The BEST Gluten Free Cookies and Cream Cake Recipe

This cake is the most requested birthday cake recipe from my boys – I will be shocked (and a little sad) when they stop asking for this cake as their birthday cake. It’s one of my favorites too (to make AND eat), with three amazing components! There are the chocolate cake layers made from my go-to chocolate cake recipe. Then there is this creamy filling made with cream cheese and whipped cream and Oreo cookie chunks – just an “eat by the spoonful kinda YUM”. AND then there is the buttercream – your traditional buttercream, but elevated to that cookies and cream status with Oreo cookie crumbs! It tastes like an Oreo but in cake form, and it’s always a crowd favorite!

Before I married Corey, I really loved traditional cakes… vanilla with a strawberry buttercream or vanilla buttercream… or made chocolate all around… and every so often, an Italian Cream Cake. BUT Corey is a foodie and his desserts must always be flavorful, complex, rich and multifaceted, HA! So this challenged me to make him birthday cakes that met his criteria. Everything I make is obviously gluten-free, even though I am the only one in my house who needs. But if I am going to create all this goodness, I need to be able to make sure it tastes good! All that to say, I’ve made Corey a Twix inspired cake and a Snickers inspired cake, and true to form, his sons are following in his footsteps. It’s never just chocolate or vanilla or strawberry, it’s Oreo cake with THREE different elements, and it’s their go-to for every birthday LOL. 

I love it honestly, because there was a season of my life that I quit baking due to being diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I had always loved to bake and be in the kitchen with my mom. I loved making anything from cookies to muffins to biscuits to pies. My grandparents bought me my first cookbook when I was 10 or 11 and I loved looking through it to find something new to bake. In fact, in 5th grade we studying an economics unit and we were responsible for creating a business and we would open the businesses for shopping every Friday. My business was called “Candyland Sweets” and I sold no bake cookies, puppy chow and rice crispy treats, and I had the most successful business LOL. So it’s in my DNA to bake and cook and I am so thankful for the innovation of baking when it comes to gluten-free – it’s brought so much joy into my kitchen. And I will gladly back and assemble all the complicated cakes my family wants!

What makes this cake SO good:

• it’s SO fun to make!
• the combination of flavors and textures make it a showstopper of a cake
• perfect for any celebration!
• the chocolate cake is seriously so decadent and moist, the most perfect cake texture – you wouldn’t know it’s gluten free
• the filling is a creamy, Oreo heaven and truly what elevates this cake
• AND the buttercream is everything creamy in texture and full of that cookies and cream taste 

What you need:

For the cake 

• gluten free flour mixture (I used Arrowhead Mills, but I imagine Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur’s would work beautifully)
• cocoa powder
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• milk
• sugar
• dark brown sugar
• eggs
• apple cider vinegar
• vanilla
• oil (I like avocado, but you could use coconut oil or canola oil)
• hot coffee

For the Filling

• cream cheese
• heavy cream
• powdered sugar
• gluten free oreo cookies or gluten-free chocolate sandwich cookies (I like to use the Trader Joe’s brand or Glutino)

For the Buttercream

• butter
• powdered sugar
• heavy cream
• gluten free oreo cookies (same as above)
• Vanilla extract

On to the steps!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line the bottom of your 8 inch or 9 inch pans with parchment paper. 
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt – whisk to combine.
3. In a stand mixer add the sugars, eggs, milk, acv, oil and vanilla – whisk to combine
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients- whisk to incorporate
5. Slowly add the hot coffee to the stand mixer until it is incorporated
6. Evenly distribute the cake batter between the three  cake pans and pop into the oven for 25-30 minutes (I’d check at 20 minutes bake time)
7. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before turning it onto a cooling rack – let the cake cool completely before assembling

Cookies and Cream Filling

1. In stand mixer, using the whisk attachment whip the cream and vanilla to soft peaks. Put in a small bowl and set aside
2. In stand mixer, using a paddle beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy
3. Beat in the powdered sugar, slowly incorporating. 
4. Fold in the cream
5. Fold in the chopped gluten-free oreos and transfer to a medium bowl

For the Buttercream

1. Using the stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. 
2. Slowly and on a low speed add the powdered sugar, alternating, 2 cups of sugar and a tablespoon of heavy cream. 
3. Add in the vanilla and set the mixer to medium speed and beat for 5 minutes. 
4. Using a food processor, pulverize the gluten-free Oreo cookies Fold in the Oreo crumbles. 

To Assemble:

This part is my FAVORITE! And if you are a visual learner, here is a Reel I posted on Instagram to help learn the steps! 

1. Place the first cake layer top side up, in the center of the cake board. Pipe a rim of the buttercream around the edge of the cake and fill the center with about 1 cup of the filling. 
2. Place the second cake layer on top of the buttercream and filling, top side down. Repeat piping and filling.
3. Place final cake layer, top side down (flip it so the flat bottom is facing up).
4. Crumb coat the entire cake with a thin layer of the buttercream and pop it into the freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes to set this layer of frosting. 
5. Once the crumb coat is set, continue to frost the cake with the remaining frosting. I like to use a cake edger or scraper, but you don’t have to use this. You can always create a rustic look with a spatula or use the back of the spatula, while you spin the cake on a cake spinner to create cute rings around the cake. 
6. This last step is up to you! I like to sprinkle oreo cookie crumbs on to the top of the cake, but you could also add a pretty chocolate ganache!

TIPS: 

• When working with gluten free cake, for best results,  it’s best to chill the cake layers before assembling – you can wrap them in plastic wrap before refrigerating. 
• The filling is best when made the day of serving – otherwise the Oreo pieces may get mushy
• Buttercream is easiest to work with at room temperature!
• I use straws to insert into the cake to keep it steady
• Keep the cake in the refrigerator until 2 hours before serving it

There you have it! The best Gluten Free Cookies and Cream Cake – aka a Gluten-Free Oreo Cake! Recipe card below!