Cookie Dough Cake
This recipe for cookie dough cake is over the top delicious, rich, decadent, and perfect for any occasion! This cake is made with a moist and fluffy vanilla cake layer and a thick and chewy cookie dough layer. The homemade vanilla buttercream is extra creamy and smooth. This cake is the perfect combination of two classic and favorite desserts!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This chocolate chip cookie dough cake is moist, gooey, and delicious.
- It is the most decadent dessert!
- The vanilla cake layers are moist and tender. Check out this Crepe Cake or this Flourless Chocolate Torte too!
- I am a huge fan of all things cookie dough. I have made this cake multiple times for friends and family. Everyone loves it!
- The homemade cookie dough is safe to eat and crave-worthy!
- In addition, the vanilla buttercream adds a sweet creaminess.
- This cake is so fun for birthday parties. Kids absolutely love it.
- You can customize this cake with your favorite toppings, such as ice cream, whipped cream, or chocolate sauce.
- This cake can be made with regular flour or with gluten free flour.
- In addition, this recipe is nut free.
- Check out this Lemon Poppy Seed Cake or this Instant Pot Chocolate Cake for another sweet treat!
Ingredients & Substitutes
These are the main ingredients for this cookie dough cake. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full instructions.
For the cake and cookie dough, use either all purpose flour or gluten free flour. Since this is a classic gluten free food blog, I always test the recipes with gluten free ingredients. King Arthur Flour gluten free flour works incredibly well!
For all three layers, use softened unsalted butter. This helps it cream more easily.
Do not replace the eggs in this recipe. Chia eggs, flax eggs, and vegan egg replacements will not work.
For the cake and cookie dough, feel free to use whole milk. For a lighter option, use regular milk or unsweetened almond milk.
To make the cookie dough, use mini chocolate chips. This adds chocolate flavor without adding huge chunks of chocolate.
For the frosting, add more powdered sugar if the frosting is too thin. Add more heavy cream if the frosting is too thick.
Have fun with the garnishes. Mini chocolate chips are a great idea. For an even more indulgent treat, add some balls of cookie dough on top!
Taste & Texture
The vanilla cake layer is moist and fluffy, with a rich classic flavor. The cookie dough layer is thick and chewy, with a sweet and doughy flavor. The two layers combine to create a delicious and decadent dessert!
This cake tastes like a vanilla cake with bursts of homemade cookie dough.
How to Make
Step 1
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then, set aside.
Step 3
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Step 4
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
Step 5
Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Smooth the tops with a spatula.
Step 6
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 7
Remove the cakes from the oven. Allow them to cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 8
To make the cookie dough filling, first heat treat the flour. Bake the flour on a baking pan for 5 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 9
Then, in a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the milk and vanilla and mix well.
Step 10
Gradually add the flour and salt to the butter mixture, mixing until well combined. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
Step 11
Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread a generous amount of cookie dough filling evenly on top. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and filling.
Step 12
Then, make the frosting. In a separate bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, alternating with the heavy cream, until the desired consistency is reached. Stir in the vanilla.
Step 13
Frost the top and sides of the cake with the buttercream frosting.
Step 14
Garnish the cake with mini chocolate chips, pressing them gently onto the sides of the cake.
Step 15
Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld together.
Step 16
Finally, slice and serve this cookie dough cake!
Expert Tips for Success
Here are a few expert tips and tricks for making the best cookie dough cake.
Follow this recipe exactly as written. This recipe took me several tries to get right. Now, it is perfect!
Use room temperature ingredients. This will help the cake to bake evenly.
Do not overmix the batter. Overmixing will make the cake layers tough.
Use a stand mixer or electric mixer to mix all of the layers. Butter and sugar is too thick to mix by hand.
Bake the cake until it is just cooked through. An overbaked cake will be dry and crumbly.
Let the cake cool completely before frosting it. This will help the frosting to adhere to the cake.
Allow the cake to chill for 1 hour. This helps the cake become set.
Lastly, use a long sharp knife to cut the cake.
Flavor Variations & Add-Ins
You can customize the flavor of this cake by adding different ingredients to the batter or the cookie dough layer. Here are a few ideas.
- Replace the mini chocolate chips with mini white chocolate chips.
- Make a classic chocolate cake instead of vanilla.
- Use chocolate frosting instead of vanilla buttercream.
- Add M&M’s to the cookie dough for a Funfetti cookie dough cake.
- Add crushed Oreos to the cookie dough layer for an Oreo cookie dough cake.
- Garnish with M&M’s or crushed Oreos on top.
- For even more cookie dough flavor, place small balls of cookie dough on top of the cake.
How to Serve & Store
This cookie dough cake is best served after chilling for 1 hour.
This cake is very indulgent. It can be served with ice cream, hot fudge, or caramel.
However, you can also store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze the cake for up to 2 months. Slice into individual slices and freeze.
To thaw, place frozen pieces in the fridge overnight.
For an individual sized dessert, make these Gluten Free Cupcakes!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, you can make this cake with store-bought cookie dough. However, the flavor and texture of the cake may not be as good as if you use homemade cookie dough.
