Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Layer Cake

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Cookie dough lovers, hold onto your hats! This dreamy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake is layered with edible cookie dough and a creamy chocolate chip cookie dough frosting!

Moist Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Layer Cake

This cake is pretty amazing. If you have a big sweet tooth like me, you’ll be obsessed! It’s super rich, plenty sweet and truly tastes like cookie dough through and through. The different textures you get from the cake, the cookie dough and the frosting are delightful.

The moist cake has a wonderful cookie dough-like flavor from the brown sugar and chocolate chips, the cookie dough itself is spot-on and totally edible with toasted flour, and the creamy frosting tastes like cookie dough in softer form. The combination is heaven!

What You’ll Need

I played around with the cake, frosting and cookie dough recipes until everything was perfect. Here’s the ingredient lineup for each one:

For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake

• All-Purpose Flour
• Baking Powder
• Salt: For flavor.
• Unsalted Butter: Bring to room temperature.
• Sugar
• Light Brown Sugar: This helps add cookie dough-like flavor.
• Vanilla Extract: For flavor.
• Sour Cream: Sour cream helps to thicken the batter a bit so that the mini chocolate chips don’t sink.
• Eggs: You’ll need 3 large eggs.
• Milk
• Mini Chocolate Chips: You can use milk, dark, semi-sweet, or whatever you prefer.

For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

• Butter: Room temperature.
• Light Brown Sugar: Packed.
• Vanilla Extract
• Salt
• All-Purpose Flour: Toasting your flour makes it so that the cookie dough is edible. Bake it in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes, then let it cool.
• Mini Chocolate Chips: I use semi-sweet.
• Milk: To help bring the cookie dough together and get it to the right consistency.

For the Cookie Dough Frosting

• Unsalted Butter: Room temperature.
• Light Brown Sugar: Again, this contributes to the cookie dough flavor.
• Vanilla Extract
• All-Purpose Flour: Toasted/heat treated.
• Salt
• Powdered Sugar: For volume and consistency.
• Heavy Whipping Cream: Add whipping cream as needed to get the right frosting consistency.
• Mini Chocolate Chips: For decorating.

How to Make This Cake

Because there are so many yummy things going in this cookie dough cake, it does take a little time to put everything together. But have no fear – it’s all super easy and straighforward!

Make the Chocolate Chip Cakes

1. Prep for Baking: Prepare three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Combine Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
3. Cream Butter, Sugars & Vanilla: Add the butter, sugars and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and beat together on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
4. Add Sour Cream: Add the sour cream and mix until well combined.
5. Add Eggs: Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
6. Add Half of Dry Ingredients: Add about half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
7. Add Milk: Slowly add the milk and mix until well combined.
8. Finish Adding Dry Ingredients: Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not overmix the batter.
9. Fold in Chocolate Chips: Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
10. Bake: Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
11. Let Cool: Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then transfer them to racks to cool completely.

Make the Cookie Dough

1. Combine Wet Ingredients: Add the butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and beat together on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add Dry Ingredients & Chocolate Chips: Add the salt and flour and mix until well combined, then stir in the mini chocolate chips.
3. Add Milk as Needed: Add the milk a tablespoon at a time, then combine. You want to add just enough milk so that the cookie dough can be rolled into balls, but remains crumbly.
4. Set Aside: Roll 20 balls of cookie dough that are 1/2 a tablespoon each (these will be used to top the cake). Set all the cookie dough aside.

Make the Frosting

1. Beat Butter: Beat the butter in a large mixer bowl until smooth.
2. Add Brown Sugar & Vanilla: Add the brown sugar and vanilla extract and mix until well combined and smooth.
3. Add Flour, Salt & Half of Powdered Sugar: Add the flour and salt and mix until well combined and smooth. Then, add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and well combined.
4. Add Heavy Cream: Add 3 tablespoons of cream and mix until smooth and well combined.
5. Finish Adding Powdered Sugar: Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth. Add additional water or milk as needed to get the right consistency.

Assemble the Cake

1. Flatten Cakes: Use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes so that they’re flat. These cakes don’t have a large dome, but I like to make sure they’re completely flat.
2. Frost First Layer: Place the first cake on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round. Spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly on top of the cake.
3. Add Cookie Dough Layer: Crumble up about half of the cookie dough that wasn’t used to make balls and sprinkle it evenly over the frosting. Try to make sure the cookie dough goes all the way to the edges, so you don’t end up with a big gap between the cake layers. Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of the cookie dough, just enough so that the next cake layer has something to stick to.
4. Add Second Cake, Frosting & Dough Layers: Add the second layer of cake, another cup of frosting and the remaining cookie dough crumbles. Spread another thin layer of frosting on top of the cookie dough.
5. Finish Layering & Frost Outside: Top the cake with the remaining layer and frost the outside of the cake.
6. Add Chocolate Chips: Press the mini chocolate chips for the frosting into the sides of the cake.
7. Decorate: Pipe the remaining frosting around the top edge of the cake and decorate with the cookie dough balls. Use any remaining cookie dough for additional decoration, if desired.

Tips for Success

Want some more advice on how to make this decadent layer cake? Check out the tips below!

• Cream Butter, Sugar & Vanilla Well: Don’t stop beating your butter and sugar until the mixture has turned fluffy and lightened in color. It will take at least 2 minutes.
• Avoid Over Mixing the Batter: Stop mixing your cake batter once the ingredients are fully incorporated, or you risk over mixing it and ending up with a dense cake.
• Tips for Frosting Your Cake: Want to perfect the art of frosting layer cakes? Refer to my tutorial for Frosting a Smooth Cake!

How to Store this Layer Cake

This cake should be stored in the fridge and brought to room temperature before serving. The cookie dough will firm up in the fridge, so you’ll want it to soften before you cut and eat the cake.

Place leftover cake in an airtight container and refrigerate. It will stay fresh for 3-4 days!

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More Chocolate Chip Desserts to Try

Chocolate chips are a tasty addition to any treat. If you love chocolate, check out these easy recipes ASAP!

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pizza
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake
• Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownie Layer Cake
• Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream