Golden Oreo Cake
This Golden Oreo Cake consists of a moist and richly vanilla cake baked on a golden Oreo crust, with a whipped cream cheese filling and a delicious golden Oreo vanilla buttercream made with pulverized Oreo cookies!
This cake is a take on my Smash Cake Recipe, which is a moist and delicious vanilla cake. I love that this cake is baked on a golden Oreo version of my Oreo Crust because not only does it bring in more of that flavor, but the crust component of cakes is fun for the varying texture. My Oreo Red Velvet Cake and Biscoff Caramel Cake recipes are made with a crust and I love them for that same reason!
Why This Recipe Works
- Multiple uses of the golden Oreos! I really wanted golden Oreos represented in this cake! Some cakes I’ve seen only use pieces of the Oreos in between the layers and that’s it! For me, that wasn’t enough. The cake layers are baked on a crust made from golden Oreos, then the buttercream incorporates pulverized golden Oreos in order to really bring that vanilla Oreo flavor to the cake!
- Extra vanilla flavoring. The vanilla cake layers and the Oreo buttercream have extra vanilla extract to enhance the flavor.
- Golden Oreo flavor heaven. Taking the previous bullet points, you can see why we are in golden Oreo heaven with this cake! Not only do we have a ton of Oreos we use in two different elements in the cake, but we have additional vanilla flavoring in order to really bring out that delicious vanilla cookie flavor!
Ingredient Notes
- Golden Oreos: For the crust, you’ll need the Oreos to be crushed into crumbs. For the buttercream, you should put the golden Oreos in a food processor in order to get the finest texture.
- Cake Flour & All- Purpose Flour: We use a mix of cake flour and all purpose flour in this cake recipe. Cake flour is milled to a finer texture then regular flour and is lower protein so it keeps cake lighter.
- Vanilla Extract: This golden Oreo cake recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract. This helps enhance the vanilla flavor so it’s really prominent and tastes like a golden Oreo! The golden Oreo buttercream uses 1 tablespoon of vanilla for the same reason — to bring out the vanilla cookie flavor.
- Sour Cream: This is an additional source of fat to result in a super moist cake.
- Cream Cheese: Let the cream cheese sit out for a few hours to really come to room temperature. This will help it mix up smoothly.
- Heavy Cream: The cream cheese filling will use heavy cream to help whip up in to a light, fluffy and creamy filling. Then you’ll also use about 5 tablespoons of heavy cream in the golden Oreo cake buttercream. The buttercream includes golden Oreos that have been pulverized into a fine powder so it causes the frosting to be thicker, resulting in needing a bit more liquid.
- Powdered Sugar: Measure the powdered sugar and then sift it for the smoothes texture. You’ll need powdered sugar for the filling and the frosting.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Make the golden Oreo crust. Pulverize the golden Oreos int crumbs in a food processor (including the Oreo filling). Combine crust, sugar, and melted butter in a bowl and mix until combined. Press the crust into the bottom of three 6-inch round cake pans that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, lined with a circle of parchment paper on the bottom of the pan, and sprayed again. Bake at 325° F for 3 minutes. Remove and let cool.
- Make the golden Oreo cake batter. Sift flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a stand mixer bowl. Add 2 T of butter at a time while mixing on low until the mixture resembles course sand. Whisk together the milk, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup. Pour wet ingredients into the stand mixer bowl while mixing on low. Mix for 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and then add the sour cream. Mix until just combined.
- Bake the golden Oreo cake. Pour the batter into the pans on top pro the Oreo crust. Bake at 325° F for 30-36 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the whipped cream cheese filling. Combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Add 1/4 cup of the whipped cream to the cream cheese bowl and gently fold the cream in. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
- Make the golden Oreo buttercream frosting. Beat the butter and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth and light in color and texture. Add the powdered sugar, 1-2 cups at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla and a tablespoon of heavy cream as needed to keep the frosting smooth a mixable. Once all the powdered sugar and cream is added, add the Oreo crumbs until and mix until incorporated.
