My ’70K’ Gluten Free ‘Oreo’ Drip Cake Recipe (dairy free option)

To celebrate reaching 70k followers on Instagram AND Facebook simultaneously, I baked you all a cake! So here’s my gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake recipe which is really easy to make dairy free too.

Well ok, it might not be big enough for us all to eat ? That’s why I thought I’d post my gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake recipe so you can bake your own at home! Then you don’t have to share with anyone else if you feel like being selfish…

Yep, that’s right, there’s 70,000 of you following me on Instagram and 70,000 following me on Facebook. What?! How did that happen?

When I started writing my blog, I only had one viewer… my Mum. Ok – maybe Mark too. So to think there’s a whole 139,998 more of you out there now is pretty mind-blowing.

So first of all – I just wanted to say a HUGE thanks! I don’t think you guys realise just how much you’ve transformed my life by hitting that follow button, or even simply by reading this post.

Over the last few years, I’ve gone from ‘girl who blogs on the side of her 9-5’ to ‘girl who blogs 24/7’. And I’ve never been happier! All I ever wanted to do was create recipes for people like myself… who couldn’t eat nice things!

But anyway, enough of the soppy bit, let’s talk about my gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake recipe…

So yeah, I always try and make something a little special when I hit a milestone, and my gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake recipe is exactly that.

It’s a three-tiered, decadent chocolate sponge, with cookies and cream icing, a chocolate ganache drip, topped with broken gluten free ‘Oreos’.

(you can find them in the free from aisle in Asda – they’re just called ‘Cookies and Cream Biscuits’)

And I’m not gonna lie, this is a little more tricky than most of my usual recipes! It’s not exactly difficult (otherwise I wouldn’t stand a hope in hell of making this!) but you will need to be a little handy when it comes to decorating…

Decorating cakes that is, not painting and decorating!

That’s because you’ll need to apply the icing and then scrape it really nice and smooth with a plastic scraper – which you may not have already!

But trust me, it’s a mandatory tool for a cake like this. Here’s a great video showing you how to construct your sponge layers and tackle getting nice, smooth icing. Ignore the sugar syrup stuff in the video – you won’t need that.

Then, you’ll need some very basic piping skills to pipe on the chocolate drip. This is probably the easiest part out of the two to be honest!

But you will need a piping bag to do so. Here’s a really helpful video that shows you how to do it – start the video at 3 minutes 24 seconds and watch until 6 minutes 28 seconds – the rest isn’t so relevant to this recipe.

Not too scary sounding, is it?! It is important to get the icing nice and smooth, otherwise your drip will only make things look a little messy!

I can’t emphasise how helpful YouTube has been in helping me to learn how to do this ?? Otherwise my gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake recipe wouldn’t exist!

Ok, so now you’ve watched those, you’re probably an expert in icing… ? Seriously, don’t worry if you’re not, just give it a go! It’ll still taste the same regardless!

But if you can pull it off, I can assure you that everyone will be mega-impressed! It’s the perfect cake for any special occasion and trust me on this one – you won’t find a shop-bought gluten free cake quite like this.

Here’s what you’ll need for the recipe:

Ingredients for my gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake recipe

For the sponges

• 350g butter (or dairy free alternative)
• 500g caster sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 440g gluten free plain flour
• 50g cocoa powder (ensure it’s dairy free if necessary)
• 4 tsp baking powder (ensure its gluten free)
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum (this is really important as we are using plain flour in this recipe)
• 100g yoghurt
• 200g dark chocolate, melted
• 200ml boiling water

For the ‘Oreo’ buttercream

• 440g butter (or dairy free alternative – Stork Hard Baking Block), softened
• 1kg icing sugar
• 1 packet (160g) of gluten free and dairy free ‘Oreos’
• 2-3 tbsp of milk (or dairy free alternative)

For the topping

• Extra gluten free and dairy free ‘Oreos’

For the drip

• 200g chocolate
• 4 tsp vegetable oil

Ok, so here’s a few frequently asked questions before we get started…

Here’s some tips/FAQs for creating the perfect gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake…

Can I make this recipe gluten free?

It is gluten free!

Can I make your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake dairy free?

Of course you can! Firstly, my chocolate drip is always dairy free as standard.

All you need to do is ensure a few things are dairy free – the dark chocolate, the yoghurt and of course, the gluten free ‘Oreos’ you use. I use these ones from Asda – they’re vegan too.

You’ll also need to use Stork hard margarine instead of butter for the sponge cake and the icing. Don’t forget to have a few tbsp of dairy free milk for the icing too.

