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Vegan Oreo Cake

Published on . Last updated on . By . 26 Comments

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This vegan Oreo cake is an absolute dream! The chocolate cake is soft, moist, and layered with an Oreo buttercream frosting that is full of the crushed up cookies. It's dairy free, egg free, and so easy to make!

a slice of vegan oreo cake on a plate
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This chocolate Oreo cake has been my go-to cake since I was a teen. It's so simple, yet so delicious and feels more exciting than a regular chocolate cake (although I never get sick of a good vegan chocolate cake). This chocolate layer cake is moist (sorry if you hate that word), soft, and fluffy, and it isn't too rich - so it lets the Oreo cookies shine!

I made this for a friend recently and she told me that between two people, they finished the entire thing in a weekend. When I told her it was vegan, she didn't even believe me! Yep - it's that good! So if you love Oreos and you love cake, this one's for you!

a vegan oreo cake on a tray with oreos on top

Why This Vegan Oreo Cake Works

  • The vegan chocolate cake uses oil instead of butter, which is what makes it super moist and soft!
  • The Oreo buttercream frosting uses crushed up cookies with the filling included, so it tastes just like the Oreo cookie in buttercream form.
  • This cake makes thick chocolate cake layers in two 8 inch pans, but can also be easily baked as a sheet cake. You can even use this recipe to make vegan Oreo cupcakes!
  • The chocolate cake on its own isn't too sweet, which provides a perfect balance to the sweetness of the Oreo buttercream frosting.
  • It's so easy to make - you don't even need a mixer for the chocolate cake!
a slice of vegan oreo cake on a plate

Ingredient Notes

This vegan cookies and cream cake requires only staple pantry ingredients, nothing fancy! A few notes about the ingredients:

  • Vegetable Shortening: The vegan Oreo frosting uses vegetable shortening as well as vegan butter. You can replace the shortening with more vegan butter, but the shortening really helps to create a buttercream that holds it's shape at room temperature and doesn't melt.
  • Oreos: Although the Oreos are crushed up before they go into the buttercream, I recommend using actual Oreo cookies instead of store-bought Oreo crumbs. You get more big chunks of Oreo's and the filling makes the buttercream taste just like Oreo cookies!
  • Oil: I use vegetable oil in this recipe, but you can use any neutral-tasting oil.
  • Milk: I usually bake cakes with unsweetened soy or almond milk, but you can use any vegan milk you have on hand.
  • ingredients to make vegan oreo cake
    Ingredients to make Vegan Oreo Cake
  • ingredients to make oreo buttercream
    Ingredients to make Oreo buttercream

Step By Step Instructions

STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare two 8 inch round cake pans. Spray the inside with cooking spray, then cut round pieces of parchment paper so that they fit in the bottom of each pan. Set aside.

STEP TWO: Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Pour in all the wet ingredients and mix until no lumps remain.

step by step instructions showing how to make vegan oreo cake

STEP THREE:  Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, then bake for 16-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans while you make the buttercream.

  • cake pan prepared with parchment paper
    Prepared cake pans
  • vegan oreo cake batter in a round cake pan
    Cake pans with cake batter

STEP FOUR: Crush the Oreo cookies up (filling included) using a blender, food processor, or by putting them in a bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. You can crush them up as much as you'd like. I like to use a mix of crumbs with some big chunks as well. Set aside.

STEP FIVE: Add vegetable shortening and vegan butter to a bowl and use a handheld mixer or standing mixer to beat them together until smooth. Add in the vanilla and salt.

STEP SIX: Add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until desired consistency is reached. If the buttercream is too thick, you can add 1 teaspoon of milk to thin it out.

STEP SEVEN: Mix the Oreo crumbs and chunks into the buttercream. I like to first mix in the fine crumbs then add the larger chopped up pieces and give it one more quick mix. Cover and refrigerate until the cakes have completely cooled. Assemble the cake layers (tips below) and enjoy!

step by step instructions showing how to make vegan oreo buttercream

Assembling the cake

I will be the first to admit that I'm not a cake decorator, but here is how I assemble this vegan Oreo cake:

  1. Once the cakes have cooled completely, remove them from the pan and use a serrated knife to level out the tops.
  2. Place the thickest cake on your cake board, cake plate, or cake stand and place a large dollop of frosting on top. Spread it around evenly, stopping around an inch before you get to the edge.
  3. Place the second cake layer on top, then place the cake in the freezer for 15 minutes.
  4. Frost the outside of the cake using the back of an offset spatula. Use a bench scraper to smooth it out (this buttercream has a lot of Oreo cookie crumbs and chunks so it is harder to smooth out and won't be completely smooth unless you've ground the cookies very finely).
  5. Frost the top of the cake and then decorate with more Oreo crumbs, chopped up Oreos, and/or whole Oreos if desired.

