of dairy-free milk (start with 2 tablespoons and increase it a tablespoon at a time until it reaches a drip-like consistency)!
I made these as cup cakes and they turned out really well, The recipe made 20 muffin sized cup cakes, I used the frosting and decorated with mini Oreos and they looked great.
I love this recipe and have used it several times to make the larger cake complete with ganache drip and it is always very popular with everyone (including the non vegans)
Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
I’m so so stoked that you enjoyed this recipe and have made it many times! And oh my goodness, mini oreos sound fantastic and so adorable! Thanks very much for your kind feedback 🙂
Hi Anthea, recipe sounds great and I’m looking to make it. Would this recipe work for cupcakes? Or i might try as a cake but I only have one 8 inch cake tin, would it be ok to divide the recipe by 3? Thanks!
Hi Sophia, yes they would work as cupcakes! Also yes, the recipe will work divided by 3 (or even by 2 if you want a taller cake) :).
Hi.
Can I bake a cake 3-4 days before and freeze whole cake ?
Hi, the cake part can be frozen. However, when some brands of vegan butter are made into buttercream, they ‘leak’ in the freezer. If your butter doesn’t do this, you should be able to freeze it.
Hi! Will this recipe fulfill a sheet cake? I’d like to make a layered sheet cake and if ×1 can fill a sheet then I can double it for the layers.
Hi Maureen! Yes it will fill a sheet pan which is around 33 cm x 23 cm (13 in x 9 in). Doubling it for the layers sounds perfect :). Hope that helps!
Hi Anthea! I’m planning on making this for my iso birthday dinner this week, would this be okay if I halved the recipe? And do you have any biscuit recommendations? I’m thinking of using choc ripple bikkies but if there’s something better at Coles or Woollies I’m open to suggestions 🙂
Thank you!
Hi Millie! Great idea to make this for your iso bday! Yep, you can totally halve the recipe – if you don’t have a smaller cake tin, it’ll just make less layers (or 1 big one which is fine). Choc ripple are the ones I used and they worked well! Let me know how you go and happy birthday in advance!
Great, thanks so much! One more q, what butter do you recommend for frosting?
For the frosting, I’ve used Naturli’s block and Nuttelex Buttery and they both worked well :).
I made this cake for my 9 year olds birthday and it was amazing! The recipe was perfect and not too sweet. Thanks for sharing yet another brilliant recipe.
Soo glad to hear Nicola!! What a treat it’d be for a 9 year old :). Thanks for the lovely comment xo
Another excellent recipe, which works to perfection! My family labelled this a Celebration Cake, and it definitely is a bit special. Such a good recipe with accurate and clear instructions. I wasn’t sure about which vegan biscuits to use but opted for bourbon-type biscuits, which worked really well. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Aw that’s amazing Sal! Celebration cake sounds so special and love that bourbon cookies worked for this recipe :). Thanks so much for your feedback xo
Hi, I need to make an eggless cake (not vegan). Can I please use regular sugar and butter as substitutes?
Thanks 🙂
Nadine
Yes you can 🙂
Hi!! does this cake freeze well? As I am making layers in advance before I assemble them a few days later??
Yes it does! As long as you cover it very well in the freezer, it’ll be fine 🙂
Made this cake for a family party and it was a HIT ! they loved it.
Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
That’s so great to hear Elena! Thanks for such a lovely comment xo