You might need to add a little extra icing sugar for the buttercream just to bring it together, as hard margarine can be a little looser than when using butter.

Otherwise, you’re all good to go!

Is your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake recipe nut free?

Yep, this is a nut-free recipe as far as ingredients go, BUT some of the gluten free ‘Oreos’ you find in supermarkets often have a ‘may contain nuts’ warning.

I’ve had a little look online and Schar’s Chocolate O’s seem to be nut free, but do bear in mind that they’re not dairy free.

But of course, make sure you check the ingredients label on ALL the products you use to bake this cake just to be safe.

Even if the products don’t contain nuts, they may have a ‘may contain nuts’ warning due to being produced in a factory that handles nuts.

You can never be too careful so always read the labels on everything first!

Can I make your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake in a food processor or standing mixer?

Of course you can – and it’ll save you on elbow grease! I don’t use a standing mixer or food processor to make the cake mixture personally – I use an electric whisk. Just because I’m used to it.

(here’s a link to the electric whisk I use)

You can of course, bake this without any assistance from any appliance – just a good ol’ fashioned wooden spoon will do. Just make sure you give it a lot of welly, otherwise your mixture won’t be consistent and might not bake properly.

When it comes to buttercream, I prefer to use my standing mixer though. As you have to mix it for a longer period of time (around 10 minutes) it’s much easier to just let the mixer do the hard work.

Can I make your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake without any kind of electric mixer at all?

As it’s such a large quantity of mixture for the sponges and buttercream, it might take you a while!

It will take a lot longer and you must make sure you’re not leaving any dry mixture left in the bottom of the bowl. Also, when creaming together butter and sugar, make sure your butter is at room temperature to give you a good head start.

In terms of icing, it can be a bit of a mission as 15 minutes in a standing mixer probably translates to a lot more with a wooden spoon. But it is possible!

Do I need any special equipment to bake your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake?

Certainly not! As I mentioned, a food processor, standing mixer or electric whisk will cut down on prep time, but they’re not mandatory.

If you really want to nail the presentation of this cake, you’ll need a plastic icing scraper and some piping bags.

And whilst it’s not technically ‘special equipment’, you will need a good quality baking tin (I used 3) so here’s a link to the one I use.

You don’t necessarily need a springform or a loose-bottom tin to make this, but those would be fine too.

Can I bake this using the all-in-one method?

In case you didn’t already know, the all-in-one method involves bunging all your sponge ingredients into a bowl at once and mixing them together. That’s instead of adding them gradually.

Since there’s a lot of ingredients (at varying temperatures) that actually go into making the sponge cakes, I wouldn’t recommend using this method to do so!

You could use the all-in-one method up to a point – so that would mean adding your butter, sugar, eggs and dry mixture into your bowl all in one go. But… why would I still advise against using the all-in-one method?

Well, adding the eggs separately helps to ensure that the cake mixture doesn’t split, plus, creaming the butter and sugar ensures a nice, light and airy sponge.

It really doesn’t take you that long to do all the separate stages, so I’d recommend giving it a go that way first. It really doesn’t take much longer as you’ll have to do a hell of a lot more mixing with the all-in-one method!

Can I make this recipe without xanthan gum?

You’ll see xanthan gum in a lot of my recipes as it’s an essential ingredient in gluten free baking.

Without gluten to bind the cake together, you can be left with a very loose and crumbly cake texture which is far from ideal. But what if you didn’t have any, or simply wanted to remove xanthan gum from the recipe entirely?

Well, I definitely wouldn’t recommend removing xanthan gum from the recipe if you can really avoid doing so! I understand if you struggle to tolerate it for some reason, but otherwise, it’s a vital ingredient not to be missed.

Some people have asked if they can use psyllium husk powder instead of xanthan gum, but I’ve found that it definitely results in a denser sponge so I wouldn’t overly recommend it.

So TLDR; definitely use xanthan gum if you can!!

Do I need weighing scales to bake your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake?

In short… yes, yes and yes! And I wouldn’t advise attempting any my recipes without them. One of the worst things you can do in any baking recipe is alter the quantities by mistake or on purpose.

(unless you know what you’re doing of course)

Why? Well, you’re sort of just gambling with the recipe and praying that it turns out ok, don’t you think? And I’ve generally already done the hard work there for you, so you don’t have to do the guesswork with measurements!

A lot of work went into fine tuning ratios and quantities so I wouldn’t mess around with them unless you really know your stuff.

I’d recommending using digital cooking scales like these so you know you’re getting an accurate measurement.

