Vegan Oreo Cake

This vegan Oreo cake is soft, moist, and layered with a delicious Oreo buttercream frosting!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 25

Bake Time 23

Total Time 48

Servings slices

Calories 545kcal

Author Gabby

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

US Customary - Metric

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