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An easy-to-make, creamy no-bake Oreo cheesecake filling sandwiched between rich, moist chocolate cake dripping with a milk chocolate ganache.
My twins turned 18 years old recently. They’re my youngest and I have mixed emotions about this birthday. Part of me can’t believe how fast 18 years flew by; and I miss all the sweet moments you only experience when your kids are little. Of course, the other part of me looks forward to all the adventures yet to come in my and their lives.
When I asked Cole what kind of birthday cake he wanted this year, he said he really like the Chocolate Oreo Construction Cake I baked for my grandson’s birthday last year.
Since he’s a little too old for a construction cake, I change it in to a triple layer cake with a luscious no-bake Oreo Cheesecake layer in the middle. I also changed up the cake recipe and used an Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake recipe that is eggless and bakes up beautifully flat, even, layers.
The cake looks impressive, but it really is easy-to-make. I baked the cake layers about a week ahead of time and put them in the freezer until the morning of the party.
The cake was a big hit at the party. I’m sure it would be a bit hit at your house too.
Yield: 8-12 servings
Chocolate Cake with an Oreo Cheesecake Filling
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Ingredients
Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar*
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used KA Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa)
2 teaspoons baking soda*
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups hot water*
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
No-Baked Oreo Cheesecake Filling:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 package (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
12 Oreo Cookies, coarsely crushed
Chocolate Ganache
16 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Spray two 9x2 inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray with flour.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
In a large measuring cup, whisk together water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and whisk just until combine.
Divide batter between pans. Bake 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in the pans on a rack for 15 minutes, then invert them onto the rack. Leave cakes upside down (this flattens domed cakes) to cool completely.
No-Baked Oreo Cheesecake Filling
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream until it forms soft peaks.
In another large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until blended and smooth. Gently stir in whipped cream and crushed cookies.
Chocolate Ganache
Place half of the chocolate in a mixing bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high heat until it comes to a boil.
Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add remaining chocolate and stir until chocolate is completely melted.
Cool until ganache is thickened but still thin enough to drip down the sides of the cake. (I cooled mine in the fridge for over an hour.)
Assembling cake
When the cake layers are cool and ganache has thickened, evenly spread filling on bottom layer, carefully stack the second layer on top of filling.
Spoon chocolate ganache on top of the cake, spreading to edges and letting the ganache drip down the sides. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
*I made the following high altitude adjustments: Decreased the sugar by 2 tablespoons, used 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda and 2 1/4 cup hot water.
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The cake doesn’t typically crack unless it’s baked too long. Here’s my baking tips https://www.barbarabakes.com/baking-tips-for-layer-cakes/. I’d recommend baking the layers a week ahead of time and putting them in the freezer. Just give yourself plenty of time for your ganache to thicken before drizzling it on the cake, be sure and use heavy cream and make sure your cheesecake filling is firm before adding it to the middle – and you’ll do great!
Hi Navya – I used Guittard Old Dutch Milk Chocolate Wafers http://gygi.com/guittard-old-dutch-wafers. If you can find baking chocolate in the baking aisle at the grocery store that would be a better choice than chocolate chips, but you can use chocolate chips in a pinch.
I made this cake two times and it tasted great but both times but the top layer cake cracked after I added the ganache. Do you have any ideas about why this might have happened? The first time the cake was cracked a little when I took it out of the oven. The second time it was not and I turned the top cake upside down the second time thinking that might help. It still cracked. Not as bad as the first time, but it still has a river running through it.
Hi Ronda – it sounds like the cake needs less cook time in the oven. Perhaps your oven cooks hot so you may need to reduce the cook time or the oven temperature.
Did you chill the cheesecake before adding to cake? I added more Oreo bits when I added the cheesecake layer because the pieces were soggy by the time both cakes were cooled.
When you serve, should the ganash be liquids or do you chill the entire thing together and the gnash create a shell?
I have the entire cake in the fridge, the cheese cake was covered but sat out while cakes were cooling, so the cheese cake is a bit loose. I hope it all forms into one nice cake. I hope I’m doing this correctly
Hi Erica – if you make the cheesecake layer before the cakes are cool, you should refrigerate it. The cake should be refrigerated as soon as you layer it with the cheesecake layer and until you are ready to decorate it with the ganache. You cheesecake layer should set up in the fridge. I would wait until the cheesecake layer is firm before starting the ganache. The ganache will be thin at first, but will thicken as it cools. You want to wait until the ganache is thick enough that if you put a drip on the edge of the cake, the drip only goes down the side part way. If it just runs down, you need to wait longer for the ganache to thicken. Ganache doesn’t form a hard shell. It always stays soft – sort of like a soft fudge. You should store any leftover cake in the fridge. Enjoy!
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hi Barbara hoping to make your cake on the 23 December 2017 for Chirstmas hoping i will make it right but what if it cacks please HELP
The cake doesn’t typically crack unless it’s baked too long. Here’s my baking tips https://www.barbarabakes.com/baking-tips-for-layer-cakes/. I’d recommend baking the layers a week ahead of time and putting them in the freezer. Just give yourself plenty of time for your ganache to thicken before drizzling it on the cake, be sure and use heavy cream and make sure your cheesecake filling is firm before adding it to the middle – and you’ll do great!
Hi,
Which brand of chocolate did you use for the chocolate ganache?Should i use the semisweet baking chocolate chips?
Regards,
Navya.
Hi Navya – I used Guittard Old Dutch Milk Chocolate Wafers http://gygi.com/guittard-old-dutch-wafers. If you can find baking chocolate in the baking aisle at the grocery store that would be a better choice than chocolate chips, but you can use chocolate chips in a pinch.
I made this cake two times and it tasted great but both times but the top layer cake cracked after I added the ganache. Do you have any ideas about why this might have happened? The first time the cake was cracked a little when I took it out of the oven. The second time it was not and I turned the top cake upside down the second time thinking that might help. It still cracked. Not as bad as the first time, but it still has a river running through it.
Hi Ronda – it sounds like the cake needs less cook time in the oven. Perhaps your oven cooks hot so you may need to reduce the cook time or the oven temperature.
I love chocolate and the your recipes looks mouthwatering
Did you chill the cheesecake before adding to cake? I added more Oreo bits when I added the cheesecake layer because the pieces were soggy by the time both cakes were cooled.
When you serve, should the ganash be liquids or do you chill the entire thing together and the gnash create a shell?
I have the entire cake in the fridge, the cheese cake was covered but sat out while cakes were cooling, so the cheese cake is a bit loose. I hope it all forms into one nice cake. I hope I’m doing this correctly
Hi Erica – if you make the cheesecake layer before the cakes are cool, you should refrigerate it. The cake should be refrigerated as soon as you layer it with the cheesecake layer and until you are ready to decorate it with the ganache. You cheesecake layer should set up in the fridge. I would wait until the cheesecake layer is firm before starting the ganache. The ganache will be thin at first, but will thicken as it cools. You want to wait until the ganache is thick enough that if you put a drip on the edge of the cake, the drip only goes down the side part way. If it just runs down, you need to wait longer for the ganache to thicken. Ganache doesn’t form a hard shell. It always stays soft – sort of like a soft fudge. You should store any leftover cake in the fridge. Enjoy!
i am going to make this for a birthday but add my oreo truffles to it! looks great thank you