Cookie Dough Cake

This cookie dough cake is a layered vanilla cake with cookie dough baked in. It is filled with chocolate cream cheese frosting and cookie dough. It celebrates cookie dough in every layer.

This cookie dough cake is the perfect cake for any cookie dough lover. The edible cookie dough is amazing with the vanilla cake. The chocolate frosting and ganache on top are the perfect combo to complement the cake. Try it and you will fall in love!

For more cake recipes, try Chocolate Ganache Cake, Strawberry Mousse Cake, and Lemonade Bundt Cake.

Jump to:

• Why This Cookie Dough Cake Recipe Works
• Ingredient Notes for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake
• Ingredient Substitutions
• Step By Step Instructions - Edible Cookie Dough
• Step By Step Instructions - Vanilla Cake
• Step By Step Instructions - Chocolate Frosting
• Assembling The Cake
• Expert Baking Tips
• FAQ
• Recipe Variations
• Special Tools
• Storing and Freezing
• 📖 Recipe

Why This Cookie Dough Cake Recipe Works

• Cookie dough flavor- This cake celebrates cookie dough flavor throughout. It has cookie dough all the way through!
• Chocolate on top- Nothing goes better with cookie dough than chocolate! The chocolate flavor from the frosting and ganache are the perfect complement.
• Easy to decorate- The chocolate ganache drip and cookie dough on top make a beautiful cake that is simple to decorate!

Ingredient Notes for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake

Here are some notes on the ingredients. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.

• Unsalted butter- Pull this out 2 hours before baking.
• Oil- Use canola oil, vegetable oil, or olive oil.
• Sour cream- Pull this out 2 hours before baking.
• Eggs- Pull the large eggs out 2 hours before baking to get to room temperature.
• Buttermilk- Use full fat or reduced fat buttermilk. Pull this out 2 hours before baking.
• Powdered sugar- Make sure this is sifted to avoid gritty frosting.
• Brown sugar- I used light brown sugar, but dark will work.
• Cream cheese- Pull this out 2 hours before baking.
• Chocolate chips- Use semi-sweet chocolate chips. Dark chocolate can work if preferred, but milk chocolate chips will be too sweet.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Dairy free- You can use your favorite dairy free options for this recipe!
• Gluten free- I haven't tested this gluten free. Let me know if you do.
• Buttermilk- You can also do 1 cup of milk with 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for 10 minutes before using.

Step By Step Instructions - Edible Cookie Dough

Here is how to make and bake the edible cookie dough for the cookie dough cake.

STEP 1: Treat flour. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Then, place the flour on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Allow it to cool completely.

STEP 2: Dry ingredients. Sift together the flour and salt in a medium bowl.

STEP 3: Beat butter an sugars. Use a mixer to beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar for 2 minutes.

STEP 4: Mix. Add the vanilla extract and milk. Mix for 30 seconds. Then, slowly add in the dry ingredients. Finally, stir the chocolate chips in

STEP 5: Chill. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop 15 balls of dough using a 1 oz cookie scoop. Flatten each ball into a disc and place them in the freezer to chill. Keep the remaining dough for filling and the top of the cake.

Step By Step Instructions - Vanilla Cake

Here is how to make the vanilla cake layers for the cookie dough cake.

STEP 1: Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, spray three 8-inch cake pans with baking spray. Then, line the bottoms with parchment paper circles and spray them again.

STEP 2: Dry ingredients. Sift the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Set it aside.

STEP 3: Beat butter, oil, and sugar. Use a mixer to beat the butter, oil, and sugar together for 3 minutes on high speed.

STEP 4: Wet ingredients. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Mix it on medium speed until fluffy. Add in the eggs and mix them on medium until combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl so all of the butter is incorporated.

STEP 5: Combine. Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk. Mix it on low speed. Then add another ⅓ of the dry ingredients and the remaining buttermilk. Finish by mixing the remaining dry ingredients until just combined.

STEP 6: Pour batter. Divide batter equally into the 3 prepared cake pans. Place 5 cookie dough discs per cake pan on top of the batter.

