Golden Oreo cake layers with a delicious cookie buttercream and a simple white chocolate ganache. The vanilla version of your favorite cookies and cream cake!
This Golden Oreo Cake has been a long time coming. I had intended to make it years ago but updated and revamped my Oreo Cake recipe instead. The irony is that I much prefer Golden Oreos to any other kind — original included.
There is just something about the combination of that delicious Oreo filling with the vanilla cookie shells. They are super addictive and don’t last long around here.
How to Make this Golden Oreo Cake
For the cake layers themselves, I simply took my Vanilla Cake recipe and added chopped/crushed Oreos to it. The ingredients are simple:
- flour
- baking powder (not soda)
- salt
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- vanilla (I used clear vanilla extract)
- milk
- chopped Golden Oreos
I used clear vanilla extract in the cake instead of regular vanilla as I find that it has more of a candy-like flavor to it and I thought it would go perfect with the Golden Oreo Cake.
For the Oreos themselves, I placed them into a large ziploc bag and crushed them up with a mallet. You could toss them in a food processor instead and pulse them, but I find it’s less cleanup this way and I can more control the size of the chunks.
For the cookie pieces, it’s important to gently fold them into the batter at the end so you don’t overmix the cake batter.
The layers baked up beautifully.
Golden Oreo Buttercream
For the buttercream, I made my Swiss Meringue buttercream recipe with clear vanilla extract and added Golden Oreos to it.
I used 10 double-stuffed Golden Oreos, scraped out the filling into a small microwave-safe bowl and I heated it in short 10 second bursts until I could stir it together as a thick paste. I added this right into the vanilla buttercream. I’ll be honest that it didn’t add a ton of flavor. If you like you could try this with even more filling.
For the remaining 20 individual cookies, I pulsed those in a food processor to get a fine powder.
I’m not convinced the mallet wouldn’t do a better job here. You want a very fine powder from the cookies. I sifted the cookie crumbs through a fine-mesh strainer and ended up crushing the larger remaining pieces in a bag with a mallet. Next time I’d just stick with the bag and mallet instead.
I ended up adding some Gold color gel to the cookie buttercream to make the yellow pop a bit more.
Decorating the Cake
I’m going to recommend doing things slightly differently than I did, but you can choose to do what you like.
I ended up filling the cake with the plain buttercream (with the Oreo filling but without the crumbs) because I thought it would look more like an Oreo — the yellow cake layers and white filling. While I do like the way it looks, that Oreo Cookie buttercream is where it’s at and I feel like it’s missing a bit from between the layers.
You could also sprinkle some chopped Oreos on top of each layer which I had intended to do but had a brain fart and forgot.
So your options for filling are:
- White buttercream without the cookie crumbs or chopped Oreos (this is what I did and don’t recommend it)
- White buttercream with chopped Oreos on top (for best color contrast)
- Oreo Cookie buttercream with chopped Oreos on top (will have the most flavor impact plus added texture)
Either option you choose though will be delicious. It’s just a matter of preference!
After filling and chilling the cake I frosted it with the Golden Oreo buttercream, added a white chocolate drip, alternated some colored dollops on top.
White Chocolate Ganache
For the white chocolate ganache, I ended up adding a touch of violet and as well as some bright white color gel to neutralize the yellow a bit. It’s optional, but might be a good idea depending on how yellow your white chocolate is. You can read more about my tips here.
I was SO excited to find mini Golden Oreos here! I had never seen them in stores before and when I googled them I couldn’t find them on Amazon or any local stores. It was total fate when I went into a grocery store last week and took a different door in than I usually do and THERE THEY WERE.
Just to the left as I walked in. Had I gone the other door I wouldn’t have seen them and at this point, I wasn’t thinking to even check the aisle for them because I didn’t think they existed in Canada! Coincidentally, they didn’t have any in the aisle so it really was fate.
The cake layers are moist and delicious with crunchy bits of Golden Oreos peppered throughout. The cookie frosting is to DIE for. So good. If you’re a Golden Oreo fan like I am you will LOVE this cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I convert this recipe?
- The recipe as-is will also work in two 8″ pans. For three 8″ pans, 1.5x the recipe. Baking time may need to be adjusted.
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so. The recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes depending on size.
- For other conversions go here.
Can I make it in advance?
