Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes (GF-Option)

The cutest and most delicious mini Oreo cakes. Two layers of chocolate sheet cake, cut out and sandwich together with Oreo Buttercream all covered in an Oreo Buttercream crumb coat decorated with chocolate ganache and mini Oreos.

I have been so excited to share these Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes with you after I made them a couple of weeks ago. I saw a friend, and someone who inspires me a lot on Instagram, make some mini cakes and I thought it was about time I made some, too. A cross between a cupcake and a cake-cake, these mini cakes are the best of both worlds. They are delicious finger food (I prefer to eat with a cake fork, though) but you get all the fun of normal cake. By fun, I mean all the buttercream frosting, the layers and the filling!

Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes
Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes

These Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes are:

  • Rich and chocolatey
  • Such a show-stopper
  • Light and cakey
  • Smooth and indulgent
  • Naturally vegan and easily gluten-free
  • Fun and simple to make
  • A delicious make-ahead dessert for friends/family
  • Great for birthdays and other celebrations

These Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes are simple in essence, although you do need some patience. Instead of frosting just one cake or simply piping on frosting, these mini cakes require you to frost all 6 cakes by hand. That said, it’s not difficult, just plan in the time. I found each cake took me about 5-10 minutes to frost, so bear that in mind.

Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes
Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes
Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes
Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes

It is definitely worth the extra effort though. The moment you cut into one of these beautiful cakes will wow you every time. Thick chocolatey sponge with a thick Oreo buttercream frosting enrobed in more biscuit-y buttercream and topped with a thick layer of smooth chocolate ganache. They are the chocolate and cake lover’s dream.

Here are a few tricks to be aware of before you start:

  • I prefer to bake the sheet cakes the night before, so they are ready to go the next day or when I want to serve them.
  • Make sure the cakes are fully cooled – never try to ice a warm cake as it will all fall off.
  • If you don’t have a cookie cutter, use a glass and cut around it neatly to form all the mini cake circles.
  • As we cut out the cakes, the frosting does get messy, but this is a crumb coat after all, so it’s not supposed to be perfect.
  • To prevent too much mess, make sure to chill the cake cut-outs in the freezer to prevent all the crumbs breaking off.
  • Chill the frosted cakes while you make the others to keep them perfect.
  • Top with the ganache just before serving for the shiniest of toppings.

Apart from a bit of patience and forward-thinking, here is what else goes into these delicious Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes:

  • Dark chocolate: you can use any dairy-free chocolate you like but I find that dark chocolate is better for cakes.
  • Vegan butter: as opposed to margarine spread or coconut oil, this will work better to form the richest chocolate cake.
  • Plant-based milk: any milk will do here like oat, almond, soya or coconut.
  • Lemon juice: add this to the plant-based milk to curdle it to form a buttermilk which binds the batter together.
  • Sugar: I tend to bake with coconut sugar, but I wanted to keep these Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes a little more traditional and rich, so I went for some white caster sugar and some light brown sugar. You could also use golden caster or coconut sugar, though.
  • Vanilla: for the flavour. You can leave it out if you don’t have any.
  • Plain or GF plain flour: this keeps the sheet cake really light and airy, and if you are using a GF flour, I recommend a 1:1 blend that you trust for baking.
  • Cocoa powder: or cacao powder which adds to the chocolate richness.
  • Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda: for the rise.
Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes
Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes

The batter for these Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes is quite thick but so luscious and smooth. Don’t be tempted to over-mix it though as it may end up being tough. As we make this batter into two thin sheet cakes, they only take 13-15 minutes to bake and then allow to cool thoroughly.

As I was dreaming up this recipe, I hadn’t released we don’t have a round cookie cutter at home (only one with a fluted edge) so I used a glass and cut round that to make the 12 cake circles. Use whatever you have to hand, you don’t need any fancy equipment.  For the frosting, it does help to have a small palette knife to make it easier to smooth the sides, but a good knife would also do.

As I mentioned, frosting these Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes is the most time-consuming part of the recipe but it is really fun. I like to start on the sides so I can use the top to spin the cake around. Work your way round to evenly coat the mini cakes in the Oreo Buttercream. This is called a crumb coat for a reason: some crumbs will become part of the buttercream coating but this is totally ok. 