Yes, you can make this cake gluten free or dairy free. Use gluten free flour. For dairy free, use almond milk and dairy free butter sticks.
This cake can be served with ice cream, whipped cream, or chocolate sauce. You can also cut it into small pieces and serve it as dessert bars.
This cake is made with a vanilla cake, cookie dough filling, and vanilla frosting.
No, Starbucks does not currently have cookie dough cake pops on their menu. They were discontinued in 2021.
Yes. Bake the cake layers up to 2 days in advance. Store them in the fridge.
Sure. Make the vanilla frosting up to 2 days ahead of time. Keep it in the fridge.
To safely consume the flour, bake it in the oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. This removes the harmful bacteria.
Equipment Needed
Nonstick Spray: Prevent the cakes from sticking to the pans.
8-Inch Cake Pans: These cake pans are great!
Cake Stand: This is a beautiful cake stand!
Pyrex Glass Measuring Cups: Use these glass measuring cups.
Pyrex 3 Glass Mixing Bowls: These are my favorite glass mixing bowls for baking cakes.
Hand Mixer: This hand mixer is great for baking and easy to use. It is much smaller and more convenient than a stand mixer.
KitchenAid Stand Mixer: This is one of my most used kitchen appliances.
You May Also Enjoy
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake
- Healthy Cookie Dough
- Gluten Free Cookie Dough
- Vegan Cookie Dough
If you make this chocolate chip cookie dough cake recipe, I would really appreciate a review! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. I would love for you to follow along! For more ideas, check out these Dessert Recipes.
Get the Recipe: Cookie Dough Cake
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake Layer
- 2 ½ cups flour, all purpose or gluten free
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
Cookie Dough Filling
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, tightly packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups flour, heat treated, see note
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips, for garnish
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Begin and end with the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Smooth the tops with a spatula.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cakes from the oven. Allow them to cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the cookie dough filling, first heat treat the flour. Bake the flour on a baking pan for 5 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Then, in a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the milk and vanilla and mix well.
- Gradually add the flour and salt to the butter mixture, mixing until well combined. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread a generous amount of cookie dough filling evenly on top. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and filling.
- Then, make the frosting. In a separate bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, alternating with the heavy cream, until the desired consistency is reached. Stir in the vanilla.
- Frost the top and sides of the cake with the buttercream frosting.
- Garnish the cake with mini chocolate chips, pressing them gently onto the sides of the cake.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to meld together.
- Finally, slice and serve this cookie dough cake!
Video
Notes
- This cake can be made with regular all purpose flour or with gluten free 1 to 1 flour.
- Since I am gluten free, I test all of my recipes with both flours. King Arthur Flour gluten free flour works very well for this recipe.
- For the cookie dough layer, it is important to heat treat the flour. To do this, bake the flour on a baking pan at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 to 7 minutes. This kills off any bacteria in raw flour.
- Use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer for the cakes, cookie dough, and frosting. Do not mix by hand.
- Do not bake the cakes too long. They are done baking when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to fully cool before assembling the cake.
- If the frosting is too thin, add slightly more powdered sugar. If the frosting is too thick, add slightly more heavy cream.
- Allow the cake to chill for 1 hour. This allows the cake to fully set.
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Enjoy this homemade cookie dough cake!
14 Comments on “Cookie Dough Cake”
Could you use store bought cookie dough instead of homemade?
That should work. Enjoy!
Could this be made DF as well? Just use unsweetened almond or oat milk in place of the whole milk and vegan butter for regular butter?
Hi Darra! That should work. I usually have great results with using Earth Balance dairy free butter sticks. Hope you love this cake!
Heat treated flour? Like gluten free flour?
Heat treating flour involves baking the gluten free flour in the oven on a pan by itself. It removes any bacteria from the flour and makes it safe to eat. Please see step 8 in the recipe!
The cake was moist and light. The cookie dough was to die for! Really yummy. The frosting was on the sweet side. Put it together and it was just too sweet. I couldn’t eat more than two bites. My granddaughter enjoyed helping me make it. She said she liked it, but she didn’t eat much of her slice either.
Do you have a suggestion for a different frosting? Something not as sweet.
Hi Chris! You can use store bought frosting if desired. This buttercream recipe is a pretty traditional frosting recipe. I didn’t purposely make it more sweet. Glad you enjoyed the cake!
Girl!!! This cake was something else!!!! Made it for my nieces birthday and everyone thought I got it at a bakery ahahaha Thank you!!!
This was a super fun cake to make and even better to eat! I decorated the outside with some crushed cookie crumbs in addition to the mini chocolate chips. It was a hit!
I definitely struggled not to eat all the cookie dough before adding it to the cake lol but it was worth the wait!
Made this one weekend and it was simply delightful. The creamy vanilla buttercream was the icing on top (literally) So so good!
I recently made this cookie dough cake, and it turned out so good! I love how moist and fluffy it turned out, plus the sweetness was really balanced! This recipe is a must-try!
The balance between the cake and cookie dough is just perfect. I love how it’s not too sweet, but then again, it’s not too savory either! The chocolate chips are a nice touch.