Combine classic chocolate cake with your favorite guilty pleasure in this Cookie Dough Cake!
You’re going to think I’m crazy. Most of my friends and family already do, so I may as well let the cat out of the bag… I hate the way this Cookie Dough Cake turned out. Flavor-wise, it’s perfect; aesthetically, not so much. This is not what it was supposed to look like! Or rather, it was supposed to be less messy looking. You’re rolling your eyes at me already, I can tell. That’s ok, I fully embrace my craziness.
I’d been wanting to do a cookie dough frosting for some time now, and thought it would pair perfectly with my chocolate cake recipe. If you haven’t tried this chocolate cake, you need to.
It’s a really easy recipe and makes the fudgiest cake. I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe for the frosting, except I swapped out the eggs for milk, heat-treated the flour, and left out the baking soda. I use the term “frosting” lightly. It’s basically cookie dough whipped into oblivion. You could add more milk to make it even lighter if you prefer.
Ok, so my plan was always to do a naked cake, so that the cookie dough frosting would contrast nicely with the dark chocolatey layers. That went mostly ok, except the cookie dough was a bit difficult to spread evenly due to the chocolate chips. Thank goodness I didn’t use the full 2 cups of chocolate chips in the original recipe!!
If you used mini-chocolate chips this would be less of an issue. It wasn’t really an issue, but as you know I’m a perfectionist and those layers better be perfectly even and flat! Anyhow…
Frosting this Cookie Dough Cake was pretty straightforward, except for my spatula getting snagged on the chocolate chips here and there. The top part gave me the most trouble.
I wanted to add a top layer of frosting to have the same number of frosting layers as cake layers, but that top layer was especially a pain to get flat and perfect. So, it isn’t. It’s kinda rounded and lopsided, and not really what I wanted. And because the top edges aren’t exactly crisp, the drips turned out less than perfect.
They’re like, too evenly spaced or something. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something’s off, and I don’t like it. I can feel you rolling your eyes.
At some point the cake decided it would be fun to start tilting to the side too, so that was great. I had to try to nudge it straight and rotate it so that it looked even. Pics have been taken from the most flattering angle.
The beauty of naked cakes is that they’re super easy to decorate because they’re supposed to look more rustic and imperfect. This is a great technique if you’re worried about your cake frosting skills!
Cake decorating “issues” aside, I love the way this Cookie Dough Cake tastes!! If you’re a cookie dough lover (and really, why wouldn’t you be) you will love this frosting. It goes really well with the chocolate cake, but would go great with a classic vanilla cake too. The chocolate drips add another hit of chocolate and some flare. Topped off with some crumbled chocolate chip cookies for some crunch.
Notes & tips for this Cookie Dough Cake:
- You can use hot water instead of hot coffee in the cake batter. The coffee helps to enhance the chocolate flavor, but it tastes just as good using hot water instead.
- For the ganache, I let mine set overnight (with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface). It will be too thick at this point, so I microwave it for 10 secs and stir it until it’s the right consistency.
- Be sure to heat-treat your flour for the cookie dough. Bake the flour at 350F for 5-10mins.
- The drip technique works best on a chilled cake so that the drips set quickly.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, see my tips here.
- You will have some cookie dough frosting left over. I recommend making Cookie Dough Truffles with the excess. Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe here!
Cookie Dough Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder sifted
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup hot strong brewed coffee or hot water
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Cookie Dough Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour heat-treated
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp milk room temperature
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Ganache:
- 2 oz dark chocolate
- 2 oz heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F, grease three 6″ round baking pans and dust with cocoa powder. Line bottoms with parchment.
- Place all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl whisk all wet ingredients (pour coffee in slowly as not to cook the eggs if very hot).
- Add wet ingredients to dry and mix on medium for 2-3 mins. Batter will be very thin.
- Pour evenly into prepared pans. I used a kitchen scale to ensure the batter is evenly distributed.
- Bake until a cake tester comes out mostly clean. A total of 30-35mins.
Cookie Dough Frosting:
- Combine flour and salt in a bowl, set aside.
- Beat butter until creamy, add sugars and beat on high until pale and fluffy (approx. 2-3mins). Add vanilla and mix until combined.
- Reduce speed to low and slowly add in flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Slowly pour in milk. Increase speed to med-high and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Stir in chocolate chips.
Ganache:
- Place chopped chocolate and cream into a microwave safe bowl. Stir to combine. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir. Microwave in 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until ganache is smooth and silky. Set aside to cool completely before using on cake.
Assembly:
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving dish. Top with about 2/3 cup buttercream. Repeat with remaining layers. Smooth the outside, chill for 30mins.