- The cooled cake layers can be baked ahead of time, double wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 3 months. Take out 2-3 hours before assembly.
- The frosting can be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated for 1 week for frozen for 3 months. Bring to room temp and rewhip before using.
- The ganache can be made the day before and left at room temperature overnight or refrigerated for up to a week. You’ll need to bring it to room temperature again before use.
- The finished cake (whole or sliced, stored airtight) can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Can I get the measurements by weight/grams?
- There is a Metric option in the recipe card. If you click it it will convert everything to grams.
- This conversion is done automatically and I cannot guarantee the accuracy but many readers have had success using the metric option for this recipe.
Looking for more Cookie-based Cakes?
- Oreo Cake
- Oatmeal Cookie Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- Biscoff Cake (Cookie Butter Cake)
- Milk & Cookies Cake
Tips for making this Golden Oreo Cake
- I filled the cake with the plain vanilla buttercream but recommend filling it with the cookie buttercream instead and/or sprinkling crushed cookies on top of each frosting layer. See post for more info.
- I used clear vanilla extract in the cake instead of regular vanilla as I find that it has more of a candy-like flavour to it but you can use any kind of vanilla.
- For the frosting, make sure the cookie crumbs are crushed into a fine powder and strained or your buttercream will be lumpy and hard to smooth.
- I added some Gold color gel to the cookie buttercream to make it pop a bit more.
- You can make this cake with regular Oreos (or any flavour) instead and follow the same process. For a chocolate version check out my Oreo Cake.
- I like to prepare my cake pans using Homemade Cake Release then line with parchment.
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream and How to Make Ganache posts for tips and troubleshooting.
- Learn how to keep your cakes moist using Simple Syrup.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, check out my How to Bake Flat Cake Layers post!
Golden Oreo Cake
Ingredients
Golden Oreo Cake:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk room temperature
- 1 cup chopped Golden Oreos 10 regular cookies, 116g
Golden Oreo Buttercream:
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 Tbsp clear vanilla extract
- 10 Double-Stuffed Golden Oreo Cookie centers
- 3/4 cup Golden Oreo Cookie Crumbs from the 10 cookies above (20 separated cookies), crushed or pulverised and sifted
- Gold color gel
White Chocolate Ganache:
- 3.75 oz white chocolate finely chopped
- 1.5 oz heavy cream
- white and/or violet color gel
Instructions
Golden Oreo Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 6" cake rounds and line with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on med-high until pale and fluffy (about 3mins). Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition. Gently fold in chopped Oreos.
- Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for about 30 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack.
Golden Oreo Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
- Place bowl over a pot with 1-2" of simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch or reads 160F on a candy thermometer (approx. 5 mins)
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.**
- While buttercream is whipping, place oreo centers into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 10 second increments until you can stir them into a paste (make sure it's not warm). Add this paste and the clear vanilla extract to the buttercream and whip until smooth.
- Remove about 1 cup of buttercream for dollops on top (more if you want to use this as filling as well).
- Add the Golden Oreo cookie crumbs to the remaining buttercream and whip until smooth.***
- Add a few drops of Gold color gel to the buttercream if desired.
White Chocolate Ganache:
- Place chopped chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 5-10 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth and combined. Add a tiny bit of violet color gel and few drops of bright white color gel to lighten if desired (I did – See this post for more details). Set aside to thicken and cool completely.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with about 2/3 cup buttercream and sprinkle with chopped Golden Oreos if desired. Repeat with the remaining layers. Do a thin crumb coat all over the cake and chill for 20mins.
- Frost and smooth the outside of the cake with the remaining buttercream. Chill for 30mins until firm.
- Using a small spoon, place dollops of ganache around the top edges of the cooled cake, allowing some to drip down. Fill in the top of the cake with more ganache and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Allow to set for a few minutes.
- Pipe rosette dollops of the white buttercream on top, slightly separated, using a 1M piping tip. Place a mini Golden Oreo in the center of each dollop if desired.
- Pipe smaller dollops of the cookie frosting in between the red ones using a 4B tip. Fill in the top and decorate the bottom with crushed Golden Oreos if desired.
