This cookies & cream sheet cake combines a soft and buttery white cake with plenty of sweet Oreo cookies. The recipe begins as my white cake, but with a few updates to the batter to make room for the cream-filled cookie pieces. Top the cake with sturdy yet light whipped cream frosting, which is a combination of heavy cream, cream cheese, vanilla, and a bit of confectioners’ sugar. The frosting is lightly sweetened, so there’s plenty of room for more Oreos. This is a fun, simple, and manageable cake for a crowd of Oreo lovers!
Details About This Cookies & Cream Sheet Cake
- Flavor: All Oreo! If you love vanilla cake, whipped frosting, and Oreo cookies, you will ADORE this cookies & cream sheet cake. I was going to add chocolate ganache or chocolate buttercream, but decided to keep everything vanilla so nothing overpowers the actual Oreos in the cake batter and frosting.
- Texture: The cookies and cream cake is buttery, soft, and moist and the frosting has a creamy whipped texture that’s slightly heavier than regular whipped cream, but much lighter than vanilla buttercream. The Oreo cookie crumbs in the cake aren’t crunchy at all—instead, they take on a soft and cakey texture. The cake batter doesn’t require anything complicated, but make sure that you use egg whites (no yolks) and cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. Both of these ingredients help guarantee a softer, lighter cake crumb. Since we’re not using egg yolks, which often weigh down a cake, let’s add fat back into the batter with sour cream. Sour cream keeps the cake light, but adds unbeatable moisture.
- Ease: Sheet cakes are renowned for being easier than layer cakes—no leveling off cake layers, no fancy decor, no crazy assembly required. Slicing and serving is a breeze and you’ll appreciate that this dessert can feed a crowd, but is still completely manageable to make. The whipped cream frosting comes together quickly and most of the work is done by your mixer. Honestly the hardest part about this entire recipe is resisting the urge to eat all those chopped Oreo cookies. (Ok, go ahead and sneak some!)
If you love Oreos, try this super easy cookies & cream pie, homemade Oreos, cookies & cream puppy chow, or 4 ingredient Oreo balls next.
Cookies & Cream Cake: What Works & What Doesn’t
This vanilla cake batter and this reverse-creamed vanilla sheet cake batter proved to be too heavy and thick for the Oreo cookie pieces—both cakes tasted pretty dense. My versatile white cake is my chameleon cake, proving successful when flavored, altered, or doctored up. It’s the starting point for burnt sugar cake, espresso cake, coconut cake, fresh berry cream cake, pineapple coconut cake, pistachio cake, and strawberry cake.
It is, without a doubt, my favorite base cake recipe.
For this cookies and cream cake, I reduced the sugar since we’re adding Oreo cookies. The sweetness was perfect, but the cake tasted greasy and wet as a result of the slightly melted cream filling in the cookies. I removed 1 egg white and reduced the milk, then added a little sour cream since I removed milk. Removing some liquid made the batter thicker, which held onto and soaked in the cookie pieces a bit better.
How to Make Oreo Whipped Cream Frosting
This frosting recipe yields 4–5 cups and there’s only 3/4 cup of confectioners’ sugar in all of it. (Plus the Oreo cookie pieces!)
When it comes to cake or cupcake decor, I usually stick with buttercream or cream cheese frosting—and both are quite sweet. I wanted something different today, so I turned to my creamy, fluffy, thick whipped frosting. It’s made with cream cheese, but you can’t taste the cream cheese. And when you fold in the chopped Oreo cookie pieces, the frosting itself tastes like the cookie’s cream filling! It would be delicious paired with chocolate cake or atop chocolate cupcakes and vanilla cupcakes.
Making whipped cream frosting is very easy. Let me review it with you:
- Beat softened brick-style cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract together until completely smooth. (Below left.)
- As the mixer is running, slowly pour in cold heavy cream.
- Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until thick and airy. (Below right.)
It holds a sturdy peak!
Add Oreo Cookies
If you want to use this whipped cream frosting for other flavor cakes, the process stops there. But for a cookies and cream cake, let’s fold in chopped Oreo cookies. I wanted piping around the edges of the cake, so I left some frosting plain since the Oreo cookies get stuck in a piping tip. I find a small offset spatula is best for frosting 9×13-inch sheet cakes.
And as you can see, the plain frosting pipes beautifully! I used a Wilton 1M piping tip to pipe a zigzag border design.
Can I Make This as a Layer Cake?
