Cookies & Cream Cupcakes – Vanilla cake is speckled with chunks of Oreo cookies, topped with Oreo buttercream frosting, and finished with a dollop of chocolate ganache to make for the most decadent cupcake you’ve ever had

Happy birthday to me!

Birthdays have changed their meaning for me over the years. I used to look forward to the gifts but now it’s all about the food – I love going out for a great steak, a full glass of Pinot Noir, and finishing the night with something decadent. That’s all I need.

To celebrate, I love to share some of my favorite recipes with you all. Last year, I shared this Birthday Cake Remix Ice Cream. It’s so decadent and loaded with fudgy brownies and rainbow sprinkles. What a tough act to follow, huh?

To live up to the birthday recipes I’ve shared in the past, I had to go all-out, something that was just as delicious as it was gorgeous.

And I think I did just that with these Cookies & Cream Cupcakes!

What’s in the cupcakes?

These cupcakes are made with a vanilla cake with tons of Oreo chunks. I wanted a vanilla cake so you could actually see all the Oreo (and taste it too!). I’ve seen so many “cookies & cream” cupcakes at bakeries and grocery stores that use a plain chocolate cupcake to resemble the color of the Oreo’s chocolate cookie. Sure, it looks like an Oreo but it’s missing all that extra crunch and flavor from the lack of Oreos.

The same goes for the buttercream frosting – I wanted the Oreos crushed and mixed into the buttercream to slightly offset the vanilla complexion of the cake. See how the frosting looks slightly gray on top of the cupcake?

Now, for the topping…originally, I added the chocolate ganache on top of the cupcake for show. But after taking a bite, the richness of the chocolate is just what this sweet cupcake needs. It adds the perfect balance and brings the whole cupcake together.

And finally, to make these cupcakes look super professional and, let’s face it, drop-dead gorgeous, I finished them off with a half of an Oreo.

Tips and tricks

As always, I love giving you guys tips on making the recipe the best it can be. This one is no exception – let’s check ’em out:

1. For the cake, make sure to chop the Oreos – don’t crush them. You want the texture of the cookie to come through the cake so if the pieces are too small, you won’t get that. However, for the buttercream, you definitely want to crush the Oreos to get that pretty gray color and to make it easy to pipe it.
2. Speaking of piping, you will not be able to using a piping tip with this buttercream because of the Oreo crumbs. Therefore, I just used a plain bag without a tip and just piped the frosting in a circle.
3. To make a creamy ganache, the key is letting the hot cream melt the chips first before you even start stirring them. I let the two sit together for 5 minutes before stirring and it’s never let me down.
4. Before adding the ganache to the top of the buttercream, make sure that it’s had some time to cool. If it’s too hot, it will melt the buttercream.

Alright, there you have it – the most decadent cupcake you’ve ever seen. I hope you get a chance to make it soon!!

Pin for later:

More desserts you’ll love:

Nutella Crunch Cupcakes

Oreo Truffles

Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies