This mini Vegan Cookies & Creme Cake is perfect for any celebration! Rich chocolate layers are stacked with Oreo buttercream, rainbow sprinkles, and extra sandwich cookies for a festive treat.
First and foremost, happy {late} birthday to my infamous vegan best friend! Well, it's a late birthday now because her actual birthday was yesterday, but obviously we celebrated and I wished her a happy one on the correct day. Duh. What kind of best friend do you think I am? Emilie didn't have any requests or specifications when it came to her birthday cake, so I just kind of did whatever I wanted... which is how this dessert was born. This cake is basically a combination of all the things we love most... chocolate, Oreos, sprinkles, pink glitter, and things that are tiny. I present to you... Vegan Cookies & Creme Cake! But like... tiny, in 5 inch cake form. Ta-da!
I asked Em if she had any special requests concerning her special cake, and she was just like... "Ehhh... well that black forest cake you made looked really good! But I don't care! Go crazy. I trust you." Okay well, you heard the lady. She literally said go crazy, so here I am. This cookies & creme cake is made of two 5-inch dark chocolate cakes made with my trusty vegan cake recipe, and filled with vanilla buttercream spiked with crushed Oreos. It's then topped with halved Oreos and... surprise {well HA, really shouldn't be surprising now}... RAINBOW SPRINKLES. Because, duh. Birthday.
Okay, well I will admit that originally sprinkles were not part of the plan. However, as I was taking overhead shots {like the one above}, I was like... "Hmmm... well the center of this cake is looking pretty boring. But you know what's not boring? Sprinkles. Yeah. I should do that." So I did. And you know what? I'm not sorry, because it turned out so perfect! They totally take the cake from cute to special occasion. Like, you know, turning 22 because that's totally a big deal.
Did y'all know that Oreos are actually totally vegan? I didn't know until said best friend informed me of the fact, but I think it's awesome! It opens up a whole realm of dessert possibilities and yummy treats for our vegan friends. I used the real stuff for this cake, but if you're an expert label reader, I'm sure you can verify if your store brand chocolate sandwich cookies are vegan as well, and just use those instead. The flavor in your cookies & creme cake will be just the same. 🙂
This cake looks super adorable and like it's straight from a fancy bakery, but in actuality it's super easy to make! Just bake up your two cakes and let them cool completely. Meanwhile, in a big bowl, beat together some EarthBalance and Crisco, add in pulverized Oreos and powdered sugar, and beat until a frosting forms. Frost one of the cakes, set the other on top. finish frosting, and top the whole thing with more Oreos and sprinkles. Not so hard, huh?
The happiest of birthdays to my beautiful, wonderful, utterly ridiculous best friend! Love you lots. Happy cake eating! 🙂
- *for the cake*
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder {dark is better if you have it!}
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- *for the frosting*
- ½ cup EarthBalance
- ½ cup butter Crisco
- 10 Oreos, finely crushed
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- small splash of milk, if needed
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray two 5-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add in the milk, oil, and vanilla, and mix everything together. Add in the vinegar, and mix until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25-28 minutes.
- Place the cakes on a cooling rack and let them come to room temperature, then turn them out of the pans and let them cool completely before frosting.
- In a medium bowl, beat the EarthBalance and Crisco together with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in the crushed Oreos {I just crushed them in the blender}, and beat in.
- Add in the vanilla and then the powdered sugar, about ½ cup at a time, until the frosting is thick but not too hard. If it's a little too thick to handle, add in a small bit of milk.
- Frost the cake as desired, and top with additional halved Oreos for decoration.
Mayan says
Hi Valentina!
Can I make this cake bigger? I need it for 12 servings.. If so which pan size would you suggest? and how should I modify the measurements of the ingredients?
Thank you,
Mayan
valentina says
Hi Mayan! You can most certainly make this cake bigger! For 12 servings, you have two options - I would say you can keep the same ingredient proportions and just bake the cake in two 8" pans for a wider cake (so shorter slices). The other thing I would suggest is making the cake x1.5 and splitting it between three 8" pans so its bigger and taller! I think either option would work well. You are welcome to double the recipe but that would end up being four 8" cakes which might be too much for what you're wanting!