If possible, I always choose making a sheet cake instead of a layer cake because sheet cakes are quicker and easier to decorate and slice. Plus there’s no assembly required and you can serve it right out of the baking pan. (Three of my favorite quarter sheet cakes are this vanilla sheet cake, this banana cake, and this yellow sheet cake, and we always enjoy this chocolate sheet cake that’s made in a half sheet pan.) That being said, you can absolutely turn this into a cookies & cream layer cake if needed. Divide the batter between 2 9-inch round pans or 3 8-inch round pans and use parchment paper rounds to help the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. See recipe note for details. The frosting yields enough for filling and frosting a 2- or 3-layer cake.
Print
Cookies & Cream Sheet Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is soft and buttery white cake filled with cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos!). Top with light and fluffy whipped cream frosting. Each ingredient serves a purpose so for best results, I don’t recommend making substitutions.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups (285g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (180g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (180ml) whole milk, at room temperature*
- 1 and 1/4 cups chopped Oreos (110g, about 10 whole Oreos)*
Whipped Cream Frosting
- 6 ounces (170g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup chopped Oreos (90g, about 8 whole regular Oreos)*
- optional: mini or regular Oreos for garnish
Instructions
- Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Generously grease a 9×13-inch cake pan.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg whites. Beat on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. Mixture will appear curdled and that’s ok. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients just until incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not overmix. Whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl, then fold in the chopped Oreo pieces. Avoid over-mixing.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for around 32–35 minutes or until the cake is baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. The cake must be completely cool before frosting.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed until creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract, and then beat on medium speed until combined and completely smooth, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl. Switch the mixer to low speed and with the mixer running, carefully pour in the cream in a slow and steady stream. After all of the cream has been added, turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until thick and stiff peaks form, about 1–2 minutes.
- Frost the cake: If you’d like to pipe any frosting on the cake like I did in the photo above, set aside about 1 cup of frosting. Fold chopped Oreos into remaining frosting (or all of the frosting if you are not piping any of it). Spread onto cooled cake—it will be a thick layer of frosting. I find a small offset spatula is best for frosting 9×13-inch sheet cakes. For the pictured piping, I used a Wilton 1M piping tip and piped a zigzag design around the border.
- Serve immediately or cover and set aside for a few hours before serving. Or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day, then bring to room temperature before serving. You can definitely serve the cake cold, but many preferred it closer to room temperature. Frosting is sturdy enough at room temperature or in warmer weather for a few hours.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. The frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Assemble and frost the cake the next day when you are ready to serve. Frosted cake can be frozen up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving. Here’s my how to freeze cakes page.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Cake Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Small Offset Spatula | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip
- Whole Milk & Sour Cream/Room Temperature Ingredients: Whole milk and sour cream are strongly recommended for the best taste and texture. A full-fat plain yogurt would work instead of the sour cream, but the cake may not taste as light. Same goes with a lower-fat milk. All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read here for more information.
- Layer Cake: Grease 3 8-inch or 2 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. Divide the batter between the pans. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for around 24–26 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cakes are done. The frosting yields enough for filling and frosting a 2 -or 3-layer cake.
- Cupcakes: My vanilla cupcakes recipe is essentially this same recipe, only halved, so I recommend using that. Fold in about 3/4 cup of chopped Oreo pieces before spooning/pouring batter into liners. Halve the frosting recipe above. For close to 3 dozen cupcakes, follow the the cookies & cream cake batter recipe above and the baking instructions for cupcakes. Use the frosting recipe as written above.
- Amount of Cake Batter & Frosting: If it’s helpful for using different size cake pan sizes and conversions, this recipe yields about 7 cups of cake batter and 4–5 cups of frosting.
I baked this and everyone loved it! Would I be able to use this recipe for a multi-tiered wedding cake? Love all your recipes!
Definitely, with the proper supports! Here’s our post on making a homemade wedding cake that will be helpful. Happy baking!
Hi Sally can I make layer cake it’s for my sons birthday party. And how soon can I make it and put in Fridge.
Also if I do layer will the frosting be not even due to the chopped cookies in it?
Hi Ruby! You sure can. See blog post section titled “Can I Make This Into A Layer Cake?” for details on making round layers. It’s typically best to make the cake as close to when you’re serving it, but you could make the layers and tightly wrap them individually and store in the refrigerator for just a few days or freeze for longer storage. Then decorate it closer to when you’re serving or up to a day before you plan to serve. The chopped cookies aren’t large enough that they should cause the stacking to be uneven — you should be able to easily smooth it down. Hope this helps!
