This Oreo Poke Cake is the ideal dessert for Oreo lovers! It’s a moist vanilla cake that’s loaded with Oreo cookies and white chocolate pudding, and topped with homemade whipped cream and more Oreos!
Homemade Oreo Pudding Poke Cake
Whenever I have an extra bag of Oreos in the house, my husband always asks the same question: “Are those blog Oreos?” Yes. Yes, they are. And while it’s difficult to not munch on the cookies beforehand, this Oreo Poke Cake is totally worth the wait.
This cookies and cream poke cake is my favorite vanilla cake loaded with Oreo cookies, filled with white chocolate pudding, and topped with hot fudge and homemade whipped cream. If you love Oreo desserts, try this Oreo Ice Cream Cake or Mini Oreo Cheesecakes.
It’s decadent and delicious and so easy to make!
Key Ingredients
- Sour Cream – Sour cream is the key to a super moist texture. I use light sour cream, but regular will work too.
- Milk – I use nonfat milk, but use whatever you have on hand.
- Oreos – You’ll need 2 cups of crushed Oreos which works out to be anywhere from 15-18 Oreos.
- Instant Pudding – White chocolate or vanilla will work.
- Garnishes – Top your cake off with a drizzle of hot fudge sauce and more crushed Oreos!
How to Make Oreo Poke Cake
This Oreo cake with pudding is so easy to put together! Here’s a quick summary of the recipe:
- Prepare the Oreos: I like to crush them in a large plastic bag with a roller pin or something similar.
- Combine the wet ingredients: In a bowl, mix sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until combined and lighter in color.
- Add the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients, then alternate adding half the dry ingredients and half the milk. Mix until just incorporated.
- Mix in the Oreos: Add them to the batter and fold to combine.
- Bake and cool: Transfer the batter to a baking pan, then bake at 350ºF until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
- Poke the cake: Once the cake is cooled, use a wooden spoon or another similar object to poke holes all over the cake.
- Add the filling: Combine the r instant pudding mix and milk and immediately pour the mixture over the cake to fill the holes. Refrigerate the whole cake until the pudding is firm. This should only take a few minutes.
- Make the whipped cream topping: Chill the bowl and whisk the attachment of your stand mixer in the freezer for a few minutes. Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form, then slowly add in the powdered sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
- Garnish: Spread the whip over the top of the cake, then top with hot fudge sauce and crushed Oreos.
What is the Best Way to Poke Holes in a Poke Cake?
I like to use the handle end of a wooden spoon. The holes it creates are just the right size for soaking up the pudding filling.
Why is Poke Cake Soggy?
Poke cakes are naturally supposed to be a little bit soggy. I mean, they’re infused with pudding which adds flavor and tons of moisture.
To prevent your cake from being overly soggy, make sure you let it cool completely before you poke the holes and add the filling. It will be perfectly moist, but not too soggy.
How Far in Advance Can I Make This?
There are a couple of ways you can prep this Oreo cake with pudding ahead of time:
A fully assembled cake is best within 2-3 days in the fridge. So you can make the whole cake ahead of time, or just bake the cake portion and store it at room temperature for 2 days, then add the filling and topping the day you plan to serve.
What’s the Best Way to Store It?
Keeping a cake in an airtight container will help it to remain fresh. If your cake pan has a cover, that’s best, but otherwise cover it tightly with plastic wrap, or slice it into pieces and storing in an airtight container is best.
Cookies and Cream Pudding Poke Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 26 minutes
- Total Time: 56 minutes
- Yield: 12-15 slices
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Cookies and Cream Pudding Poke Cake is so easy to make and perfect for Oreo lovers! It’s a moist vanilla cake that’s loaded with Oreo cookies and white chocolate pudding, and topped with homemade whipped cream!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (285g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon (14.8 ml) vanilla extract
- ½ cup(118 ml) light sour cream
- 2 ½ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons (11.2 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) salt
- 1 ¼ cups (296 ml) milk (I use nonfat)
- 2 cups crushed Oreos (about 15–18 Oreos)
For the filling:
- 1 pkg (3.4oz) Instant white chocolate pudding (or vanilla)
- 1 3/4 (414ml) cups milk
For the topping:
- 1 1/2 cups (354ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (81g) powdered sugar
- Hot fudge sauce for garnish (optional)
- 4–6 crushed Oreos for garnish
Instructions
For the Cakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large Ziploc bag, crush the Oreos into small pieces using a rolling pin or something similar.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well incorporated and the batter is lighter in color, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Next mix in the sour cream and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients. Alternate adding half the dry ingredients and half the milk at a time and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed. Fold the crushed Oreos into the cupcake batter.
- Pour the batter into a 9×13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 26-28 minutes. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Cool Completely.
For the Filling:
- Once the cake has cooled, use a wooden spoon or another round object and poke holes over the top of the cake.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the instant pudding with the milk and whisk together until the powdered mix is dissolved.