I learned a lot from this cake decorating tutorial. I don't follow every step for all my cakes (for example, I don't usually do a crumb coat for this Oreo chocolate cake, since the end result isn't a smooth frosting, but rather a frosting full of cookie pieces). But the post provides a great visual if you want to learn how to frost cakes in general!

a slice of vegan oreo cake on a plate

FAQs and Expert Tips

Can I make prepare the cake ahead of time?

Yes! You can make the buttercream a few days before if you'd like. Just leave it covered in the fridge and then let it soften a bit at room temperature and give it a quick stir when you're ready to frost the cake.

The cake layers can be made up to 2 days ahead of time as well, although they cake is fluffier and much moister in the first 1-2 days. Once the cakes have cooled, remove them from the pans and wrap them tightly in ceran/plastic wrap and then place them in a large ziploc bag. You can then freeze them to keep them fresh and thaw for 8 hours in the fridge before frosting.

It is best to wait until the day you are going to serve the cake to assemble and frost it.

Can I make these into vegan Oreo cupcakes?

You sure can! This recipe will make around 20-24 cupcakes. Fill the liners ⅔ of the way full and bake around 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

You might end up with some leftover frosting, but it can be frozen (instructions below).

Can I make this in a 9x13 pan?

Yes. To make this into an Oreo sheet cake, pour the batter into the prepared 9x13 pan. Check on it after around 20 minutes. It's ready when a toothpick stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

You will only need around half of the amount of Oreo buttercream if making this recipe as a sheet cake.

Can I make this into a 3 layer cake?

Yep! These cake layers are pretty thick, so an easy way to make this cake into a three tiered cake is to just divide the batter between 3 pans. Note that the layers will be thinner than the ones in these pictures, since the batter is being divided between 3 pans instead of 2.

Alternatively, you can also times the recipe by half.

Can I use Oreo crumbs instead of Oreo cookies?

You can, but Oreo cookies work way better in my opinion. Oreo crumbs can be a bit too fine, and I think this cake tastes best with some chunks of cookie left in the buttercream. The crumbs also don't have the filling part of the Oreo, which is the best part!

a slice of vegan oreo cake on a plate

Expert Tips

  • Don't skip the parchment on the bottom! This is the only way I've ever been able to get my cakes easily out of the cake pans. Just place the cake pan on a piece of parchment and then trace it out and cut a perfect circle of parchment out. Here is a quick tutorial for a similar method.
  • Please properly measure your flour and cocoa powder using either a kitchen scale or using the scoop and level method. If you want to ensure a moist cake, you have to measure your flour the right way!
  • Let the cakes cool completely on a cooling rack before attempting to remove them from the pan. I also recommend running a butter knife around the outside of the cake before removing it from the pan.
  • To remove the cakes from the pan, flip the pan upside down onto the cooling rack. This helps to flatten the top of the cake.
  • If you are like me and you want Oreo cookie chunks in your frosting, then the cake isn't going to be completely smooth. If you're going for a smooth look, grind the Oreos up really fine.
a slice of vegan oreo cake on a plate

Storage and Freezing Instructions

Cakes tend to dry out in the fridge, so I recommend this cake be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days. Just make sure it's covered (I use a cake carrier).

If you didn't use vegetable shortening in the buttercream, it might get meltey depending on the vegan butter you use. It's best to wait to frost the cake until close to when you will be serving it.

Freeze any leftover buttercream in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge then mix it up using a handheld or standing mixer before using it.

vegan oreo cake with text overlay for pinterest

MORE VEGAN RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE

If you make this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!

a slice of vegan oreo cake on a plate

Vegan Oreo Cake

Gabby
This vegan Oreo cake is soft, moist, and layered with a delicious Oreo buttercream frosting!
5 from 8 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 mins
Bake Time 23 mins
Total Time 48 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 15 slices
Calories 400 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

Chocolate Cake

  • 2½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 1 cup vegan milk
  • ½ cup vegetable oil (or other neutral oil like canola oil)
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup water

Oreo Buttercream Frosting

  • 1¼ cup vegan butter, softened
  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp vegetable shortening* SEE NOTES
  • 2½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3¾-4¼ cup powdered sugar
  • 20 Oreo cookies + more for decorating

Instructions
 

Vegan Chocolate Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two 8 inch round cake pans by spraying the insides with cooking spray and cutting round pieces of parchment paper to line the bottoms of the pans.*(SEE NOTES) Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk together until most clumps are gone.
  • Add in the milk, water, oil, vanilla extract, and vinegar and mix until lumps are gone.
  • Evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake for 18-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  • Place the cake pans on a cooling rack and leave the cakes in the pans until they've cooled completely. When removing the cakes from the pans, run a knife around the edges and turn them upside down onto the cooling rack. While they cool, make the buttercream.

