Cookies and Cream Cake

This cookies and cream cake turns a favorite chocolate cookie into a super decadent layer cake! It has rich chocolate cake layers frosted with fluffy homemade buttercream and filled with Oreo frosting inside. You only need two round pans!

I love looking to my favorite treats and desserts for layer cake inspiration. Try this Neapolitan cake and this triple-decker cannoli cake, next!

Why You’ll Love This Cookies and Cream Cake

I turned my son’s love for Oreo cookies into a decadent quadruple-layer cookies and cream cake! You only need a few easy ingredients and two round pans to make it. Here’s why you’ll love it:

• Layers of Oreo goodness. This cake combines extra-fudgy chocolate cake layers with the fluffiest chocolate cookie-filled frosting, finished off with a generous coating of vanilla buttercream. I couldn’t resist decorating it with extra Oreos, too.
• Easy to make. Don’t let the idea of a 4-layer cake intimidate you. You can make this cake with two round cake pans. I’ll show you how to halve and stack the cakes, and it’s great practice if you’re just getting into making layer cakes.
• Versatile. Of course, if you’re not up for the task of making a layer cake, don’t let that stop you either! Make chocolate cupcakes smothered with cookies and cream frosting instead.

Ingredients You’ll Need

This cookies and cream cake is not for the faint of heart: it’s a rich and chocolatey, Oreo lover’s dream! And it will 100% satisfy any craving for chocolate or cookies. And the best part is, you don’t need anything fancy to make it. 

I’ve included some notes on the cake and frosting ingredients here, and be sure to scroll to the recipe card for a printable list with amounts.

For the Chocolate Cake

• Butter – Brought to room temperature.
• Sugar – I like to use both white and brown sugar, but you can use all of one or the other if you’d like.
• Eggs and Vanilla – It’s worthwhile to bring your eggs to room temperature, too. For the best flavor, stick with real vanilla extract over imitation.
• Buttermilk – Yes, buttermilk in chocolate cake! It brings all sorts of moisture and a touch of tanginess to the crumb. If you don’t have any, make a homemade substitute with regular milk and white vinegar (or lemon juice).
• Sour Cream – Along with buttermilk, sour cream is the second secret to moist chocolate cake. If you don’t have it, use Greek yogurt instead.
• Brewed Coffee – Rounding out our trio of “secret” ingredients for the perfect chocolate cake is a smidge of coffee, or espresso, to bloom the chocolate flavors. I use instant coffee, but any brewed coffee works. If you’d prefer a caffeine-free cake, however, use milk instead.
• Dry Ingredients – These are your baking essentials, like all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Cocoa Powder – My first choice is always Hershey’s Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder, but you can use any cocoa powder in the pantry.

For the Buttercream Frosting

• Butter – Like the butter you use to make the cake, you’ll want your frosting butter at room- temperature for easy whipping.
• Shortening – I use vegetable shortening, like Crisco.
• Powdered Sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar. Measure out the powdered sugar first, and then sift it.
• Heavy Cream – The creamiest buttercream frosting calls for full-fat heavy whipping cream. You can use whole milk, but the texture won’t be quite as rich.
• Vanilla – Again, go for the real kind and not artificial vanilla. 
• Oreos – A portion of your frosting will be filled with crushed Oreo cookies, so you’ll need about ⅔ of a package. Alternatively, use any store-brand chocolate sandwich cookies, whichever you have on hand.

How to Make a Cookies and Cream Layer Cake

Here is an overview of the steps to make this fudgy cookies and cream cake. Scroll to the recipe card for printable instructions. 

• Get your batter ingredients ready. You’ll cream the butter and sugar with eggs and vanilla in one bowl. Sift the dry ingredients into a second bowl, and in a third bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee.

• Combine. Next, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture, alternating with the buttermilk mixture, until the batter is smooth. 

• Fill the pans. Transfer the chocolate cake batter to two 8” greased and lined baking pans.
• Bake. Bake the cakes in a 350ºF oven for 20-25 minutes, until they’re set in the center. After, let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing them to a wire rack. The cakes will need to cool completely before you can frost them.

Make the Frosting

I like to use my stand mixer when making frosting, but you can use a handheld mixer, too. To make your vanilla buttercream, beat butter and shortening for a few minutes, then slowly add powdered sugar. Lastly, beat in heavy cream and a dash of vanilla. Increase the mixer speed until the frosting forms whipped, stiff peaks.

Set aside about 2 cups of your prepared buttercream for frosting the cake. Combine the rest of the frosting with crushed Oreos to make the filling for the cake.

Assemble Your Cookies and Cream Cake

If you’re new to making layer cakes, you can check out my perfect chocolate layer cake for tips. You’ll find that if you can make a single-layer cake, adding another layer (or three) is easier than you think! Let’s assemble this cookies and cream cake:

• Prepare the layers. Use a serrated knife to halve each baked cake horizontally, so that you end up with 4 thin layers.
• Stack the cake. Spread Oreo frosting generously over the first chocolate cake layer, stack the second cake over top, and repeat two more times. Finish with the fourth and final cake layer.
• Frost. Finally, use the vanilla buttercream set aside earlier to frost the sides and top of the cake. I used a piping bag to make a few swirls, plus extra Oreos to decorate. Get as creative as you’d like! If you’re feeling fancy, drizzle the finished cake with an easy pourable chocolate ganache.

Tips for Success

• Prep the pans well. I recommend greasing the cake pans with nonstick spray, but you can use butter (or shortening) as well, lining the bottoms with parchment paper, and then greasing and flouring the whole pan. It’s just extra insurance to avoid a cake getting stuck.
• Don’t overmix. This chocolate cake is dense and fudgy as it is, so be careful not to overmix the cake batter. Mix just until the dry ingredients and wet batter come together. Overworking the batter will lead to deflated, overly dense layers.
• Crush the Oreos. You can do this in your food processor, or you can crush the cookies up using a sturdy zip-top freezer bag and a rolling pin. I like to leave a few larger cookie chunks for texture.  
• Test for doneness. Cakes are finished baking when a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs attached.
• Make a 2-layer cake. If you’d prefer to make a 2-layer cookies and cream cake instead, skip the step where you trim the cakes in half. You can also reduce the amount of Oreo frosting since you’ll only be filling in between the two layers.

Can I Make Cupcakes Instead?

Sure! This recipe makes enough batter for an 8” layer cake or approximately 15 cookies and cream cupcakes. Cupcakes require less baking time than cakes, so I’d use a toothpick to test for doneness after about 17 minutes and go from there. I also have an easy chocolate cupcakes recipe that you can refer to.

You’ll also need to scale up the frosting, whether you add Oreos or not. I recommend doubling the recipe just to be safe. It’s always better to have too much frosting than too little!

Proper Storage

• To store. This cookies and cream layer cake can be stored in an airtight container or cake carrier for up to 3 days at room temperature. It’s also fine to keep in the fridge, though I recommend bringing the cake back to room temperature for serving.
• Freeze. If you’re planning to freeze the cake, the best way to do it is before assembling and frosting. Wrap the baked and cooled cake layers tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge before assembling.

More Cake Recipes

• Samoas Bundt Cake
• Pumpkin S’mores Cake
• Insane Peanut Butter Cup Cake
• Chocolate Poke Cake

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