So yummy! But my frosting totally flopped! The cream was cold…and it looked like it was doing great then all of a sudden it lost it’s fluff! Is over whisking a possibility with the icing? That’s the only thing I can think of! Thanks!
Hi Shannon, I wonder if you over-mixed the frosting so it separated and “broke.” How long did you mix it for?
I thought this cake was delicious and so flavorful. I absolutely loved the whipped cream frosting. My SIL made it the same night and said my brother and his daughter didn’t care for the frosting… I’ll never look at them the same. haha! This cake is perfect for birthday parties or gatherings. I tried it at room temperature & straight out of the fridge and I agree with Sally that it is best at room temp.
This was a fantastic cake and easy to make. I expected it to be overly sweet, but it definitely was not. We really enjoyed the whipped cream frosting too. One of my guests called it unexpected but in a good way.
I made this for a small gathering this weekend. It was very easy to make & a huge hit with the guys (I was the only girl)! One said he never had cake that tasted like ice cream! Thanks Sally, this one is another keeper!
It says I can freeze the leftover decorated cake up to 2 months. However the link says do not freeze decorated cake….
I can, but shouldn’t eat an entire 13×9 Oreo sheet cake. Being responsible, I’m going to freeze the leftovers (yes, there will be leftovers, Jenifer). How do I go about doing that without making a complete mess?
1 Freeze the leftovers in the pan until slightly firm (so I don’t obliterate the icing?)
2 extract it from the 13×9
3 Press/seal
4 aluminum foil
5 Tupperware container
6 freeze up to 2 mo.
Please confirm
Hi Jenifer! The link is referring to decorated layer cakes. You can easily freeze a frosted sheet cake. However, for best taste and texture, it’s always best to frost a cake close to the time you will serve it. To freeze leftover frosted slices, I would refrigerate the slices and once the frosting seems “set” or more solid, you can wrap each individually in press ‘n seal, then aluminum foil, then a container.
Hi Sally- this frosting looks incredible! I was thinking of using this frosting for a chocolate oreo cake (using your chocolate cake recipe) with a ganache drip. Is this frosting stable enough to hold a 3 layer 9 inch cake? How do I adjust the quantities in the recipe?
Hi Anne! See recipe note. This yields a lot of frosting and is enough for a 2 (or even 3) layer cake.
Fabulous cake! I made this for my step son’s birthday and he loved it! (9 inch layer cake.) Sally, the way you write and optomise is wonderful. The end result was really fantastic.
One issue: The frosting didn’t work for me and I was on a deadline so just whipped up a vanilla buttercream. I wonder if I either overwhipped the frosting which caused it to seperate (but the texture was never quite the soft peaks I needed to decorate) or if the cream cheese wasn’t suitable (I’m in Europe so used full fat spreadable cream cheese not full fat baking cream cheese).
I’ll try both again. Total hit!
Hi Alex, I’m so glad to read that you loved this cake! It sounds like the mixture was over-whipped if it began to separate. Though it could really be the product you are using because I know cream cheese is quite different in Europe.
I loved this recipe. Not overly sweet at all. A few notes to be made. I used regular Oreos in the cake, and used Birthday Cake Oreos in the frosting since I was making this for my birthday. I also added sprinkles to both the cake and frosting and it made it very fun and festive. Weirdly, my cake filled up my 9×13 glass dish full and took around 20 min longer to bake. I had to cover the top with foil. Overall I loved the process of making this cake and choosing my own flavor of Oreo to add additional flavor the frosting. I think I will try your strawberry cake recipe next with this base white cake. Love your recipes as always!
Mine took around 25 minutes longer. I didn’t know what was happening.
I love your recipes, and I love Oreos, so I just printed off the recipe to use for a future “get together”. The frosting makes me think of a family favorite that we make with mascarpone cheese and whipped cream. One daughter loves to make scones. She was making a simple cream scone, and another daughter thought that a recipe in her whoopie pie cookbook would be good with the scones. The “fluff”, as we call it, is mascarpone cheese, confectioner’s sugar, whipping cream and a vanilla bean. It is heavenly with jam (sour cherry is the best) and simple scones. We make them every Christmas. Relatives rave about the “fluff” with the scones. I have yet to make a whoopie pie with the fluff – but I have eaten cookies with a scoop of it on the end. Feel inspired anyone? 🙂
Sounds delicious! Let me know when you give this cake a try!
Hi Sally- can I use a plant base milk or coconut milk instead of regular milk?
Hi Shana! You can, but the cake may not be as light and rich as using whole milk. Let us know how it goes!