Oreo Buttercream Frosting

  • Leave the filling in the Oreos and crush them up using a blender or food processor. You can also put them in a ziploc bag and go over them with a rolling pin. Set the crushed Oreos aside.
  • In a medium bowl, use a handheld mixer or standing mixer to mix the vegetable shortening and vegan butter together until they are smooth. If there are a few small chunks of shortening you can smooth them out using a spatula.
  • Add in the vanilla extract and salt, then slowly add in the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time until it reaches your desired consistency. If it seems too thick, add in about 1-2 teaspoon of milk to thin it out.
  • Mix in the crushed Oreos and chill covered in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the cakes.

Assembling the Cake

  • Remove the (completely cooled) cakes from the pans. Run a butterknife around the edges of the cake to make this easier.
  • Use a serrated knife to flatten the top of the cakes if they have domed. This will create a more even, upright cake.
  • Place the thickest cake on the cake plate, cake stand, or cake board and top it will buttercream. Spread the frosting towards the edges of the cake, leaving about and inch of space before it reaches the edges.
  • Place the second layer of cake on top, then freeze the cake for 15 minutes (this is optional). Use the back of an offset spatula to frost the outside of the cake, then smooth it out with a bench scraper. Unless you ground the Oreos up really fine, the frosting won't be completely smooth because of the cookie chunks.
  • Frost the top of the cake and then top with more Oreo crumbs, big pieces of Oreo cookie, and/or whole Oreos if desired.

Notes

PLEASE NOTE: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your dry ingredients. Metric measurements are found above under the "Metric" tab.
PREPARING THE CAKE PANS: I strongly recommend lining the bottom of the cake pans with parchment paper rounds. I do this with all my layer cakes, because if I don't theres a good chance the cake could break coming out of the pan. 
CRUSHING THE OREOS: I like this buttercream with a mix of semi-fine crushed Oreos with some bigger chunks as well. For a smoother buttercream, crush the Oreos until they are very fine. 
VEGETABLE SHORTENING: Vegetable shortening helps the buttercream to hold its shape at room temperature. It can be replaced at 1:1 ratio with more vegan butter, but the buttercream texture may be different depending on which vegan butter you use.
MEASURING FLOUR: Please properly measure your flour and cocoa powder using either a kitchen scale or using the scoop and level method
PAN SIZES:
9x13 rectangular pan: To make this into an Oreo sheet cake, pour the batter into the prepared 9x13 pan. Check on it after around 15 minutes. It's ready when a toothpick stuck in the middle of the cake comes out clean. You will only need around half of the amount of Oreo buttercream if making this recipe as a sheet cake.
9 inch round cake pans: This recipe can be made in two 9 inch round cakes. The cake layers will be thinner and will bake quicker. Check on them at around 15 minutes.
6 inch round cake pans: This recipe will make three 6 inch round cakes. The cakes will bake quicker - so check on them at around 15 minutes.
OREO CUPCAKES: This recipe will make 20-24 cupcakes. Fill the liners ⅔ of the way full and bake around 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Storage and Freezing Instructions: The assembled cake should be covered and stored at room temperature for 3-4 days, but will be freshest the day it's assembled.
Leftover buttercream can be frozen in an airtight container for around 2 months. When ready to use, just thaw it in the fridge and re-whip it.
Instructions for preparing ahead of time: see FAQ's in post above

Nutrition

Calories: 400kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

The calorie information provided for this recipe is an estimate. The accuracy of the calories listed is not guaranteed.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lea

    5 stars
    I don't usually comment on recipes, but I just HAD to after making this cake! I made it for a birthday party and absolutely everyone devoured it and thoroughly enjoyed it. I appreciated the accolades for my efforts, it did wonders for my ego! I did sub cold coffee for the water for a richer chocolate flavour, and used apple cider vinegar instead of white. I loved that the cake wasn't overly sweet, it definitely helped with the icing which was smooth, rich, and decadent. "This satisfied cravings I didn't even know I had" was probably my favourite feedback. 10/10 would make again.

    Reply

    • Gabby

      Hi Lea! Wow, this totally made my day! I am SO happy that the Oreo cake was such a hit!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review 😀

      Reply

  2. Grace

    I was hoping to make this ahead of time and have to travel with it for a few hours, and was wondering if you’ve experienced any troubles with freezing it? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Gabby

      Hi Grace! I have successfully frozen the buttercream and the cake, but if you can freeze them separately before travel and then assemble it, that might be best. If you are only going to be travelling for a few hours though, it shouldn't need to be frozen during travel unless the temperature is going to be really warm. I hope that helps!

