Cookie Dough Cake

This cookie dough cake is the MOST amazing cake ever! The cake layers are a brown sugar based cake made with brown butter and oil which contributes to their immpecible flavor and moist texture. Between each layer is edible cookie dough too!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 45

Assembly Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 1210kcal

Author Whitney Wright

Equipment

Ingredients

Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cake Layers

1 3/4 cups light brown sugar packed
3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
1/4 cup oil vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs at room temperature
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups buttermilk at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Edible Brown Butter Cookie Dough

2 cups all purpose flour
19 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature (1 cup butter + 3 tablespoons)
2 cups light brown sugar packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Brown Butter Cookie Dough Buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter slightly softened but still cold (we will brown this 1 cup of butter)... see step #1 under "brown butter cookie dough buttercream" instructions.
2 cups unsalted butter slightly softened but still cold
1 cup light brown sugar packed
1/3 cup heavy cream plus more if needed (I added a few extra tablespoons to my frosting to get it more spreadable).
2 cups all purpose flour
7 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 - 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Brown Butter Brown Sugar Cake Layers

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the little white specks at the bottom of the melted butter turn golden brown. Watch closely because it will go from nicely toasted to burnt very quickly! Remove heat and pour into a heat-safe container and refrigerate until it becomes solid again.
Preheat oven to 325° F. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans by spraying with non-stick spray and lining the bottoms with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, sift together the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixture fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the brown butter and brown sugar. Add the oil and mix. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
With the mixture on low speed, add half of the flour mixture, all of the buttermilk and vanilla extract, then the rest of the flour mixture. Mix until partially combined, then fold in the mini chocolate chips. Be careful not to overmix.
Divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake for 28-33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the layer comes out clean or with a couple crumbs stuck to it.
Let cool in pans for 10-15 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks until completely cool. If making ahead of time, wrap with plastic and freeze.

Edible Cookie Dough

Line two 8-inch round cake pans with plastic. Make sure it overlaps the edge by about 3 inches on two of the sides.
Brown the 19 tablespoons of butter. ( Which is equivalent to 2-cubes of butter plus 3 tablespoons). In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the little white specks at the bottom of the melted butter turn golden brown. Watch closely because it will go from nicely toasted to burnt very quickly! Remove heat and pour into a heat-safe container and refrigerate until it turns from a liquid to a soft solid.
Place the flour in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval. Continue heating until flour reads 165°F on an instant read thermometer. This will take about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
In the bowl of an electric mixer (Fitted with paddle attachment) cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the vanilla, cream, and salt. Beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the heated flour and mix to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Set aside 1-1½ cups of the cookie dough to save for decorating the cake. Divide the remaining dough in half and press evenly into the two plastic-lined pans. Refrigerate until firm and remove from the pans by carefully lifting the overhanging plastic. Wrap completely with plastic and store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Brown Butter Cookie Dough Buttercream

Brown 1 cup of butter. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the little white specks at the bottom of the melted butter turn golden brown. Watch closely because it will go from nicely toasted to burnt very quickly! Remove heat and pour into a heat-safe container and refrigerate until it becomes solid again.
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, mix together brown sugar and heavy cream. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved into the cream. Set aside to cool.
Heat treat the flour. Place the flour in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval. Continue heating until flour reads 165°F on an instant read thermometer. This will take about 45 seconds to 1 minute.
In the bowl of a stand fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the 2 cups butter, brown butter, and a pinch of salt on medium high speed until it’s smooth and light in texture and color (there will be little golden brown flecks from the brown butter). Add the brown sugar/cream mixture and vanilla and beat well. With the mixer on low speed slowly add the powdered sugar and flour. If the frosting is too stiff or hard to mix, add heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition until a spreadable texture has been achieved.
This frosting can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Let the frosting sit out at room temperature for about 3 hours and then beat it until it’s smooth again before using. If it is at room temperature and seems too thick to spread, add heavy cream, a tablespoon at a time until it becomes spreadable.

Assembly

Spread a dollop of buttercream in the center of a clean cake board or stand. Place a cake layer on top of it. This will help keep the cake from sliding around while you assemble and decorate it.
Spread a thin layer of buttercream evenly over the top of the cake layer.
Place an edible cookie dough layer on top of the buttercream and then add another thin layer of buttercream to the top of it to act as glue to keep the next cake layer from sliding around.
Repeat steps 2-3 with the second layers of cake and edible cookie dough.
Place the third cake layer on top and crumb coat the entire cake in a thin layer of buttercream. Refrigerate or freeze for a few minutes, until the buttercream is cold and firm.
While the cake is in the refrigerator, add ½ cup mini chocolate chips to the remaining buttercream and mix. You can add more mini chocolate chips if you’d like more in the final layer of frosting.
Spread the final layer of frosting around the entire cake. It’s a little tricky with the chocolate chips in the frosting, so this cake will end up looking a little more rustic. We finished decorating the cake by crumbling the set-aside edible cookie dough around the top of the cake.

Notes

I did the calculations for you so you can brown the butter all at once if you want!

You will need to brown 2 1/2 cups + 7 tablespoons of butter. Once all that butter is browned, transfer it to a separate container or bowl and let solidify in the fridge. Once it starts hardening, give it a stir to incorporate all the browned butter flecks throughout the butter (since you’ll be measuring it out for each element).

Of the browned butter you’ll need

10 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of browned butter for the cake layers
1 cup browned butter for the edible cookie dough
1/2 cup + 5 1/2 tablespoons of browned butter for the buttercream

Nutrition