Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Layer Cake

This year, our school did not have an official eighth grade promotion celebration due to COVID-19 restrictions.  However, I wanted to have a small celebration with close family at our house to celebrate my oldest son's eighth grade promotion.  I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, and he requested a chocolate chip cookie dough cake.  My sister-in-law had made one for my nephew's birthday a while back, and it was a hit!  I made the recipe that my sister-in-law used with a few tweaks.  Since some of my other children have already asked me to make it again, I wanted to get everything down in my blog for future reference.

The original recipe can be found here, and it uses a boxed cake mix.  I have no problem with that, but I decided to use my friend's homemade chocolate cake recipe.  I think it produces a little denser cake that holds up better to that thick cookie dough layer.  I also used the option to bake two 9 inch round cakes instead of 6 inch rounds.  That variation is found at the end of the original recipe.

Here is the recipe for the chocolate cake (as per my friend, Amber):

Crazy Chocolate Cake

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt (I omit)
1/4 cup oil (I use canola)
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  For 9 inch rounds, spray pans with cooking spray and dust with cocoa powder.  Place all ingredients in order listed into mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until well-combined.  Pour into pans and bake about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Place on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans and allowing to cool completely.  (For a 9 by 13 inch cake, bake about 20-30 minutes; for cupcakes, bake about 15-18 minutes.)

After the cakes cooled, I froze them overnight.  I just think it's easier to work with frozen cakes--they aren't so crumbly and prone to split in half!  Also, my friend Katrina recommends freezing cakes before frosting them so that they will be extra moist.

I then followed the directions on the blog recipe.  I made the cookie dough layer and refrigerated it overnight before assembling the morning of our party.  Also, I found that heating the frosting for 20 seconds worked a little better for me.  Another tip--wait until the heated frosting has set up before you pipe the stars on the top.  Otherwise, they may slide off the side.  (Don't ask me how I know!)

For the chocolate chip cookies, I used this recipe.  I used 1 cup mini chocolate chips and 1/2 cup regular chocolate chips and no M&M's.  I chilled the dough in the fridge overnight.  I used a small cookie scoop to meter out one tablespoon of dough, rolled the dough into balls, and then baked at 350 degrees about 8 - 10 minutes.

This is definitely a show-stopper cake, and everyone enjoyed it.  I found it hard to cut into small slices, so I was glad that I had made two cakes.  I think next time I may try putting the cookie dough on the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch cake.  I will update this post if I give it a try!

Happy Baking!