Easy Vanilla Cookies & Cream Cake
This cookies and cream cake is three layers of tender, vanilla based cake loaded with crushed Oreos and frosted with a dreamy cookies and cream buttercream. Make it into a sheet or layer cake for the ultimate birthday cake for any Oreo lover in your life.
This cake has a really sweet (pun intended) reason behind why I created it. My daughter’s best friend requested it for her 11th birthday, and as a professional baker, I wanted to make her something really special.
I made it into a 9×13 sheet cake version for the party, and honestly? It was so good that I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
So I came back to the kitchen and turned it into this elevated layer cake version you’re looking at right now. Three layers of Oreo Cake with crushed cookies baked right into the batter, all topped with an Oreo buttercream frosting.
I tweaked the base vanilla cake from my vanilla cupcake recipe because of how tender the cake is. But instead of using full eggs I used only egg whites to keep the batter on the whiter side. I then added in some sour cream to add back some fat and moisture but still keep it white!
The result is an incredibly tender cake that almost melts in your mouth when you bite into it.
If you’re a cookies and cream person (and if you’re not, are you even okay?), this cake is going to be your new obsession.
Having a big party? Make these oreo cupcakes too!
Making the recipe
The thing that sets this cake apart is the use of cake flour instead of all-purpose. As a trained pastry chef, I am a huge believer in using the right flour for the job, and for a cake like this, cake flour is the move.
It has less protein than all-purpose, which means less gluten development, which means a more tender, delicate crumb. For a cookies and cream cake where you have Oreo pieces baked into the batter, that tenderness really matters, it balances out the crunch of the cookies beautifully.
The batter comes together really easily. The key things to remember are: use room temperature ingredients (this is non-negotiable — cold butter or eggs will mess with the texture of the batter), and don’t over-mix once you add the flour.
Assembly
Once the cakes are cool, its time to frost. I like to use a turn table to make this easy but a large round plate works too.
Take one cake layer and turn it upside down so that the bottom is now the top- this is a tip all the pros use because now the top of the cake is super straight. If theres any doming from when the cake came out of the oven you can level it off as best you can.
Frost the cake then repeat with remaining layers and frost the outside. Don’t forget to decorate with more Oreos!
Easy Vanilla Cookies and Cream Cake
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup butter, unsalted and softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 5 egg whites
- 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk
- 10 Oreo’s , roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and take out 3, 9” round cake pans or a 9×13 pan.
- In a medium size bowl combine the 3 1/2 cups cake flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp kosher salt. Whisk until combined. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light pale and fluffy.
- Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer on low speed slowly pour in the egg whites and the 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract.
- Next combine the 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 cup milk together and mix.
- Add in 1/3rd of the dry ingredients, then half of the wet ingredients and alternate, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Mix on medium speed for 30 seconds to combine.
- Stop the mixer and add in the chopped Oreos by hand with a spatula. Gently fold the Oreos into the batter, taking care not to over mix to avoid a gray batter.
- Spray the pans with baking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Evenly distribute the batter into the 3 pans.
- Bake for 32-34 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10-15 mins then overturn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Fill and frost with Oreo frosting.
