Cookies and Cream Cake

5 from 2 votes

This Cookies and Cream Cake has layers of soft chocolate cake that’s mixed with cookie crumbs, surrounded by creamy cookies and cream buttercream, chocolate ganache and cookie chunks! If that wasn’t enough, it’s topped with more ganache, "oreo" buttercream and chocolate sandwich cookies! It's a cookies and cream lover's dream come true! Best yet, it's gluten free, eggless, nut free and can easily be vegan! It’s a must try for all the cookies and cream fanatics out there!

Prep Time45

Cook Time50

Assembly and Chilling Time45

Total Time2 20

Course: Cakes and Cupcakes

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Servings: Slices

Calories: 1478kcal

Author: Lee

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Ganache

3 cups chocolate chips
1.5 cups unsalted butter , or vegan baking sticks

For the Cookies and Cream Cake

10 gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies , smashed to a sand like consistency or ¾ cup cookie crumbs
3 cups multipurpose gluten free flour (I use a gluten free multipurpose flour with xanthan gum already in it)
½ cup cocoa powder I use ¼ cup Dutch or Natural Unsweetened and ¼ cup Dark
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups cold water

For the Vanilla Buttercream

½ cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick, room temperature
4.5 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup water , room temperature

For the Cookies and Cream Frosting

6 gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies , smashed into tiny crumbs
1 cup unsalted butter or vegan baking sticks, room temperature
6 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon water , room temperature

For Assembly

9 gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies , broken into chunks for the layers
8 gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies , cut in half for the top for decorating

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 8 inch cake pans with vegetable oil, line with parchment paper and then lightly grease again with vegetable oil.
Place 3 cups chocolate chips and 1.5 cups of butter or vegan baking sticks together in a heat safe bowl.
Microwave them together in 10-15 second increments, stirring after each time, until the chocolate chips and butter are fully melted and incorporated. This will take a few min.
Let the ganache sit on the counter until it has cooled a bit, whisking every now and then. Then refrigerate until spreadable.
If it gets too hard when ready to use, microwave again in 5 second increments until you get the spreadable texture.
Place the 10 gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies in a zip top bag. Seal the bag.
Using a rolling pin or the flat side of a meat mallet, smash the cookies into a sand like consistency. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the 3 cups gluten free flour, ½ cup cocoa powder, 2 cups granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking soda and 2 teaspoons kosher salt.
Add in the cookie crumbs and whisk to incorporate.
Using clean hands, make 3 wells in the dry ingredients for the wet ingredients to be poured into.
In one well pour the ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, in the other well pour the 2 tablespoons white vinegar and in the last, pour the 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.
Pour the 2 cups cold water on top of all the ingredients.
Use a whisk to mix everything together until fully combined. If it gets too thick for the whisk, switch to using a spatula. Do not over-mix.
Using a spatula, scoop the batter evenly into two greased and parchment lined 8 inch cake pans and smooth the tops with a butter knife.
Bake the cakes in the center rack at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 minutes until the top is slightly springy when carefully touched.
Let the cakes cool almost completely in the pan for 15 mins before trying to remove. Then remove from pans and let cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Once cool, slice both cakes in half horizontally. Now you have 4 thin layers of cake.
If your cakes have dome tops, you can take a thin layer off the tops of the cake with a knife, to make a flat surface.

Make the Vanilla Frosting

While the cake is baking make the vanilla frosting:
In the large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the ½ cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick until smooth and creamy. About 2 minutes.
With the mixer on very low speed, slowly add in the 4 ½ cups confectioners' sugar and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
While the mixer is on, slowly add in the ¼ cup water a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. You may not need to use all the water.

Make the Cookies and Cream Frosting

Place 6 of the sandwich cookies in a zip top bag and seal it shut.
Crush the cookies with the flat side of a meat mallet or a rolling pin until there are tiny crumbs. Not quite the sand like consistency of earlier.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the 1 cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick until smooth and creamy. About 2 minutes.
With the mixer on very low speed, slowly add in the 6 cups confectioners' sugar and 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
While the mixer is on, slowly add in the ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons water a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. You may not need to use all the water.
Divide frosting into 4 equal servings.

Assemble the Cake

Place one layer of cake on the cake stand. Take ¼ of the cookies & cream buttercream and frost the top.
Place the vanilla frosting (not the cookies and cream frosting) in a piping bag or a zip top bag with the corner cut off.
Pipe a ring around the top edge of the cake.
If you try this with the cookies & cream frosting the cookie chunks will get stuck and burst open your piping bag. You must use the vanilla.
Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of the thick ganache into the middle of the ring of frosting.
Sprinkle chunks of broken chocolate sandwich cookies on top of the wet ganache and gently press in to make sure they stick.
I use 3 broken cookies per layer.
Place another layer of cake on top and repeat. Do this process 3 times.
Frost a thin layer of frosting on the top of the cake and sides of the cake. Use a cake scraper or a icing spatula to scrape excess frosting off the sides of the cake.
This should be a semi naked cake.
Pop the cake in the fridge uncovered for 15 min to harden. If you’re running out of frosting, you can always use a little of the regular vanilla.
Make the ganache liquid again: Microwave ganache in 5 second increments until it is very melted and pourable.
Take the cake out of the fridge. Spoon about 9 tablespoons of the liquid ganache on top of the cake.
Take an icing spatula and push the ganache around to the edges of the cake so it drips down the sides. Work quickly since the cold cake will harden the ganache fast.
Again, pop in the fridge, uncovered, to let ganache harden for about 15 min.
Then use the rest of the vanilla frosting to pipe swirls or dollops all around the edge of the top of the cake.
Add on some chocolate sandwich cookies halves.

Video

Notes

Notes: You'll need 34 chocolate sandwich cookies to make this cake. You could use less, I won't judge you.

Vegan: Use a dairy-free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks, vegan chocolate chips and vegan chocolate sandwich cookies.

All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use 3 cups packed AP flour (504 grams), ½ cup packed cocoa powder (58 grams) and ¾ cup vegetable oil.

Storing: Once the cake is cut into, cut the entire cake into slices, wrap each slice in foil and store in a zip top bag in the fridge for up to 2 days.

When ready to eat, let the slices sit on the counter, in the foil for about an hour or until the cake is room temperature and soft. If desired, warm each slice in the microwave for 5-10 seconds; be careful not to burn your mouth.

Freezing: Wrap slices in foil, place in the zip top bag and freeze for up to 30 days.

When ready to eat, put the slices in the fridge the night before or leave them out on the counter for 2 hours prior to eating or until the cake is room temperature and soft. If desired, warm each slice in the microwave for 5-10 seconds; be careful not to burn your mouth.

Nutrition: The info below is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.

Nutrition