What gluten free ‘Oreos’ should I use to bake this recipe?

Any, as long as they’re gluten free! You can often find them in free from aisles labelled as ‘cookies and cream’ biscuits in the UK.

I used these ones from Asda but there’s also some in Tesco, Morrisons and I believe Schar make their own version too.

Can I bake your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake with less sugar?

I can definitely understand the need to reduce sugar in our foods, but this is one of the recipes where I wouldn’t advise it.

Of course, the sugar isn’t just for sweetness – it’s integral to the structure of the cake once baked and is sooo important.

If you wanted to tone things down a bit sugar-wise, you could use a boat-load less icing by just putting icing in between each layer and on top. You’d probably have to lose the drip if you do that though.

But obviously, that makes this a totally different recipe to be honest! But I’ll leave the choice up to you.

How long can I keep your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake for?

I’ve kept my gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake for about 4-5 days in an air-tight container with no problems. If you need it any longer than that, I’d highly recommend freezing it (see advice below for doing that)

When the cake starts getting a little dry, it’s probably starting to get past its best.

Can I freeze your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake?

Of course! I’ve frozen it for up to 2-3 months, but make sure you slice up the cake first – that helps with defrosting massively.

An individual slice will thaw much quicker too – it should take around 4 hours at room temperature.

Can I make your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake vegan?

Yep! If you follow the instructions above to make this recipe dairy free, then all you’ve got left to contend with is the eggs.

Here’s a few ideas you can use as egg replacements, so each of these = 1 egg.

• 3 tablespoons of aquafaba – water from a can of chickpeas. Keep the chickpeas for a future dinner!
• Egg replacement powder – I’d recommend using Orgran as it’s gluten free.
• 1 tablespoon of chia/flax seeds mixed with 2 tablespoons of water and left for 10 minutes in the fridge.
• 3 tablespoons of applesauce.

So use one of those egg replacement options and you’ve got a gluten free AND vegan ‘Oreo’ drip cake!

I haven’t tested all of these egg alternatives so let me know how you get on in the comments below ??

How can I tell when my sponges are done?

Grab a skewer and give it a poke in the centre. If it comes out clean, then it’s done! It should look like it has a nice, slightly golden, crisp outer crust too.

If the skewer comes out moist and cake batter-like, it’s best to pop it back in for a bit longer.

The more you get used to using your own oven, the more likely your cake will come out perfectly cooked first time. Oh and also make sure your oven is fully pre-heated before putting your sponges in too.

Troubleshooting

Why did my cake batter split or curdle?

Firstly, I never worry when my batter has split or curdled! It may not look the best, but generally it doesn’t affect the bake in way that you’d notice.

But basically, a mixture can split or curdle when the eggs AND butter/margarine aren’t both room temperature. So make sure you get the butter/margarine out of the fridge a few hours early, BEFORE you start baking!

Over-mixing your batter can split the mixture too, so once you’ve got a nice, smooth cake batter without lumps, stop mixing!

My sponges didn’t rise or were totally flat in the middle!

There’s actually quite a few reasons, but here’s a few common ones:

• Too much raising agent – eg. baking powder. Anything that causes your cake to rise too fast, will inevitably sink by the time the cake it done. The cake won’t be cooked enough to hold it’s own weight!
• Split or curdled mixture. Whilst this can have a bit of a role in a sunken cake, I’ve found that it’s never too drastic.
• Opening the oven door. Never open the oven door while a cake is baking if you can avoid it! Not only does this result in a sudden drop in temperature, but it will interrupt the circulation of air in the oven.
• Over mixing the batter. If you whisk too much air into the batter, it’ll probably sink under the weight of the cake.

Why is my sponge cake dry with a tough outer crust?

If the sponges come out looking and feeling dry, hard with a tough outer crust, it’s probably over-baked.

That either means it had too long in the oven, or the oven temperature was too hot.

Oven temperatures can vary massively, so it’s best to keep an eye on your sponge around 15 minutes before it should be done.

Can I print your gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake recipe?

Of course! Just hit the print button located on the recipe below ?? (otherwise you might end up printing this entire post which would probably make your printer go into early retirement)

Thanks for reading all about my gluten free ‘Oreo’ drip cake recipe! If you make it, I’d love to see how it turned out so don’t forget to take a snap of your creations and tag me on Instagram!

Any questions about the recipe? Please do let me know by following me on Instagram and leaving me a comment on a recent photo!

Thanks for reading,

Becky xxx

Oh and don’t forget to pin this for later!