- Using a teaspoon, drip ganache along the edges then fill in the top. Chill for 15mins.
- Top with chopped cookies if desired.
Whitney says
Hi Olivia, I made this recipe In a 6 inch but it has now been requested as a 14inch. Could you tell me how much more of the ingredients do I need to use Pls? Thank you
Olivia says
Hi Whitney! Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
Samantha says
Hi!
I want to make this cake for my twins birthday and I was wondering if I could assemble the cake with the cookie dough frosting in it the night before and put it in the fridge with saran wrap over it?
Thank you!
Sam
Olivia says
Hi Samantha! For sure, that will be no problem. Definitely saran wrap the sides so they don’t dry out 🙂
Becky says
If I only have salted butter for the frosting can I just decrease the salt by 1/2tsp??
I’ve made this before as directed and it’s AMAZING! I’m just at my moms house and she only has salted butter.
Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Becky! I find salted butter to be too salty to bake with, but you can give it a try! I would remove all of the salt from the frosting recipe and only add more if you feel you want to after tasting it.
Sheila Andrews says
Hello! I had an. Issue with the cookie dough frosting. After reading through the comments I’m feeling even more confused about what the result should look like.
Your photo shows an almost white frosting. You describe it as light and fluffy.
I followed your recipe faithfully, word for word, using my stand mixer. And the cookie dough “buttercream” is simply… Cookie dough. A dark biege cookie dough. It isn’t *as* dense as traditional dough, but this is not easily confused with frosting and does not resemble the pale, whipped frosting represented in your picture.
Am I doing something wrong? No one else has mentioned this so I’m extra confused about it.
Olivia says
Hi Sheila! The cookie dough frosting is basically a cookie dough without eggs or baking soda. The darker color is most likely attributed to the color of your brown sugar — mine was a light brown. The longer you whip the butter & sugars the lighter the frosting becomes. I hope that helps!
Sheila Kristen Andrews says
I used light brown sugar as the recipe called for. Still, the result was a dark beige.
So to get the nearly-white look and “light and fluffy” texture presented on this page photographs, what do you suggest?
Karen says
There is salt listed in the frosting ingredients but the frosting instructions do not mention the salt. Is it supposed to be in the frosting or no?
Olivia says
Hi Karen! It is, thanks for catching that. You mix it with the flour. I added that step in now.
Dee says
I made this for my partners 30th last year and ever since this cake recipe has been saved and been made 4 more times! Really lovely and light.
Olivia says
So happy to hear that, Dee! 🙂
Lauren says
My daughter and I made this for my son’s birthday. We kept the recipe the same, but we used (2) 8 inch pans instead. Turned out great. Guests thought it was delicious! Olivia was also SO helpful…she answered all of my questions and helped us make a yummy birthday cake! Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Lauren! I’m so happy to hear it all worked out 🙂 Glad to help!
Victoria says
This recipe looks great! Just a question— do you find that this cookie dough frosting is grainy because of the granulated sugar?
Olivia says
Hi Victoria! There is definitely some graininess from the sugar but it’s there in cookie dough so I don’t mind it 🙂 If you really cream the butter and sugars it will help reduce that though.
Evelyn Gratton says
Would I be able to use larger pans, such as 2 nine inch pans? I don’t own any 6 inch pans. Thank you!
Olivia says
Hi Evelyn! You could for sure, but you may need to increase the recipe somewhat. Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html I would maybe 1.5x the recipe.
Victoria says
Would I be able to cover this cake in a vanilla SMBC or would it be too sweet?
Olivia says
Hi Victoria! I think that would be perfectly fine and delicious. Or you could use a cookie SMBC like I did here 🙂 https://livforcake.com/chocolate-chip-cookie-cake/
Ajay Kumar says
Wow! This is the most useful article I’ve seen! It has everything I need to
know, and I am pinning it. Thank you so much for creating this!
Olivia says
Thank you! I hope you like it 🙂
Wanjun says
Hey, thank you for the nice recipe! Can i use only one pan and cut the dough into three layers instead of usiing 3 pans?
Olivia says
Hi Wanjun! The recipe as-is won’t all fit into one 6″ pan – it would need to be very tall. I would either reduce the recipe or increase the pan size.
Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here are some sites I use as a guideline:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Cake_tin_conversion_charts
Erin Edge says
Hi Olivia,
I want to make this as a graduation cake for my neighbor but I want to make it with three 8 inch rounds instead of 6 inch rounds. How would I need to adjust the recipe for that?
Olivia says
Hi Erin! You should 1.5x the recipe for three 8″ pans — just change the Servings to 18 🙂
Lauren says
Has anyone made this in 3 8inch pans and if so, how did you change the ingredient measurements? Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Lauren! For three 8″ pans you can 1.5x the recipe or change the Servings to 18. The layers will be slightly thinner though.
