Cookie Dough Cake

This cookie dough cake has cookie dough baked into each fudgy chocolate cake layer and is layered and frosted with a dreamy cookie dough frosting! It's a cookie dough lover's dream come true!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Low Lactose, Vegetarian

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 22

Total Time 57

Servings slices

Calories 557kcal

Author Gabby

Equipment

2 8 inch round cake pan
Mixing Bowls

Ingredients

Cookie Dough Pieces

6 Tablespoons butter, softened (regular or dairy free)
¼ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ Tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup +3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
½-1 Tablespoon milk of choice (regular or dairy free)
¼ cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

Chocolate Cake

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 cup water, hot
½ cup canola oil, grapeseed oil, or sunflower oil
½ cup milk of choice (regular or dairy free)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cookie Dough Frosting

1¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons butter softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar
1½ Tablespoon vanilla extract
1¼ teaspoon salt
2¼ cup all-purpose flour, heat treated SEE NOTES
1-4 Tablespoons milk of choice (as needed) (regular or dairy free)
¾ cup mini chocolate chips (regular or dairy free)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cookie Dough Pieces

Start by making the cookie dough for the chocolate cake. In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or in a stand mixer, beat room temperature butter with light brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the milk and vanilla extract and mix until everything is combined.
Add in the salt and flour and mix until you have a dough. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Scoop into 18 small cookie dough balls (about 1 tablespoon) and place on a parchment lined plate. Flatten the top of each one just slightly and then place in the fridge.

Chocolate Cake

Make the chocolate cake, start by preheating the oven to 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius. Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans by spraying with non-stick spray and lining with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Add in the vanilla extract, oil, eggs, and milk. Pour in the hot water and mix until the cake batter is smooth.
Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and gently push 9 pieces of cookie dough into each cake pan.
Make sure the cake batter completely covers the cookie dough pieces and bake for 20-26 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 20 minutes before removing and letting them cool on a wire cooling rack.

Cookie Dough Frosting

While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Start by heat treating your flour. Microwave the flour for 1-2 minutes or until it reaches 165°Fahrenheit. You can also bake it on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 350°Fahrenheit for 5 minutes. Let cool.
In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or in a stand mixer, combine the room temperature butter with vanilla extract, granulated sugar, light brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk.
Add the heat treated flour and salt and combine. Add more milk if needed until the desired consistency is reached. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Assembling The Cake

Place one chocolate cake layer down and cover it with some of the frosting. Place the second layer on top and frost the top and side if desired! Crumble any remaining cookie dough on top for decoration.

Video

Notes

Note: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your dry ingredients. Metric measurements are found above under the "Metric" tab.

Parchment paper lining: I highly recommend not skipping this step. Lining the cake pans with parchment paper will make it so much easier to remove the cakes from the pan. To do this, trace then cut a circle in the shape of your cake pan out of the parchment paper and place it inside the pans.

Cocoa Powder: I recommend using dutch processed cocoa powder, but you can use natural if that's what you have.

Measuring Dry Ingredients: Either measure your flour using a kitchen scale or use the proper scoop and level method: fluff the flour in the bag/container with a fork then use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then run the back of a knife along the top of the cup to even it out. Do the same for the cocoa powder.

Storage and Freezing Instructions:

The cake can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 4 days. I store mine in a cake carrier.

To freeze the cake layers: let cool completely, then tightly wrap them in plastic wrap, then aluminium foil. Freeze in ziploc bags for up to 3 months, then let them thaw at room temperature.

To freeze the assembled cake: cut it into slices, then wrap each individual slice in plastic wrap, then wrap in tinfoil. You can place the tinfoil wrapped slices in a ziploc freezer bag and thaw at room temperature when ready to enjoy!

To make in two 9 inch round cake pans: The cake layers will be thinner and will bake quicker. Start checking on them at around 14 minutes.

To make in a 9x13 sheet pan: Bake for 18-20 minutes. You will only need half the buttercream for a layer cake, so halve the buttercream recipe.

To make as a 3 layer cake: The easiest way is to divide the batter between 3 8 inch cake pans (you'll have thinner cake layers). If you want big layers, you can also multiply the ingredients in the recipe by 0.5.

Nutrition