Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Oreo Buttercream Frosting

Oreo has got to be one of my favorite flavors. Cookies and cream ice cream has always been my go-to and, to this day, it still ranks up there as number one. My kids have clearly inherited that gene from me because they are also huge fans. We’re the family that buys every new flavor of Oreo cookie (except peanut butter!) as it comes out so we can try them all. I wanted to find the perfect recipe in which to use these chocolate sandwich cookies in a few different ways . So I made Oreo cupcakes – a moist vanilla cupcake stuffed with chocolate ganache with Oreos mixed in and topped with a heavenly smooth Oreo buttercream frosting. Nailed it!

For the love of all things Oreo

Growing up, we were very close with all of our neighbors. My sisters and I used to spend a lot of time running between each other’s houses. We often stayed overnight at our neighbor’s houses, too, ate meals together, played massive games of manhunt and put on Labor Day shows in “the court” (the cul-de-sac on which my family lived) with all the neighborhood kids. My neighbor Karen and her family kept kosher, so they could only have Hydrox Chocolate Sandwich Cookies instead of Oreos (this changed apparently in 1998 when Oreos began certifying their cookies as kosher. Thanks goodness for the internet!). I didn’t care! They tasted practically the same. And I think this is where my love for all things cookies and cream originated. From the second drawer down to the left of Karen’s fridge where all the Hydrox cookies were stored.

Making these Oreo Cupcakes

Now that you have a little history, let’s dive into how these cupcakes come together. Since I was looking to incorporate Oreos in a few ways into this cupcake, I decided to stuff them with this glorious chocolate ganache then top them with Oreo buttercream. So, there are a few steps here, but they’re all pretty easy to prepare and put together.

I used my good ol’ standby vanilla cupcake recipe from Magnolia Bakery for this stuffed Oreo cupcake. Why not a chocolate cupcake, you ask? Well, of course it’s because (a) I’ve been making an awful lot of chocolate lately, (b) my younger daughter prefers vanilla over chocolate so I have to spread the love, and (c) I thought it might be just a tad too much chocolate with chocolate cake plus chocolate ganache. Turns out, the balance of the moist vanilla cake with the rich filling and creamy buttercream works perfectly!

After the cupcakes are baked, stuff the centers with the chocolate ganache. Chocolate ganache is basically melted chocolate with heavy cream. For this filling, I mixed in more Oreos to give it some added texture and flavor. The frosting is a basic buttercream with finely crushed Oreos added in.

Tips for Making This Recipe

• Read through the entire recipe and ingredient list before beginning. Each section has similar ingredients, so you’ll want to assemble all of these and divide them appropriately according to the recipe. For instance, Oreos appear multiple times – in the ganache, in the frosting, and in the decoration. Figure out how many you may already have in your pantry and how many you’ll need total then divide them up so you’re ready to start baking
• To fill each cupcake, you’ll need to first cut a “tunnel” in each. The best way I found to do this is to use an apple corer. I press it straight down into the center of each cupcake, setting aside the piece that comes out for noshing on while I’m frosting. If you don’t have an apple corer, you can use a small paring knife to cut about a 1/2-inch circular tunnel out from the cupcake’s center
• If you don’t have a food processor in which to crush the Oreos into fine crumbs for the frosting, you can place the Oreos in a tightly sealed ziptop bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Just be sure to crush them into very fine pieces. The frosting will not pipe correctly if there’s large pieces in the piping bag. The tip will get clogged and you’ll get frustrated, for sure
• For the decoration, I used Oreo cookies cut in half. To do this without breaking the tops of the Oreos, use a sharp knife and press down on the top of the knife with your palm in one quick, hard push. This will help prevent the tops from breaking into many little pieces and will help from having to sacrifice too many broken cookies to the trash

Print

Like this recipe? Follow along on Pinterest for loads more just like it. And, don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!

Notice: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. By clicking on any of these links, you are consenting to us to place cookies on your browser.