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This easy oreo cake recipe is made in a 9×13 inch pan and is moist, fluffy, and loaded with oreos for the ultimate oreo birthday cake! There’s nothing better than a single layer cookies and cream cake topped with oreo frosting! No special equipment or skills required for this oreo sheet cake.
Ryan sent me a text around 9am saying how his co-workers were commenting how much they liked this oreo cake. I sent a text back saying.. cake at 9am? And he responded with.. it’s already gone!
There you have it, this cookies and cream sheet cake is a crowd favorite!
This recipe is a take on our cookies and cream cupcakes – I doubled the recipe and made it in a 9×13 inch pan. You know I love a good layered cake, but layer cakes aren’t only a time commitment, there can be a bit of a learning curve in the frosting process.
So I wanted to share this recipe as a 9×13 inch cake so anyone can make it! No special skills required.
I’m intentionally adding more “sheet cake” recipes to our collection. I think of a sheet cake as any cake that is made in a single pan – that could be an 8×8, 9×13, or 10.5×15.5 inch pan.
Sheet cake recipes are easy and quick, something you could make and frost in under 2 hours. Plus, a lot of that time is not active time, it includes the time the cake needs to bake and cool.
What’s the Difference Between Oreo Cake and Cookies and Cream Cake?
Nothing! They are the same cake – both use oreo chocolate wafer cookies. Oreo is simply a brand name that popularized the cookies and cream cookie we all know and love.
Ingredients
- unsalted butter: makes the cake tender and helps with leavening
- granulated sugar: adds sweetness and flavor
- egg whites: binds the cake together by providing structure
- sour cream: adds moisture and creaminess
- milk: add moisture
- vanilla extract: adds flavor
- all purpose flour: flour is necessary to build structure
- baking soda: helps to leaven and lift the batter, reacts with the sour cream
- salt: just a pinch to balance the sweetness and enhances the other flavors of the cake
- crushed oreos: necessary for a birthday oreo cake!
Cookies and Cream Frosting
- unsalted butter: provides structure for the frosting
- vanilla extract: adds flavor
- powdered sugar: adds sweetness, flavor and structure
- finely blended oreos: adds that cookies and cream flavor we all love
How to Make Oreo Cake
- In a mixing bowl combine the butter and sugar, beat using an electric mixer, 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
- Add in the egg whites, beating with mixer.
- Add in the sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat lightly with the electric mixer.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a few spoonfuls at a time.
- Add in the crushed oreos. Mix until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 40-44 minutes.
Total Time Required
- 10 minutes to prep the batter
- 45 minutes to bake the cake
- 1 hour, at least, to cool the cake
- 15 minutes to make the oreo frosting and frost the cake
For an extra fancy presentation, after I evenly spread the cookies and cream frosting over the cake, I lightly sprinkled oreo crumbs over the cake. Then I cut the cake into squares and in the center of each piece I added a buttercream swirl and a mini oreo.
Tips for Making Cake
- Properly measure the all purpose flour using the spoon and sweep method.
- Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until they are combined. Over mixing could lead to dry, dense cake.
- In the oreo frosting recipe, it calls for 1 cup of finely blended oreos. I put oreos into my blender and blended them into “oreo flour”.
- To help create clean cut lines when cutting the cake, after you frost the cake put it in the fridge for 30 minutes. This will help the buttercream harden so it isn’t as messy when you get the cake. I also wipe my knife clean after each cut. That really helps with clean cut lines.
- Store this cake covered on the counter.
More Oreo Desserts
- No Bake Oreo Pie
- Easy Oreo Cupcakes
- Oreo Cheesecake
- Oreo Ice Cream
- No Bake Oreo Cheesecake
- Oreo Angel Food Cake
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Oreo Cake
Ingredients
Oreo Cake
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, 1 cup
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 ½ cups sour cream
- ½ cup milk, I used skim
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup crushed oreos
Oreo Frosting
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, 1 1/2 cups
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup finely blended oreos
To top the cake
- Oreo crumbs and mini oreos
Instructions
Oreo CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Spray a 9×13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a mixing bowl combine the butter and sugar, beat using an electric mixer, 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Add in the egg whites, mixing with the mixer about 30 seconds. Add in the sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat lightly with the electric mixer. In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a few spoonfuls at a time. Add in the crushed oreos. Mix until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 40-44 minutes or until a few moist crumbs remain on a toothpick when inserted into the center. Allow the cake to cool completely before adding the frosting. I baked my cake in a glass pan, which is slower to heat up, meaning the baking time for a glass pan is longer than it would be for a metal pan. Those of you who have made this recipe in a metal pan are reported that 30 minutes was a good bake time for a metal pan. Remember, every oven and pan is different!