      Reply

  3. Hajar

    5 stars
    I’ve made this recipe twice now and each time, within the hour, it’s been demolished by all eating, vegans and non-vegans alike. The sponge is amazingly soft and (although I hate that word) very very moist. It’s also not too sweet, so pairs very well with the Oreo buttercream. A winner for sure, with easy pantry items on hand.

    Reply

    • Gabby

      Hi Hajar! YAY! I am so happy to hear how much you love the recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review 😀

      Reply

  4. Dayne

    Hello! This looks delicious, can you substitute for non-vegan options?

    Reply

    • Gabby

      Hi Dayne! Absolutely you can! No need to add any eggs, but you can swap the vegan milk for your milk of choice in the cake, and for the buttercream you can use all regular butter (instead of half vegan butter and half shortening). Enjoy! 🙂

      Reply

      • Ann

        Gabby,
        Can we substitute the vegan butter and shortening for all shortening, like crisco? Or coconut oil? The only vegan butter around here is like Earth Balance and I think that would be kind of watery.

      • Gabby

        Hi Ann! Softened Earth balance will work perfectly! The vegetable shortening combined with the vegan butter helps the buttercream to hold its shape more than vegan butter alone. All shortening would work too but I don't recommend it, since the flavor would be pure shortening flavor.

  5. Beatrice

    My friend and I chose to make this cake for our birthday party after seeing how gorgeous and delicious it looked on Instagram and it didn't disappoint! Simple ingredients, super easy recipe and well detailed and the oreo buttercream was to die for! Everyone loved it and complimented us. 100% would recommend.

    Reply

    • Gabby

      Hi Beatrice! Yay! I am so happy to hear that the Oreo cake was a hit and that you found the recipe easy to follow - thank you so much for making it a part of your birthday celebrations! 😀

      Reply

      • Lily

        This cake turned out amazing! Great simple and quick recipe. Thank you!
        I just wondered if I omit the cocoa powder (to make it more vanilla) will it make a big difference to the volume or size? Or would I replace the cocoa powder with flour or add less milk/water?

      • Gabby

        Hi Lily! Yay!! I am so happy to hear that you loved the Oreo Cake! 😀 To be honest I'm not sure if that change would work. If you were to omit the cocoa powder you'd need to replace it with the same weight (not volume) of dry ingredients (flour), but I think it might end up too "floury" tasting. In general I wouldn't recommend converting a chocolate cake recipe into a vanilla cake since it hasn't been tested that way and there are various other aspects of the cake that may have to be altered. Hopefully I'll have a vegan vanilla cake recipe on the blog soon though!

  6. Kat

    This cake looks INCREDIBLE and I’d love to make it, but I just wanted to let you know the metric conversion is not working on the butter + shortening measurements for the frosting. Is there any chance we could get weight measurements for them? That would be amazing. Thanks so much and stay safe! Kat

    Reply

    • Gabby

      Hi Kat! The reason that the weight of the butter isn't included is because vegan/dairy free butter weights differ a fair amount from one brand to another but 1 1/4 cup is around 275 grams, and 10 tablespoons of shortening equals around 110 grams. Enjoy! 😀

      Reply

    • Ayesha

      Hello can I use all purpose 1:1 gluten free flour?

      Reply

      • Gabby

        Hi Ayesha! I haven't tested the cake with all purpose GF 1:1 flour but I think it would work well! I'd love to hear how it goes if you try it 🙂

  7. Sharon

    Great cake, but takes far longer to cook than it says. Still liquid in the middle at 23 mins. Took 30 mins.

    Reply

    • Gabby

      Hi Sharon! I'm glad you loved the cake! Oven temperatures can vary so much, so I'm glad you were keeping an eye on it.

      Reply

  8. Chlo

    5 stars
    Okay seriously, this cake is what dreams are made of. It was devoured in our household in a matter of a day it’s THAT good. It’s chocolatey, delicious, and seriously gives non-vegan cakes a run for their money.

    Reply

    • Gabby

      Hi Chlo! I'm thrilled to hear that the Oreo Cake was a hit! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review 🙂

      Reply

  9. Rachael

    The 3/4 cup water made it runny. Is that right?

    Reply

    • Gabby

      Hi Rachael - the cake batter should be runny, yes. 3/4 cup water is correct 🙂

      Reply

      • Ann

        I wondered since the directions didn’t say anything about water but the ingredients list did!

      • Gabby

        Oops!! I have added water to the directions now - thanks for catching that!

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