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Are you looking for a show-stopping dessert that is easy to make and sure to impress? Look no further than Homemade Zebra Layer Cake with Cookies and Cream Frosting!
This cake has beautiful swirled chocolate and vanilla layers that create a zebra stripe effect, making it perfect for both kids and adults. It is reminiscent of Little Debbie zebra cakes many of us had when we were kids.
Each cake layer is marbled in a zebra pattern so you can see both the chocolate and white cake, and the top of this marble cake is frosted with cookies and cream cheese frosting. Trust me, this Zebra Cake recipe will be a hit on any occasion!
This fun zebra cake has become one of my family’s favorite Cake Recipes, or dare I say, even one of their favorite overall Dessert Recipes!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Look – The stunning zebra stripe effect is sure to impress your guests.
- Taste – The cookies and cream cheese frosting is rich and decadent
- Easy – It’s easy to make, even for beginner bakers.
- Make Ahead – You can make it ahead of time for convenience.
What You’ll Need
Equipment
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- Food Processor
- large bowl, medium bowl, small bowl
- electric mixer
- cake pans
- wire rack
- Aluminum foil
- Plastic Wrap
- Piping Bag
- Cake serving plate
Ingredients
Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don't have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.
For the cake:
- White Cake Mix – 1 box white cake mix
- Milk – 1 cup whole milk
- Oil – 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- Eggs – 4 large egg whites
- Cocoa – 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
For the frosting:
- Oreos – 16 Oreos
- Butter – 1 cup unsalted butter, softened.
- Cream Cheese – 8 ounces cream cheese, softened.
- Powdered Sugar – 8 cups sifted powdered sugar
- Heavy Cream – 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- Vanilla – 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. I recommend using pure vanilla extract.
How To Make Zebra Cake
Prepare the Cake Pans
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans or spray them with cooking spray.
- Add a circle of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan and spray the top with more cooking spray; set aside.
Make The Zebra Cake
- Gather the ingredients.
- In the large bowl with an electric hand mixer, add the cake mix and milk.
- Add oil.
- Add egg whites for 30 seconds until it comes together. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Take half of the cake batter and put it into a medium-sized bowl.
- To the remaining cake batter, add the cocoa powder.
- Stir it in until just combined.
- Working with both cake pans, add about ¼ cup of the white cake batter to the center of each pan.
- Add about ¼ cup of the chocolate batter into the center of the white batter in each pan.
- Keep doing this until all of the batters are used up, and the cakes should have an even amount of cake batter in each pan.
- If you find the batter isn't spreading, you can tilt the baking pan until it fills out the bottom of the pan; this will not mess up the zebra design.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting by placing the Oreos into a food processor and processing them into crumbs, set aside.
Make The Cookies and Cream Frosting
- Place the softened butter and cream cheese into the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, and cream together until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully combined, and scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the heavy cream and vanilla, and stir it in until combined.
- Place the mixer on medium-high speed and whip for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the cookie crumbs.
- Stir the cookie crumbs in until combined.
- I like to use a spatula and then mix it more by hand to ensure the cookie crumbs are evenly distributed.
- Cut any doming off the cakes so the tops are flat. Put one of the cakes bottom side down onto your serving platter. Add about 1 cup of the frosting and smooth it out to the edge.
- Place the second cake top side down onto the frosting.
- Add a thin layer of frosting over the whole cake. Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours to set up.
- Add another layer of frosting around the whole cake.
- Take the remaining frosting and decorate as you wish, and add mini Oreos if desired. Cut and serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
- Make Ahead – Yes, you can make it ahead of time, but be careful to avoid the dreaded gray frosting. It’s extremely important to wait to add the cookie crumbs to the frosting until just before assembling the cake. If added too soon, they will soften and combine with the frosting to turn the frosting gray.
- To Decorate or Not – If you only want to frost the cake and not decorate it, then you can make only half the amount of the frosting listed in the recipe.
- Storing The Cake – This cake requires refrigeration due to the cream in the frosting.
- Serving The Cake – The is best served at room temperature. Allow it to come to room temperature for serving, and place any leftover cake back in the refrigerator.
Variations
- Change The Frosting: You don’t have to use the Oreo frosting. Instead, you could use either vanilla or chocolate buttercream, peanut butter frosting, caramel frosting, or plain cream cheese frosting.
- Change The Oreos: Instead of adding crushed Oreos to the frosting, you could add chocolate sprinkles, shavings, or a melted chocolate drizzle.
Serving Suggestions
Zebra cake is fun and delicious when served with ice cream. Vanilla ice cream is delicious, but I also love serving it with either Cookies and Cream ice cream or milkshake.
FAQs
No, you don’t. You can make the cake from scratch if you wish. However, in this particular recipe, I used a boxed mix to save time since we were adding additional time due to layering the different cake batters to get the zebra effect.
Store the cake in an airtight container, or cover it with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. The cream cheese frosting requires refrigeration.
Yes, wrap the cake or cake slices in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe, airtight container in the freezer and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Recipes
- German Chocolate Layer Cake
- Chocolate Layer Cake
- Cookies and Cream Milk Shake
- Oreo Fluff
- Hot Chocolate Dip
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Recipe
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
For the frosting:
- 16 Oreos
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 8 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Garnish
- Mini Oreos for garnish optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray 2 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray. Add a circle of parchment paper to the bottom and spray the top with more cooking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, stir the cake mix, milk, oil, and egg whites for 30 seconds until it comes together. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Take half of the cake batter and put it into a medium-sized bowl.
- To the remaining cake batter, add the cocoa powder and stir it in until just combined.
- Working with both cake pans, add about ¼ cup of the white cake batter to the center of each pan. Add about ¼ cup of the chocolate batter into the center of the white batter in each pan. Keep doing this until all of the batters are used up and the cakes should have an even amount of cake batter in each pan.
- If you find the batter isn't spreading you can tilt the baking pan until it fills out the bottom of the pan, this will not mess up the zebra design.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting by placing the Oreos into a food processor and process into crumbs, set aside.
- Place the softened butter and cream cheese into the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, and cream together until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully combined, and scrape down the sides as needed.
- Add the heavy cream and vanilla, and stir it in until combined. Place the mixer on medium-high speed and whip for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the cookie crumbs and stir them in until combined. I like to then use a spatula to mix it a little more by hand to make sure the cookie crumbs are evenly distributed.
- Cut any doming off the cakes so the tops are flat. Put one of the cakes bottom side down onto your serving platter. Add about 1 cup of the frosting and smooth it out to the edge.
- Place the second cake top side down onto the frosting. Add a thin layer of frosting over the whole cake. Place in the fridge for 1-2 hours to set up.
- Add another layer of frosting around the whole cake. Take the remaining frosting and decorate as you wish, and add mini Oreos if desired. Cut and serve immediately.
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