Oreo Cake Bites
Oreo fan? Then you have to try these cake bites! They are made of vanilla cake and Oreo frosting coated in chocolate and Oreo crumbs. They are a bite size indulgent snack that your friends and family are sure to love. Like a cake pop, but without the pop stick. After you try them, you’ll want to make these again and again - and the possible variations are endless!
Making the Cake
These cake bites start with a simple vanilla cake. To make the cake, start by whisking together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Next, using a stand mixer or handheld mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and mix on medium speed until fully combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.
Pour the batter into a greased 9 inch springform pan or cake pan. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Set on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool completely in the pan.
Making the Oreo Buttercream Frosting
Meanwhile, make the Oreo buttercream frosting. Using a stand mixer or handheld mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat room temperature butter on medium seed until smooth. Add in powdered sugar, finely crushed Oreos, vanilla, and milk or cream. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to combine the ingredients and then increase the speed to medium-high and continue to mix for 2-3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Mixing and Assembling the Cake Balls
When the cake has cooled completely, unmold it from the pan and crumble it over the Oreo frosting. Use a stand mixer or handheld mixer to combine the cake and frosting until the cake is fully mixed in and the texture is mostly uniform (see the picture on the right below for reference).
Scoop out 1 to 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of the cake and frosting mixture and roll it into a ball. Place the balls on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow to firm up.
Coating and Finishing the Cake Bites
Once the cake balls have chilled, melt chocolate of your choice (I chose dark chocolate!) and vegetable oil over a double boiler or in the microwave. If using the microwave, make sure to stir the mixture every 15-30 seconds and stop heating once the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. The vegetable oil helps thin out the chocolate to make it easier to coat the cake bites.
Working in batches of 5, remove the cake balls from the refrigerator and roll them in the melted chocolate. I found that using a fork made this process easy and allowed for excess chocolate to drip off. Place the chocolate coated cake balls on a wire rack or parchment paper and allow the chocolate to partially set.
Once the chocolate has partially set, roll the cake bites in crushed Oreos. I waited until the chocolate began to lose its shine to do this part because then the chocolate is set enough to not drip off but still tacky enough to allow the Oreos to stick. Place the cake balls on a wire rack or parchment paper to allow the chocolate to set completely. Repeat with the remaining cake balls.
How finely you crush the Oreos for the coating is up to your preference. Finely crushed Oreos result in a round, uniformly coated cake bite. A coarser crumb is less uniform, but adds extra texture. The image below shows the difference in appearance. Can’t decide which you prefer? Make both!
I personally enjoy these cake bites the most when they have been refrigerated. When chilled, the filing has a cookie dough like texture and the chocolate coating has a nice snap.
The variations on these cake bites are endless, so feel free to experiment! You can use different flavors of Oreos, change the chocolate used in the coating (dark, milk, and white chocolate would all be delicious in their own way!), or replace the vanilla cake with your favorite chocolate cake recipe. If you try any of these variations, please let me know how they turn out!
Oreo Cake Bites
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Oreos, finely crushed
- 2 tsp milk or cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 10 oz baking chocolate (dark, milk, or white), chopped
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 25 Oreos, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 inch springform pan or cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl using a stand mixer or handheld mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and mix on medium speed until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Pour the batter into your prepared cake and smooth so it is an even thickness. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place on a wire rack an allow the cake to fully cool in the pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl and handheld mixer), beat the butter on medium speed until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, crushed Oreos, milk or cream, and vanilla. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds to combine, then increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another 2-3 minutes until the frosting is fully combined and light and fluffy.
- Once the cake is cool, remove it from the pan and crumble it into the bowl of frosting.
- Using a stand mixer or handheld mixer, mix the cake and frosting together on medium speed until the cake is fully mixed into the frosting and the texture is mostly uniform.
- Spoon out 1 to 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of the cake mixture and roll into balls. Place the cake balls on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Add the chocolate and vegetable oil to a bowl and melt over a double boiler or in a microwave, stirring often.
- Add the crushed Oreos to a different bowl. How fine you crush the Oreos is up to personal preference (see notes and pictures in the post above to see the difference due to size of crumb).
- Working in batches of 5, remove the cake balls from the refrigerator and roll one at a time in the melted chocolate and place on a wire rack or parchment paper. You can use a fork to aid in coating the cake ball, picking up to allow excess chocolate to drip back in the bowl.
- Allow the chocolate to slightly set before rolling in the Oreo crumbs. I found that if you wait until the chocolate just begins to lose its shine, it will be set enough to not drip off but still tacky enough to allow the Oreos to stick. Place on a wire rack or parchment paper and allow the chocolate to fully set. Repeat with the remaining cake balls.
- Enjoy the cake bites at room temperature or refrigerated.
Notes
- Storage Instructions: Store the cake bites in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If freezing, you may need to slightly thaw the cake bites before eating.
- Chocolate: You can use any type of chocolate that you like. Dark, milk, and/or white chocolate would all taste great with this recipe!
- Oreo Crumb Size: The size of the Oreo crumbs for the coating determines the uniformity. Finely crush the Oreos if you want uniform round cake bites. Coarser crumbs will lead to less uniform cake bites, but will provide more contrast in texture.
- Variations: You can use any flavor of Oreos in this recipe, just make sure you pick a type of chocolate that you think best compliments the Oreo flavor. You could also use your favorite chocolate cake recipe instead of the vanilla cake.
