Cookie Dough Cake
Cookie dough cake for a special birthday week, and a list of things for which I am grateful.
How to make cookie dough cake:
I made this cookie dough cake because I wanted to bake something fun that is a little out of the ordinary for me. Elaborate, over-the-top desserts that are super sweet aren’t normally my thing. I would definitely never combine my cookie dough with cake and buttercream on a regular Tuesday. It’s mildly excessive, but it’s very birthday. I adore it.
This cookie dough cake is actually a double batch of my mini vanilla cake with my cookie dough dip sandwiched between the layers. I tripled the recipe for the frosting from the vanilla cake but used vanilla bean paste instead of extract.
This is a small layer cake made of two six-inch cake layers. I use a special 6″ cake pan for this. It’s the cake pan that I use for all of my small cake recipes here on this site. Here is the exact one I use. I love it because it has 2″ sides, not 3″ tall sides.
Since I’m turning one year older, I want to share some things for which I am grateful.
I’m thankful for every single friend and family member in my life. I’m an introvert, and I’m hard to get to know because I tend to agree with everyone in a conversation to ‘keep the peace.’ I like to find common ground in a conversation to make the other person feel comfortable. In essence, it’s a lot of fluff. It’s hard for me to actually open and talk. If you’re my friend, you make me feel comfortable and accepted. Thank you. I love you.
I’m thankful for my two dogs, even though they are literally more work than a child. I’m glad my slightly insane husband decided we need two fur balls in our house. The silliness of their personalities grounds me multiple times a day.
I’m thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to write four cookbooks. It feels like something Divine has completely controlled that part of my life. I love the whole process of creating the table of contents, imagining the lay-out, and seeing it come to life. Fun secret: I love writing books slightly more than blogging.

I hope you enjoy this mini cookie dough cake for two, and thank you for being here!
COOKIE DOUGH CAKE
Christina Lane
YIELDS 1 SMALL 2-LAYER CAKE
A double layer cookie dough cake for two!
60 min Prep Time
45 min Cook Time
1 hr, 45 Total Time

Ingredients
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 12 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar*
  • 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
  • For the buttercream:
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • For the cookie dough filling:
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon mini chocolate chips, plus more for decorating
Instructions
  1. First, make the cakes. Preheat the oven to 350, and spray 2 6" round cake pans with 2" sides with cooking spray. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper.
  2. In a medium-size bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat very well, about 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add the eggs and vanilla paste, and beat until well-combined, about 15 seconds.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add half of the this to the batter and beat for just a few seconds before stirring in half of the milk and vinegar (or buttermilk, if using). Continue beating. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat, and then stir in the remaining milk mixture.
  5. Finally, stir in the mini chocolate chips.
  6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans (I use a scale to do this), smooth out the tops, and bake on a sheet pan for 37-39 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
  7. Let the cakes cool on a wire rack in the pan. Carefully remove them from the pan, pulling away the parchment paper once it has cooled.
  8. To make the buttercream, beat the butter in a medium-size bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla paste and heavy cream, and beat until light and fluffy. If the mixture seems too stiff, add a splash more heavy cream.
  9. Next, make the cookie dough filling: In a small bowl, beat together with an electric mixer all ingredients (except the chocolate chips), until creamy and light.
  10. Stir in the mini chocolate chips by hand.
  11. Place one vanilla cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand. Pile the cookie dough filling on top, and spread it almost to the edge. Place the other vanilla cake layer on top.
  12. Frost the cake using an offset spatula. Decorate with mini chocolate chips.
  13. The cake will keep in the fridge covered for up to 5 days, if it's frosting--the frosting seals in the cake and keeps it fresh. When ready to serve, let the cake come to room temperature.
Notes
*Instead of milk and vinegar, you may use buttermilk for this recipe.