Thiepa says
Hi Olivia – first off THANK YOU for these amazing recipes! I stumbled upon your site during the pandemic, and your Reader Favourite Chocolate Cake is now a loved staple in my home, and your site is my go-to! I’m looking to make this golden oreo cake recipe for my son’s birthday using my mom’s old Wilton Stand-up Cuddly Bear pan, which apparently requires 6 and 2/3 cups of batter! Trying to figure out how much of your recipe to make – do you happen to know off-hand roughly how many cups of batter you get from your 1x cake recipe?
Thanks so much,
Thiepa
Olivia says
Hi Thiepa! Hmm, I’m not totally sure, I’ve never measured it. Based off of this site (http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html) it says that a 6″ pan is 4 cups of batter so this recipe would make 12 cups. I worry that halving the recipe would not be enough but a full recipe would be too much. You could do 2/3 the recipe (just change the Servings to 8 to get the amounts) and make cupcakes with any extra batter. Or do the full recipe and make cupcakes with the extra. I hope that helps! Let me know how it turns out.
Declan says
I think the metric conversions are very incorrect
Olivia says
Hi Declan! The metric conversions are calculated automatically and I do not verify them. I did however take a look and see no issue. Can you elaborate on what you think is incorrect and why?
Alessandra Simonetta says
This review is JUST for the frosting as I used it to frost a different cake recipe – HOLY COW THIS FROSTING WAS DIVINE. I’ve made a few swiss merengue buttercreams but never added cookie powder to it and good Lord. It tasted like the pure essence of a Golden Oreo, but ENHANCED. I was worried perhaps the addition of cookie powder would make the frosting taste gritty. It did not, and it was the KEY to the flavor of this frosting.
So so so so good, everyone raved about it, highly recommend!
Olivia says
Hi Alessandra! I am so happy you loved this frosting as much as I do. You can do that with any cookie powder, it’s soooo good!
Laura vaile says
Amazing
Olivia says
Thank you Laura!
Lindsey says
I asked my husband what kind of birthday cake he wanted, and he said “Cookies and cream. WAIT. No. Yellow oreo cookies and cream!!” So thank you, first of all, for already having such an incredible recipe for an idea I was sure my husband invented just to make my life difficult lol! After tasting how ridiculously delicious this cake was, I have no idea why this isn’t an option in every bakery everywhere. We probably would have chosen this as our wedding cake flavor if it had been available. The cake is moist, delicious, and so unique in flavor. And the frosting!! I had never made frosting with egg whites before, and halfway through the process I was thinking it was so not worth it. Spoiler: It was sooooooo worth it. I hate icing but love this!! This is seriously the best recipe I’ve tried in a long, long time. Thank you for making my husband so happy on his birthday! I think he will request this every year for the rest of his life.
Olivia says
Hi Lindsey! Your comment totally made my day! I am so happy you found this recipe, loved it, and tried a new frosting! SMBC is a bit of work (to say the least) but it’s SO delicious it is totally worth it. Golden Oreos are truly the superior Oreo too 😉
Rachel Smith says
Just made this for a family birthday and followed the recipe exactly (minus the ganache, because I have poor time management skills – lol). It was a huge hit and I would definitely recommend and make again. It made a nice, tall, 6 in cake that easily served 12.
Thanks!!! I will tag on IG when I post.
Rachel Smith says
Oh, also, Publix is my go-to for weird Oreos (sizes and flavors). They rarely let me down!
Olivia says
We don’t have a Publix here :'( But I’ll be sure to look next time I’m in the states 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Rachel! So happy you loved it. Thanks for your feedback!
Jaimy says
Can I just add the cookie flour to regular buttercream instead of the merengue?
Olivia says
Hi Jaimy! For sure, that will work fine. I assume you mean an American buttercream. If so you may just need to add some more cream/milk to thin it out or replace some of the powdered sugar with cookie crumbs.
Lori says
Hi Olivia, I continue to be amazed at your creations. I have yet to try baking one of them since my style is much more pared down and simple. I thoroughly enjoy your blog; keep being inspired!
Olivia says
You are so sweet, Lori. Thank you! You must try one of my recipes! They don’t have to look fancy 🙂 The Black Forest Cake for instance looks more intricate and complicated than it is!
Terri says
I love Lemon Oreos! How about a lemon version?!!!!
Olivia says
Hi Terri! If I could find some of those in stores here I would be ALL over it. Lemon desserts are my all-time favourite.