Speaking of which… what goes into the Oreo Buttercream?

  • Vegan butter: use room temperature butter for the best texture. This might mean leaving it out for a few hours beforehand and then beating it until fluffy.
  • Icing sugar: for the best frostings.
  • Plant-based milk: just a splash to smooth it out.
  • Oreo Cookies: blitz the cookies first to make them really fine and they almost start to clump together as if forming a nut butter. Add these into the buttercream for a gorgeous grey-brown speckled frosting.
Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes
Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes

The final part of these Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes is the chocolate ganache. Similar to my Black Forest Cake, the ganache is made from vegan butter and dark chocolate melted together until smooth and thick. I am obsessed with the shine it forms and makes these cakes even better!

Each of these Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes is quite rich but totally moreish so feel free to serve one cake per person or more likely, one cake between two people. It’s up to you if you slice them like regular cakes or serve them as cupcakes, anyone would be happy with one of these presented to them!

If you are looking for more delicious cakes and bakes, how about my:

Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes (GF-Option)

  • Servings: makes 6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

The cutest and most delicious mini Oreo cakes. Two layers of chocolate sheet cake, cut out and sandwich together with Oreo Buttercream all covered in an Oreo Buttercream crumb coat decorated with chocolate ganache and mini Oreos.

Ingredients

    For the Chocolate Sheet Cake:
  • 80g dark chocolate, broken up
  • 75g vegan butter
  • 320ml plant-based milk
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 120g white sugar
  • 25g light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 280g plain or gf plain flour
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • A pinch of salt
  • For the Oreo Buttercream:
  • 170g vegan butter, room temperature
  • 340g icing sugar
  • 100g (9-10), Oreos
  • 2-3 tbsp plant-based milk
  • For the Chocolate Ganache:
  • 60g vegan butter
  • 120g chocolate, chopped small
  • To decorate:
  • mini Oreos

Directions

  1. Make the chocolate sheet cake. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper (18cm x 25cm or equivalent). Melt the chocolate and vegan butter together in a bain-marie or microwave and allow to cool slightly.
  2. Whisk together the plant-based milk and lemon juice and leave for 5 minutes. Now whisk in the white and brown sugars and the vanilla essence.
  3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl. Add the salt and pour in the butter-chocolate mix and the milk-sugar mix. Whisk to a thick, smooth batter but do not over-mix. Divide between the two lined trays and bake for 13-15 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
  4. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, carefully remove and cool fully on a wire rack. Pop them in the fridge to speed up the process.
  5. Make the buttercream. Start by blitzing the Oreo biscuits in a blender/food processor until really fine crumbs and it starts to clump together. Now add the butter to a bowl and beat with a standing mix or electric hand-held mixer for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, plant-based milk and then the ground Oreos and continue to beat for 1-2 minutes until really fluffy. Add 1-2 tbsp more milk, if needed.
  6. Once the cakes are cool, use a cookie cutter to cut round a glass to cut out 6 circles of cake per sheet cake to make 12 in total. Save the scraps for cake balls or eat them.
  7. Chill the cakes in the freezer for 20 minutes.
  8. Add a smudge of buttercream to a plate/parchment and place on the bottom layer of cake (this helps it stay put). Spread a bit of icing on top and sandwich together with another cake. Now spread the buttercream all over the sides and top as a crumb coat of frosting. It may be messy, but this is normal. Chill in the fridge and repeat to make 6 cakes. Save some frosting, if you like, for the top.
  9. Make the chocolate ganache. Chop the chocolate very small and add to a heat-proof bowl. Melt the vegan butter and bowl over the chocolate. Leave for a couple of minutes and then stir to melt the chocolate fully. If needed, microwave the bowl for 10 second increments to help. Allow to cool for 1 minute.
  10. Decorate the cakes with the ganache by spooning some chocolate over the top of the cake and encourage the ganache to drip down the sides. If you have leftover buttercream, pipe on top and decorate with the mini Oreos.
  11. Keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days or in the fridge if it is warm. Un-frosted cakes will keep for 1 month in the freezer.
Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes
Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Vegan Mini Oreo Cakes so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these, please tag me in your bakes – I am @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on TwitterFacebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With mini Oreo love x

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