These Oreo cupcakes have a rich, black cocoa cupcake base topped filled with white chocolate ganache and topped with cookies and cream buttercream! Black cocoa is what gives Oreo cookies their classic mellow chocolate flavor, so these taste just like Oreo's in cupcake form!
Jump to:
Why you'll love these cupcakes
- Filled with white chocolate ganache - the ganache is made with Oreo cookie filling for extra flavor!
- Moist black cocoa cupcake base - these chocolate cupcakes are moist, fudgy, and full of rich chocolate flavor!
- Cookies and cream buttercream - the buttercream is light, fluffy and made with crushed Oreo cookies!
- Super easy to decorate - all you need to garnish these cupcakes are Oreo cookies!
You might also like these chocolate fudge cupcakes or these Oreo macarons!
Ingredient Notes
- Vegetable oil - I use oil instead of butter in these cupcakes to help keep the cake super moist and delicious! You can also use canola oil or a neutral olive oil.
- Cake flour - I always use cake flour in my cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
- Black cocoa - Black cocoa is one of my favorite secret ingredients! Black cocoa is just cocoa powder that has been heavily dutched (meaning the acidity has been neutralized), so it gives you a rich black color but doesn't stain! You don't have to use black cocoa powder for these cupcakes, but regular cocoa just won't give you the same fun effect, so I highly recommend it! I like both the King Arthur Flour Black Cocoa or the Modern Mountain Company Black Cocoa!
- Espresso powder - This is optional, but I love how espresso powder enhances and deepens the chocolate flavor! King Arthur is my favorite brand of high quality espresso powder!
- Vanilla bean paste - I love using vanilla bean paste for a more concentrated vanilla flavor. But you can also use regular vanilla extract instead!
- Oreo cookies - You can't have Oreo cupcakes without Oreo's! I just use regular Oreo's in this recipe (and by regular I mean double stuffed obviously).
- White chocolate - Use white chocolate baking bars as opposed to chocolate chips!! Chips contain emulsifiers that help them keep their shape, which also means they won't melt as smoothly.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Chocolate Ganache
Take 5 Oreo cookies and scrape out the filling. Crush up the cookie pieces to use as a garnish and set aside the filling for the ganache!
I recommend making the ganache a few hours before the cupcakes so that it has time to set.
Finely chop the white chocolate and place into a large bowl with the Oreo cream filling.
Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
Pour over the chopped white chocolate and Oreo filling and let sit for about two minutes.
Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is fully combined and smooth.
Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge until is has thickened enough to hold its shape.
If your ganache is too firm, microwave for 10 seconds to soften and then stir until ganache is the desired consistency.
How to Make Black Cocoa Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, black cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Then whisk in the granulated sugar and milk.
Gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thin.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
Let the black cocoa cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of thickened white chocolate ganache.
Frost the Oreo cupcakes with cookies and cream buttercream and garnish with Oreo cookies!
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
For chocolate cupcakes, I like to use these chocolate brown cupcake liners for a more seamless look!
Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
Use a cupcake corer to easily remove the center of your cupcakes before filling with white chocolate ganache.
For these big beautiful cookies and cream frosting swirls on these chocolate Oreo cupcakes, I use the 9FT tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
Garnish the cookies and cream cupcakes with Oreo cookies and leftover cookie crumbs.
Recipe FAQ's
These cupcakes will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving. Wait to top with Oreo's until right before serving.
I recommend using black cocoa powder if you can find it for the best flavor and dark color, but you can use dutch cocoa powder instead!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Recipes You Might Like!
If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. And if you want more delicious, scratch-made recipes you can subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Recipe Card
Oreo Cupcakes
Special Equipment
Ingredients
White Chocolate Ganache
- 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- filling from 5 Oreo cookies
Black Cocoa Cupcakes
- 1 cup cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- ½ cup black cocoa powder, substitute dutch cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, substitute vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup whole milk
Oreo Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, substitute vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed
- pinch kosher salt
- 6 whole Oreo cookies, finely crushed
Garnish
- 12 Oreo cookies
Instructions
White Chocolate Ganache
- Take 5 Oreo cookies and scrape out the filling. Crush up the cookie pieces to use as a garnish and set aside the filling for the ganache!
- I recommend making the ganache a few hours before the cupcakes so that it has time to set.
- Finely chop the white chocolate and place into a large bowl with the Oreo cream filling.
- Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot to the touch but not boiling.
- Pour over the chopped white chocolate and Oreo filling and let sit for about two minutes.
- Using a spatula, gently mix until the chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is fully combined and smooth.
- Let sit at room temperature or in the fridge until is has thickened enough to hold its shape.
- If your ganache is too firm, microwave for 10 seconds to soften and then stir until ganache is the desired consistency.
Black Cocoa Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, black cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Then whisk in the granulated sugar and milk.
- Gently mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. The batter will be thin.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
- Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
- Let the black cocoa cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting.
- Use a cupcake corer to remove the center of each cupcake, then fill with 1-2 teaspoons of thickened white chocolate ganache.
Oreo Buttercream
- Take 6 whole Oreo cookies and crush into fine crumbs. You can use a food processor or place them in a bag and crush with a rolling pin. Just make sure the crumbs are small enough to fit through your piping tip.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Mix in the vanilla, cream, and salt and beat the buttercream on high for 3-4 minutes until super light and fluffy.
- Then gently fold in the crushed Oreos.
- Frost the filled Oreo cupcakes and garnish with Oreo cookies and leftover Oreo cookie crumbs!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Comments
No Comments