Growing up I never really liked birthday cake. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good fresh homemade cake baked with quality flavorful ingredients. But store-bought birthday cake or one made with cake mix and packaged frosting was too sweet and artificial even for my 10-year-old taste buds. And I’ve loved sweets all my life!
In fact, that weird birthday cake frosting that just tastes like sickeningly sweet plastic gives me nightmares. I used to scrape that stuff off in pure disgust, ha! And then don’t even get me started on the actual bland and dry grocery store cake. And the designs and decorating… So cheesy and outdated!
I’m realizing that I have a lot of opinions on cake (which is pretty ridiculous) and that I should probably start posting more meticulously-tested cake recipes and decorating tutorials. Would you like that? Let me know!
This Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake recipe is perfect for those who don’t like birthday cake. Or for when you just don’t have the time and patience to bake a cake! Or maybe for those times when you just want something a little fun and different. Whatever you do, just make sure you’re generous with the rainbow sprinkles for an extra festive cake!
I’ve formulated the chocolate chip cookie base recipe to be ultra thick, chewy, and slightly gooey in the middle with tons of flavor. The melted butter, dark brown sugar, extra egg yolk, bread flour, and cornstarch all help to accomplish this! If you’d like to know more about the science of cookie baking, check out my free Cookie Customization Guide here.
The buttercream icing for this recipe is just a half batch of my go-to Best Buttercream (the video in that post has been viewed over a million times! craziness!) but feel free to make a full batch for an extra thick layer of frosting.
For this recipe I prefer to use a springform pan because it makes it really easy to remove the entire cookie cake from the pan and place it on a pretty cake stand or serving plate. If you don’t have a springform pan, however, feel free to use a cake pan or deep pie pan.
For the chocolate chip cookie base:
-
2
sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, melted
-
1/2
cup
(100 grams) granulated sugar
-
1 1/4
cups
(247 grams) lightly packed dark brown sugar
-
1
tablespoon
milk
-
2
teaspoons
vanilla
-
2
large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
-
1 1/2
cups
(191 grams) all-purpose flour
-
1 1/4
cups
(159 grams) bread flour
-
1
teaspoon
baking soda
-
1
teaspoon
baking powder
-
1
teaspoon
cornstarch
-
1
teaspoon
fine sea salt
-
2
cups
(340 grams) semi sweet chocolate chips
For the buttercream:
-
1 1/2
cups
(153 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
-
4
ounces
(113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
-
Pinch fine salt
-
2
teaspoon
pure vanilla extract
-
1
tablespoons
cream or milk
-
Sprinkles, for garnishing
For the cookie base:
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In a large mixing bowl, stir together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well combined.
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Stir in the eggs, milk, and vanilla until well combined. Gradually beat in the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in the chocolate chips. Bake now or cover the dough and refrigerate until ready to bake.
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When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch spring-form pan with nonstick cooking spray.
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Press the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown but not overcooked. Let cool completely.
For the buttercream:
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the salt, vanilla, and cream and beat on medium for 1 minute, adding more cream if needed.
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Spread all over the cooled cookie cake then garnish with sprinkles. Serve or cover and let stand at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerated for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before serving.
I want to make this so bad! My brother’s birthday is coming, I’ll try and convince him to let me bake it for him (he usually wants some chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, oh well), if I can’t convince him I think I’ll just have to bake this only for myself… haha
Haha!! 🙂
When do we use the milk in the cookie recipe? I made it today and put it in at the end after I realized I had forgotten it.
The batter tastes yummy and can’t wait to bake it tomorrow!
Oops, you just add it in with the eggs. Edited the recipe to correct that error, it should be fine without it 🙂
Love your website! What can I use for a substitute for the bread flour tho?
Many Thanks,
Carol
You can just use AP flour. The bread flour helps create a nice chewy texture though, so I would recommend picking some up on your next grocery run to give it a try!
Can i replace the bread flour with just all purpose flour?
Can this recipe be adjusted for a 10″ cookie cake? If so, what adjustments would need to be made?
Is 20 min correct? I made it in a 9 in springform at 350 for about 30 min and it was a soupy mess. It would seem too thick for only 20.
That’s how long it took me to get the dough to solidify and still be slightly ooey and gooey in the middle, as you can see from the photos 🙂
All these years of baking elaborate birthday cakes and my kids finally admitted they don’t like cake. But they love chocolate chip cookies. This was a big hit. I didn’t bother to frost since I knew they would find it too sweet. Everyone loved it and the fact that it stays gooey in the middle. I’m already making it again.
Could you make this into an ice cream cake with the chocolate chip being the bottom? Would it change the cookies texture?
I made two for school get together and baked for 22 min and they still were very under baked, had to throw them away. The buttercream was really good and the cookie would have been very good if it had been baked. I would say at least 30 min bake time.
I made this for my daughters birthday. I didn’t look at the comments first that the 20 minutes baking time is not even close to enough time. I baked it for 32 minutes and even then it was doughy in the center. I wasn’t pleased with it when I served it yesterday. I loved the taste but the inside as doughy. Today I love it! The inside has set up and it is the perfect texture. I would make this again for sure. It is a fun treat to give. I would definitely make it the day before and bake it for 32-35 minutes. Also, I wanted to say that I LOVE this site. I have had success with everything I have made from it.
Hi Cindy, thanks so much for leaving your feedback! Hopefully this is helpful to others who don’t enjoy a more gooey texture (which I personally do). I’m so happy to hear you love the site!! 🙂
Glad I read the other reader comments. True bake time for me was more like 35 minutes and the center was still gooey and soft (in a good way). This dessert is super rich, a very small serving satisfies. So swee doesn’t need the buttercream frosting, although it’s a great frosting recipe. Definitely a big hit in my house!
Can this dough be made ahead of time? I would like to make it a few days in advance and pop it in the freezer. Will it still bake correctly? Also, how long would the frosting keep in the fridge? I’m excited to try this recipe!