STEP 7: Bake cake. Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes. They are done when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

STEP 8: Cool. Let the cakes sit in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step By Step Instructions - Chocolate Frosting

Here is how to make the chocolate frosting and drip for the cookie dough cake.

STEP 1: Sift sugar. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder for the chocolate frosting in a mixing bowl together.

STEP 2: Beat butter and cream cheese. Beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

STEP 3: Mix frosting. Add half of the powdered sugar to the cream cheese mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until combined. Finish with the salt and vanilla. Mix on high speed until creamy.

Don't start on the chocolate drip until you are ready to use it.

STEP 4: Heat cream. Pour the chocolate chips in a heat-safe bowl and set it aside. Then, use a saucepan to heat the heavy cream on medium-low heat until it is steaming.

STEP 5: Melt ganache. Pour the cream on top of the chocolate chips and let it sit for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Then, stir it continuously until it is smooth and glossy.

Assembling The Cake

Here is how to assemble and decorate the cookie dough cake.

STEP 1: First layer. Place the first cake layer flat side down. Spread ¾ cup of frosting over the cake. Pipe 2 layers of frosting border around the cake.

STEP 2: Cookie dough. Place small globs of cookie dough down in the middle of the cake. Fill the center of the frosting border completely. Flatten the cookie dough with your hands.

STEP 3: Second layer. Place the second cake layer flat side down on top. Repeat steps 1 and 2.

STEP 4: Final layer. Place the third cake layer flat side up on top of the cake.

STEP 5: Crumb coat. Apply a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes to set the frosting and trap any crumbs in.

STEP 6: Frost cake. Spread the frosting over the cake.

STEP 7: Chocolate ganache. Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake. Spread it over to the edges of the cake so it drips down. Use an offset spatula to smooth the ganache on top of the cake.

STEP 8: Cookie dough. Place the cookie dough on top of the cake to decorate.

Expert Baking Tips

• Properly measure the flour- Make sure the flour is spooned and leveled. If you stick the measuring cup directly into the flour, it will compact the flour. Compacted flour can cause the cake to be dry.
• To easily remove the cake from the pan, make sure to first spray the pan with baking nonstick spray. Then, line bottom with parchment paper and spray it again to make sure that the paper does not stick to the bottom of the cake too much. If you miss any spots with the spray they can stick and tear the cake so be thorough.
• For high altitudes add 2 tablespoon of flour to the cake batter.

FAQ

Recipe Variations

• No ganache- You can skip the ganache drip if you prefer. You can decorate it however you prefer!
• Chocolate cake- If you prefer a chocolate cake to a vanilla cake you can use the cake batter from this chocolate cake recipe instead.

Special Tools

• Cake pans: I use Wilton 8-inch cake pans.
• Parchment paper circles: I used 8-inch parchment paper circles for the bottom of the pan. I love to use the premade circles, so I don't have to cut it out of regular parchment paper.
• Baking spray: I use the nonstick spray that has flour in it.
• Offset spatula: I use this to easily spread the frosting or fillings.
• Cake turntable: I use this nice Ateco cast iron turntable because it is high quality and it spins seamlessly. Some other turntables are a little jerky when they turn.
• Cake scraper: I use a metal scraper to get smooth cakes.
• Piping bags: I like these 18- inch piping bags since they hold more.
• Piping tip: I love this Wilton 1M to pipe frosting.
• Small cookie scoop: I love this Wilton cookie scoop.

Storing and Freezing

Store this cookie dough cake in an airtight container like a cake carrier. Store in the fridge up to 5 days.

You can freeze the cookie dough cake in individual slices. Place the cake slices in an airtight container and freeze up to 30 days.

Other Cake Recipes To Try

Try these cookie dough recipes too!

• Cookie Dough Brownies
• Cookie Dough Cinnamon Rolls
• Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake
• Chocolate Cookie Dough Pop Tarts
• Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Make sure to leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats. To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.

📖 Recipe