- Assemble the golden Oreo cake! Spread a thin layer of the golden Oreo buttercream on top of one of the cake layers (crust side down). Pipe a rim of buttercream around the perimeter to create a dam. Add 1/3-1/2 cup of the filling and spread in an even layer. Repeat with the next cake layer. Place the last cake layer on top (crust side down) and crumb coat the cake. Chill in the fridge or freezer until the buttercream is cold.
- Decorate. Remove the cake from the freezer or fridge and frost the entire cake. Top with swirls of buttercream and golden Oreos! Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Gently run a butter knife through the cake batter once all the ingredients have been combined. This will help to break up any large air bubbles.
To keep the cake layers from sliding around as you assemble and frost the cake, place a dollop of buttercream on the cake board prior to adding the first layer of cake.
When making the Oreo crumbs and Oreo powder, keep the filling in the Oreos in when crushing or pulverizing.
The golden Oreo ultra fine crumbs for the buttercream should be small like sand. This will give the buttercream a delicious golden Oreo flavor. It will also make the buttercream a bit thicker, which is why the recipe calls for 5 tablespoons of heavy cream.
Piping the rim of buttercream on the cake layers will keep the filling in when assembling and frosting.
Check out my collection of delicious 6-Inch Cake Recipes!
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
If making in advance, wrap cake layers in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 2 weeks until ready to use.
Store leftover whipped cream cheese filing in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
The buttercream can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Remove and let come to room temperature and then beat again to return to a smooth texture.
You can make this cake ahead of time and freeze the entire cake or freeze the different elements. See my Storing and Freezing Cakes post for more details.
I have a post on How to Store and Freeze Cakes for any additional questions you may have. There are also a bunch of tips there too!
Recipe FAQs
Golden Oreos are a vanilla version of the the classic Oreos.
The buttercream will have a bit thicker texture to it due to the pulverized Oreos in the frosting. However, if you are seeing chunks or large crumb pieces, then the Oreos weren’t pulverized enough. You want the cookies to turn into a fine sand.
The biggest culprit for a dry cake is over baking. Remove the cake when a toothpick in the center of the cake layer comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. You don’t want to pull the cakes out too soon though or they will sink. Keep an eye on them!
If you under stirred or over stirred the cake batter, that can cause the cake to sink. You can also get sinking cakes if you remove the cake from the oven too early.
I’ve seen other cake recipes include the chunks of golden Oreos in the cake layers (baked in) and between the cake layers on top of the filling. I wouldn’t add chunks of golden Oreo cookies to the cake batter because this recipe wasn’t formulated with that in mind so it could affect the bake. And while you can add pieces of Oreos in between the cake layers on top of the filling, you don’t really need it because you have the golden Oreo crust!
More Cake Recipes
- Butterscotch Cake
- Coconut Cookies and Cream Cake
- Funfetti Cake Recipe
- S’mores Cake
- Harry Potter Birthday Cake
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Golden Oreo Cake
Ingredients
Golden Oreo Crust
- 2 1/3 cup crushed Golden Oreo crumbs - about 25 Oreos
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Golden Oreo Cake
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter - room temperature
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup milk - room temperature
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup sour cream - at room temperature (full-fat or light will be fine)
Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 oz cream cheese - softened
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Golden Oreo Buttercream
- 2 1/2 cups unsalted butter - set at room temperature for about 15 minutes, the butter should be semi-soft but still cold.
- 8 cups powdered sugar - measured, then sifted
- pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons heavy cream
- 10 Golden Oreos - pulverized into a fine powder in a food processor
Instructions
Golden Oreo Crust
- Preheat oven to 325° F. Prepare three 6-inch round cake pans by lightly coating with nonstick spray, lining the bottom with parchment paper, and spraying again.
- Place the Golden Oreo cookies (do not remove the cream filling) in a food processor and pulverize until fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a medium sized bowl. Add the sugar and melted butter to the Oreo crumbs, stir to combine.
