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Over the weekend, we celebrated with a family birthday party. The birthday boy got to pick the dinner menu which consisted of grilled pork chops, mushroom risotto, and grilled asparagus. I got to pick the birthday cake and ending up choosing a decadent Oreo Cake.
Clearly I was not on top of my game, because when I preheated the oven to start the Oreo Cake recipe, I realized that I was out of cocoa powder, so I had to improvise because time did not permit a trip to the market for more cocoa powder. I did, however, have a box of Devil’s Food Cake in the pantry, so I went with it. After assessing my refrigerator, I decided to doctor up the cake mix to create a rich, moist and delicious Oreo Cake recipe.
Doctoring up cake mixes is not something that I do often, but it’s not something I’m totally against either. Personally I have had some pretty fabulous results from some boxed mixes and this Oreo Cake is no exception. It is truly one of the most moist, chocolaty cakes that I have ever made and the addition of the Oreo buttercream may seriously make you weak in the knees. I jazzed up the top of the cake with a little ganache which certainly added more chocolaty goodness to an already amazing cake. The scrumptious Oreo Cake is perfect for an upcoming holiday, yet simple enough for every day.
Oreo Cake
Ingredients:
For the Cake
- 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix {with or without pudding}
- 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
For the Oreo Buttercream
- 1 stick salted butter – room temperature
- 1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 pounds confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
- 3-4 tablespoons very cold milk
- 25 Oreo cookies chopped
Directions:
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottoms of (2) 9 inch round cake pans with parchment and grease pans thoroughly.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, salt vanilla, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and divide batter into the prepared pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating pans half way through baking the baking time. Bake until the top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake for at least 30 minutes before inverting. Allow cake to cool completely on wire rack.
For the Oreo Buttercream
- Cream the butters in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the vanilla extract and combine well.
- Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk… one tablespoon at a time, combining well after each addition until you reach the desired consistency.
- Fold in chopped Oreo Cookies and frost your cooled cake layers.
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How can i store this? Well it still be good next day if i put it in the fridge? Great recipe by the way!!
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for your sweet comment! It should store okay in the refrigerator for a day or two, covered in plastic wrap or in a glass cake stand with lid.
– Jamie
This looks amazing! :)
Around how long does it take to make?
Hi Amy,
I’d guess this takes about an hour from start to finish, including baking time.
– Jamie
Hi Jamie!
I just want to say that I love your blog, and I was finally able to try out this Oreo Cake recipe…It was stunningly delicious! I made a couple adjustments to the cake decoration, but otherwise followed your recipe as written. It went splendidly, and I humbly invite you to visit the post on my blog — Pass the Cocoa. Thank you so much again for the wonderful recipe, and have a happy Memorial Day!
http://passthecocoa.blogspot.com/2013/05/ultimate-oreo-cake.html
-Monica
Monica,
Thank you so much for stopping back to let me know about your experience with the cake! Have a wonderful day and thanks for following MBA!
Jamie
This looks absolutely amazing! I’m thinking about making this for Easter :)
How far in advance can I make the cake, would a day before be ok, just put it together the day of?
Can’t wait to try this!
Hope-
I am sorry I wasn’t able to get back to you before Easter. The recipe is always best the day of; however, if you need to bake the day before, you can store in an airtight container and it should taste delicious, as well. Have a great day!
-Jamie
I have made this cake for two birthdays and cupcakes for Halloween. Making it again for my friend Megan, by request! Everyone loves loves loves this cake! It’s a winner!
I made this and it was a huge hit however I’m picky myself and thought the cake was cloyingly dense. Is there any way to lighten up the texture? What if anything should I add or subtract from the recipe??
You need an entirely different recipe to make a light cake. This cake mix adaptation is meant to make a denser, more pound cake like texture with all the added fat from the sour cream and extra oil. The denser texture helps support all the chocolate chips too. You could make the cake following the box instructions and then adding just 1 cup of mini chocolate chips to the batter. First dust the chocolate chips with a little cocoa powder or flour in a ziplock bag – this will help to keep them mixed in the batter so they don’t sink to the bottom of the pan so easily.
BEST CAKE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<3<3<3<3
thankyou for this website because i needed it for a project at school
I thought this cake was just OKAY. True, the cake was very moist (I did sub Greek yogurt for the sour cream) but I found the cake had a weird after taste.. but eating it with the butter cream it was fine. I rate 3 out of 5.
Just wanted to let Christine know that the Greek Yogurt may have given the aftertaste to the Cake.
The Greek Yogurt has a stronger tartness than the regular Yogurt sold.
Try the Recipe again without the Greek Yogurt & see if that was the cause.
Happy Baking!
Well you used Greek yogurt when you should of used sour cream. That’s why the flavor was off. Next time use what it calls for instead of complaining that it tasted weird !
I made this for my sister in laws birthday and it was almost the perfect cake. The frosting was hard to spread, I wlll add more milk next time but the cake was so moist, so rich I was shocked that was from a doctored boxed cake. I will be making this again…hopefully not too soon as I’m trying to still lose baby weight! lol