Erica McClintock says
HI Olivia,
my question is in the ganache do I need dark chocolate? Could I use semi-sweet or milk chocolate…?
Erica McClintock says
Sorry, autocorrect- I meant can I substitute unsweetened chocolate for the dark chocolate?
Olivia says
Hi Erica! The ganache would be quite bitter then. It could go ok with the sweetness of the cake though. Just a preference.
Olivia says
Hi Erica! Semi-sweet would work totally fine (it’s basically what I used) but for milk you’d need to modify the amount of cream or it will be too thin. For ease I would stick with semi-sweet.
Sam says
Could you replace the heat treated flour with powdered sugar or would that be to sweet?
Olivia says
Hi Sam! No, that wouldn’t work well. You need the flour for the cookie dough.
Becky says
Hi! I am wanting to make this for my husbands birthday this week and I’m wondering if the cocoa power has to be that specific one or can I use any brand? Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Becky! Any cocoa powder will work. Ideally, one that is Dutch-processed for best flavour, but any will be fine 🙂
Jessica says
I made this cake today for christmas how do I post a pic
Olivia says
Hi Jessica! You can email it to me at livforcakeblog@gmail.com if you like 🙂
Denise says
Your cookie dough frosting is amazing! I just made it for my nieces cake for tomorrow. She wanted hers with a yellow cake however. I would’ve chose chocolate personally, but it’s her birthday. Anyways, I wanted to say thank you. On a side note, if your cake came out lopsided or started to shift, it could be because the layers are too high. I made triple layers, in the past, that baked to the top of the pan but now I cut it down to a shorter layer and my cakes don’t slide anymore. Just wanted to let you know my fix for it. I will let you know what everyone thinks tomorrow and send a pic when it’s decorated. Happy baking!
Olivia says
Hi Denise! I am so thrilled you like the frosting! Definitely send over a pic, I can’t wait to see it 🙂
Andi says
I made this cake for a coworker retirement party yesterday. It, like yours, was a little lop sided…lol. But it was a huge, HUGE hit! Thanks so much!
Olivia says
Hi Andi! Happy to hear it was a hit, despite the lop-sidedness 🙂
Jude says
Hello, this recipe looks absolutely delish!
I am planning to use the filling for my niece’s cake, but she doesn’t like chocolate cake (not my genes, i promise) so what recipe do you suggest that i use instead of chocolate cake, i want to do a 4 layer cake so your help would be much appreciated!
Olivia says
Hi Jude! You could give my Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake a try! It uses choco chip cookie layers, cookie dough filling and a cookie buttercream.
Amy Gagnon says
I made this for my husband’s birthday. I made it as two 8 inch layers instead of three 6 inch layers; didn’t have to bake it for any longer than the original recipe calls for. He loves monster cookies, so I tried adding peanut butter to the icing. I reduced the butter by 1/4 cup and added in 3/4 cup of peanut butter (and didn’t put in the salt since PB is pretty salty). It was surprisingly thick–thicker than cookie dough, even–so I added in a 1/3 cup of whipping cream which resulted in a very spreadable icing that was probably lighter than the original recipe called for, less doughy, but easier to work with. I wanted to cover the outside of the cake with the icing so I reserved about 1/3 of it before I put in the chocolate chips. The icing filling got the full cup of chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of M&M’s. Filled the cake, iced the outside with the candy-free icing,, chilled it for an hour, topped it in the ganache drips, broken monster cookies (recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiciton: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/soft-baked-monster-cookies/), and M&M’s. I stuck some M&M’s directly to the drips on the side of the cake once the ganache had almost dried. It came out really cute; not as sophisticated and dramatic as the original 3-layer naked cake, but definitely a hit at the party. There was a fair amount of icing left, which we’ve just been eating straight out of the bowl as it is seriously delicious.
Olivia says
Hi Amy! Thanks so much for all your tips. I’m so glad you liked it!
Laura says
I was very happy with this cake and it came out fantastic.! I was a little worried about it being heavy if the filling was truly like cookie dough, as in too starchy, just because I hadn’t made such a cake before. So I put less flour and no milk. I just made sure it was a consistency that would hold the layers up. I also thought leaving out the milk might be better because the cake was going to be unrefrigerated for a bit at an outdoor party.
All in all, very pleased… kids and adults both loved it! Was very happy with the consistency of cake & filling. It is a rich cake but it was just the right amount, in my opinion. NOT overwhelming… thank you for the recipe!!!
Olivia says
Hi Laura! So glad everyone loved it and thank you for your tips!!