- Divide the mixture evenly between three 6-inch round cake pans and press into the bottom of each pan. Bake for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Golden Oreo Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Sift the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- With mixer on low speed add butter, 2 T at a time. Mix until it resembles coarse sand, about 1 minute.
- In a large liquid measuring cup combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- With the mixer on low, pour the liquid ingredients into the stand mixer. Mix on medium speed for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the sour cream. Mix on medium speed for 20-30 more seconds. Gently run a butter knife through the batter to break up any large air bubbles.
- Pour into cake pans, directly on top of the par-baked oreo crust. Bake for 30-36 mins or until done and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs but no batter.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning them out on a wire rack to cool completely. If making in advance, wrap cake layers in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 2 weeks until ready to use.
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Take ¼ cup of the whipped cream and mix it with the cream cheese mixture.
- Gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and refrigerate until ready to use.
Golden Oreo Buttercream
- Beat butter and a pinch of salt until it’s smooth and light in texture and color.
- Add the powdered sugar, about 2 cups at a time, making sure to mix well before adding more. Add vanilla. Add a tablespoon of heavy cream as needed to keep the frosting smooth and not too stiff.
- Repeat until all powdered sugar and cream are added. Mix in Oreo crumbs until they’re evenly incorporated.
Assembly
- Place a cake layer, crust side down, on a cake board or stand. Spread a thin layer of Golden Oreo buttercream evenly over the cake.
- Pipe a rim of buttercream around the top to create a dam, and add 1/3-1/2 cup cream cheese filling.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the second layer of cake, placing the second cake layer (crust side down) on top of the first layer.
- Place the third cake layer on top (crust side down) and crumb coat the entire cake in a thin layer of buttercream. Refrigerate or freeze for a few minutes, until the buttercream is cold and no longer soft.
- Add the final layer of frosting around the entire cake. Add additional decoration as desired.
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11 Comments on “Golden Oreo Cake”
This cake sounds DELICIOUS! I saw where you said not to remove the cream interior of the Oreos for the bottom crust of each cake layer, but do they need to be removed before putting them into the frosting? Thank you.
Rachel, you do not need to remove the cream filling for the frosting, just make sure you get the Oreo crumbs for the frosting super fine. Thanks for checking! I hope this cake turns out for you – it really is delicious!
How do I adjust if I have 8″ cake pans? Fewer layers?
I would do two 8-inch round cake pans.
This review is just for the cake + crumb layer, as I used a different frosting recipe.
This cake was the hit of the party. Incredible. I’ve made dozens of cakes and have never made a crusted cake layer before and I have to say the texture and flavor of that buttery, crispy layer between creamy frosting and fluffy cake was DIVINE. It took the best parts of the golden oreo and really embodied it in this cake.
The cake recipient told me they would nominate me for Bakeoff because of this cake. So, thank you for an amazing recipe!!
Love to hear this, Alessandra! So happy it was a huge hit. Thanks for the 5-star rating!
Hi! I am super excited to make this but I am wondering if I could sub something for the cream cheese filling? My kids are not cream cheese fans 🫢thank you!!
Hi Jenn! It’s a very subtle cream cheese flavor, especially when you eat the cake as a whole. There are so many different flavors and elements, that it shouldn’t be a problem — plus it’s just 4 oz of cream cheese paired with 1/2 cup cream, so it’s more like a whipped cream filling with an undertone of cream cheese. I would recommend making it as is and presenting it as a whipped cream filling so your kiddos don’t get to focused on trying to find the cream cheese flavor. I bet they won’t even be able to tell! If you are super worried about it, mascarpone is a close cousin to cream cheese. However, I have NOT made the filling with mascarpone so I can’t guarantee it will taste as yummy.
Thank you for the reply, I will make it as is! Thanks!!
Golden Oreo cake
I know for the Oreo crust you leave the filling in the Oreo cookie when crushing them. Do you the same for the buttercream or do you remove the filling in the Oreos?
Great question. I always keep the filling in the Oreo’s when crushing them.