Oreo Frosting
- In a mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract. Begin to add the powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time, mixing by hand. Continue adding powdered sugar until the frosting no longer looks wet and tastes good to you. Add in the finely blended oreos (I like to call it "oreo flour"). Then I use my electric mixer one last time to make sure the powdered sugar is really incorporated and ready to go. If the frosting becomes too thick, add a dash of milk or heavy cream.
TO ASSEMBLE
- Spread the buttercream on top of the cake. Be sure to reserve some buttercream for swirls to top the cake if you’d like.
- For an extra fancy presentation, after I evenly spread the cookies & cream buttercream over the cake, I lightly sprinkled oreo crumbs on the top. Then I cut the cake into squares and in the center of each piece, I added a buttercream swirl and a mini oreo.
Do you whip egg whites first?
Hi Lauri! As the recipe states, beat the butter and sugar first, then add in the egg whites (not pre-whipped), then beat together.
Can we do this without an electric mixer?
Hi Marie! Do you have a hand mixer? It’s important to beat the butter and sugar together well.
Can you use a 9 inch round pan instead of a 9×13?
I would suggest splitting the batter between two 9 inch pans. There will be too much batter for just one pan.
I made two of these cakes for the girls who have birthdays on the same day. The cake is absolutely to die for. My son is picky and he took seconds. Instead of one cup flour, I used a box of vanilla pudding mix which amounted to just over half cup then topped that off with the flour. Bake time in a metal pan was just over 30 minutes. I used the oreo cream filling frosting recipe which is 1/2 C butter and 1/2 C shortening, 3-4 C powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Topped with mini oreos, cookies and cream candy bars and hugs.
If I wanted to make this into a round 4” mini 2 layer cake, do you know how that would change the baking time?
Very dense cake, unfortunately. Some measurement must be off, I followed the recipe with no variations.
The buttercream was way too buttery before adding the crushed oreo’s, at least that was just for a quick decoration.
For the crushed oreos, are you using the whole cookie or removing the filling?
The whole cookie with the filling!
could we get fine oreo crumbs from a blender
Yes! A blender works great for that!
Made this for my son’s 13th birthday as he loves oreos. Made in a glass pan and baked for 44 minutes as recipe suggested. A toothpick in the center came out clean and edges were turning golden brown so thought is was done. As cake cooled, the center sunk. It was raw in the middle. We tried to salvage some by eating the outside which was done but super dense. My daughter and I made this together and found difference between when to hand mix and when to use the mixer between the written directions and the videos – very confusing. Also the order of adding ingredients was different between written directions and videos. In written directions it said to stir in egg yolks with a spatula so we did but it was kind of lumpy and didn’t fully mix. For this reason I mixed extra when adding dry ingredients so we wouldn’t have lumps. I’m assuming it caused the denseness. Also, the video doesn’t show much sour cream going in but the written recipe asks for 1.5 cups – seems like a lot but followed recipe anyway hoping it would turn out. This was disappointing. Needs more clarity between videos and written directions.
Hi Jenny! I’m sorry to hear your experience with our recipe wasn’t stellar. The video does accurately follow the written recipe, including the amount of sour cream. I will update the recipe to reflect that I used my mixer to beat in the egg whites. It’s okay if there are lumps in the final batter – it’s kind of like when you make a cake from a box mix, there’s little clumps.
Hi Beth
Thanks for the recipe.
How many days does the Oreo cake stay fresh and moist?
Can I bake it 2 days before my sons party?
For the best and freshest cake, I would recommend baking it the day of. The day before the party would be okay, but I don’t recommend 2 days before!