- Pour the liquid pudding mix over top of the cake, try to fill the holes with the pudding mix. Refrigerate the cake until the pudding is firm, about 10 minutes or so.
For the Topping:
- Place the mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to chill
- Pour the heavy whipping cream into the chilled bowl and use an electric mixer to beat the heavy cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar and continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks start to form. Spread the whipped cream over the top of the cake. Keep refrigerated. Serve with hot fudge sauce and crushed Oreos.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 394
- Sugar: 34g
- Sodium: 315mg
- Fat: 18.4g
- Carbohydrates: 52.5g
- Fiber: .6g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 68mg
Directions for pudding contradict what the pudding box says, follow the box instructions and not the recipe for that part. This makes it too thick to pour into the cake and it ends up as just a layer on top and doesn’t infuse the way you want
For reference, it’s only a quarter cup difference. The pudding should be poured directly over the cake right away when it’s still liquid. If you let the pudding sit for a period of time it will thicken. You can also use a spatula to help spread the pudding over the cake which helps it seep into the holes.
There’s a video with this recipe explaining this. I hope this helps.
I not sure what I did wrong but my cake turned out very dense. I baked it unlit my cake tester came out clean in the middle and I did have to bake it longer then what was on the recipe. Was not overly impressed.
The cake itself is not a light and fluffy cake. It is a heavier, spongy cake. If it was dense, like compact and gummy, then something did not execute properly. Was it just that you wanted a more and fluffier cake or was it gummy?
Can this cake be layered or would it be too heavy to do that?
The Oreo cake itself can be layered no problem, but you want to take care to pour the liquid carefully and not overdue it. Maybe consider adding some dowels.
Wow! This was so good! My husband said it was better than our $500 steakhouse meal.
I did have to bake it an additional 7 min. like other reviewers specified but not really a problem.
I will definitely make this again for any other celebration
That’s just wonderful Heather, thank you so much!
I’ve made this twice now for guests & it was a hit both times. I was nervous because of the comments saying it took longer to bake. Both times took about 5 minutes more to bake & my oven runs hotter. The first time I accidentally mixed up the amount of milk & put in 1 3/4 cup instead of 1 1/4 cup but it still turned out just fine. I use vanilla pudding & cut the sugar back to just over a cup. Definitely let it sit several hours or overnight before serving as it becomes more moist & is even better the next day😋
Thank you so much Rachel for sharing! I’m glad you found this recipe.
This cake is amazing! My family cannot stop talking about it. I made if for a birthday and now I think it will be for every birthday going forward! These are all adults too, not kids! So moist and delicious, thank you so much for sharing it with us. This one is a keeper
Love love love that! Thank you so much!
I made it and it turn out good everyone likes it
Wonderful, thank you so much Jasline!
I would like to use butter rather than oil. How much butter shall I use?
Thank you!!
Normally you swap 1/2 cup of oil for half cup melted butter. Personally, I don’t think the melted butter option is nearly as good as the oil
My cake cracked on top know why this happened?
Hi Katie- I am not sure. Did it crack when it baked or cooled? Any recipe alternations or substitutions?
26-28 is not long enough baking time for a 9 x 13 cake. And yes my oven was preheated. I baked it 7 minutes more and still not done in the middle. I typically don’t have trouble baking cupcakes, breads etc.
Hi Kim, evey oven and type of pan will be different. In my oven that time is perfect, but please remember baking times are all going to vary. As long as you bake it until it’s done it the middle that should be fine.
I am having this same issue, I know oven times vary but I’m starting to get nervous!
Hi Tiffany, pans will also be a contributing factor to bake times. Insulted pans, foil pans, glass pans, they will all have different bake times. Trust the process and bake the cake until the toothpick in the center come out clean. If the cake it browning on top, throw a piece of foil over it
I have made this twice. The first time was fantasticly perfect. I made it again tonight. I used cake flour. Don’t use cake flour.
Thank you Stacy for sharing! Yes, this base cake recipe is not meant to be made with cake flour
I made this and it took much longer to cook and came out super dense. Did I do something wrong?
Hi Michelle, I would need more information to try and help troubleshoot. What type of pan and size did you use? For instance, glass pans have added baking time. Was the over *actually* fully preheated? (for instance, my oven beeps after 15 minutes that it’s ready but it is actually not fully preheated until about 30 minutes after I turn it on). It’s possible the ingredient measurements were off unless you used a scale to measure dry the flour/sugar. Did you make any substitutions? Happy to help troubleshoot. You can also email me directly.
Hi! Would want to know any substitute for the Light Sour Cream? It’s hard to find in my where I live. This will really help my sister wants cookies and cream cake for her birthday.
Any type of plain or Greek yogurt will work
The Kids loved it! I had to use angel delight here in the UK instead of the instant pudding. Delicious. I’ll definitely be trying more of your recipes 5☆☆☆☆☆
Thank you so much Julie! I am so glad you were able to make this recipe with available ingredients!