Does it matter if you use light sour cream or full fat? I have light in the fridge but wonder if I need to make a trip to the store!
Hi Becky! Full fat sour cream is highly recommended for the best taste and texture. Light could work in a pinch, but the cake will not be nearly as soft and light in texture.
A trip to the store it is. Thank you so much!
I do not eat cream cheese. How could I alter the frosting?
Hi Erika, you could use regular whipped cream or even our vanilla buttercream for topping, folding the crushed Oreos into either. (However, you can’t taste the cream cheese in this whipped topping!)
Do you have any really good recipes for gluten-free cupcakes and or sugar cookies with icing that are gluten-free.
Hi Lisa, we aren’t trained in gluten free baking, but many readers have reported success using 1:1 all-purpose gluten free flours like Bob’s Red Mill or Cup4Cup. If you’re interested, here are all of our naturally gluten free recipes on the site. Hope you find some to enjoy!
Omg, you’re killing me here lol
I’ve got to make this one real soon! I’m just about to go to sleep and I know I’ll be dreaming about this tonight
O M G. We are in trouble now with this dessert. I love anything COOKIES N’ CREAM!!
**Please note, ” a few hours”at room temp means no more than 2 due to the cream cheese frosting. ☺
I love cookies and cream cakes they are so delicious. I love making them for me and my family we all love it. This is a wonderful recipes sally thank you so much for posting it.
Looks fabulous! Can’t wait to try it. I literally laughed out loud when I read your comment about keeping in the freezer for a couple of months. I’m not sure that would last a couple of days in our house.
This was delicious! The family loved it, will definitely make again!
Looks so good! If we don’t like cream cheese, do you think we could just frost this with oreo pieces folded into whipped cream instead?
Absolutely! (But if I can convince you, you absolutely cannot taste the cream cheese in the frosting– and that’s coming from many taste testers!)
This Recepie is so tempting, I’m definitely going to try this. Would it be fine to bake the cake minus the frosting, to escape cheese & cream in it.
Sally I love all your Recepies , apple cinnamon is my hubby’s favourite. Big hugs
Hi Vinny, you can certainly make the cake without the frosting. If you’d like something without cream cheese in it, our regular whipped cream or our vanilla buttercream would be delicious alternatives. Hope you enjoy the cake!
This looks amazing! Is it possible to half the recipe and make it in an 8X8 pan?
Definitely. I’m unsure of the best bake time though.
Hi Sally…really love following you and trying different recipes. Would like to ask about the full fat block cream cheese….is that mascarpone cheese as you specifically say it’s not the spreadable one so not Philadelphia? I live in Europe so something might be called differently and be the same thing. Kindly let me know as this always confuses me on what is best to use. Thanks and well done, we enjoy your recipes so much.
Hi Ruth! We’re happy to help. In the U.S. block cream cheese is very different than the tubs and is the only cream cheese that will work. (It is not the same as mascarpone cheese, either). We have been told by readers outside the U.S. that cream cheese in a tub is different from ours and can work, but we have not tested it. Please let us know if you try it with this recipe!
Sally remember the oreo cupcakes you had published in the beginning of this blog? That is still one of the absolute best recipes on this site! I’ll try this too. Hope you are all well. Hugs
Of course I remember! 🙂 I actually was about to remake and reshoot those since the recipe is so old, but I ran out of Oreos!
I noticed you used a glass baking pan. Is there a difference in cooking time if using a metal pan instead of glass? Do you prefer glass for baking?
Hi Lezlie! I prefer glass baking pans for light-colored cakes, but honestly I think it’s just my oven. They bake unevenly and darken considerably on the edges when I use my metal pans. For more accurate baking times/temps for light cakes, especially when I’m testing recipes, I prefer glass. The bake time for a metal pan falls in the same time frame given in the recipe.
Perfect timing! My son requested a cookies and cream cake with cookies and cream ice cream for his upcoming birthday! Oreos are his current obsession, if you couldn’t tell! I think I will make 2 sheet cakes and put them side by side to make it half sheet-sized.
Would this frosting minus the Oreo cookies be good with vanilla cupcakes?
I’m looking for a less sweet option than buttercream. But something that will still hold up being piped onto cupcakes.
Definitely!
You must have read my mind! I was asked by someone recently about making a cookies and cream cake. Now I do not have to search for a recipe.
I can’t wait to try it!!
Perfect. A lot of readers have been asking for this! This reminds me of my cookies and cream cookies, too.
I can’t WAIT to try this….especially since your cookies and cream cookies are all 3 of my kids’ favorite! And my go-to for every event!