High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake

What could be more decadent than buttery layers of chocolate chip cake, filled with edible cookie dough, and frosted with fluffy vanilla bean buttercream? This high altitude chocolate chip cookie dough cake is pure indulgence with three layers of chocolate chip cake that’s similar to pound cake. And the cookie dough filling just takes this cake over the top for a completely delicious treat. Garnished with cookie dough balls, chocolate chips and flaky sea salt, this cake is as pretty and tempting as it is yummy!

You’ll also love these chocolate chip cookie dough truffles, s’mores chocolate chip cookie bars, and chocolate chip cookie brownies!

This recipe post was originally created in May 2016, and updated in January 2021.

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What’s in this cake?

There are three main elements of my chocolate chip cookie dough cake: chocolate chip cake, edible chocolate chip cookie dough, and vanilla bean buttercream.

Chocolate Chip Cake

For the cake, you want something that’s sturdy enough to support the cookie dough filling, so I chose a cream cheese and butter-based pound cake for my cake layers. It’s soft, moist and tender, a little dense like pound cake, rich and flavorful, and full of chocolate chips.

Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Between each layer of cake is a layer of edible, unbaked cookie dough. Since the cookie dough is intended to be eaten raw, it doesn’t contain any eggs or leavening. There’s a full three pounds of cookie dough in this cake!

Note that it’s important to heat-treat the flour first, to kill any lingering bacteria. To heat treat your flour, simply spread the flour out onto a baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then let the flour cool completely. The heat treated flour is now safe to use in your edible cookie dough recipe.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream

This cake is all wrapped up in silky vanilla bean buttercream that’s fluffy and not too sweet. For all my buttercream making tips and FAQs, be sure to read my complete guide to making Perfect American Buttercream.

Ingredients

The Cake

• Cream Cheese + Butter. Using a combination of cream cheese and butter makes a cake that’s rich, soft and flavorful.
• Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture to the cake.
• Eggs. Provide structure, fat and richness.
• Vanilla Extract. Good quality vanilla extract adds the best flavor.
• All-Purpose Flour. Provides structure to the cake batter. You can also use cake flour for a lighter cake crumb.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Baking Powder + Baking Soda. Leavens the cake so that it rises.
• Coconut Milk. Adds moisture and richness. It’s important to use canned, unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk, which is meant for cooking and baking. It doesn’t make the cake taste like coconut, but just makes a tender, soft cake crumb.
• Mini Chocolate Chips. I like to use mini, semi-sweet chocolate chips in cake batter, as they stay suspended throughout the batter better than larger chocolate chips do.

The Cookie Dough

• Unsalted Butter. Adds flavor and fat.
• Granulated Sugar + Dark Brown Sugar. Sweetens the cookie dough.
• Vanilla Extract. Good quality vanilla extract adds the best flavor.
• All-Purpose Flour. Binds the dough together. Be sure to heat treat your flour first.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the chocolate.
• Spices. A blend of nutmeg, cinnamon and espresso powder add delicious complexity to this edible cookie dough.
• Milk. Adds moisture to bring the dough together.
• Chocolate Chips + Chopped Pecans. Dark or bittersweet chocolate chips are best, to help balance the sweetness of the buttercream. Pecans add nuttiness and crunch, but can be left out if you prefer.

The Buttercream

• Unsalted Butter + Vegetable Shortening. If you use 100% butter, your buttercream will have a yellowish ivory color. So to get a bright white buttercream, use half butter and half shortening. Shortening also stabilizes the buttercream, which is especially helpful if your cake is sitting out on a warm day.
• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
• Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves the texture, but it can be omitted, if you prefer.
• Vanilla Bean Paste. Flavor. if you don’t have vanilla bean paste, you can also use vanilla extract, or the seeds of a vanilla bean. I’ve been buying these Tahitian vanilla beans, and they’re very affordable.
• Milk. Use sparingly, just for desired spreading consistency.

Instructions

While the ingredient list is long, and making so many different components may seem daunting, each step is really quite easy and quick.

Make the Cake.

• With your stand mixer, you’ll need to cream the cream cheese, butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
• Next, sift together the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the coconut milk, starting and ending with the flour.  So the order is flour, coconut milk, flour, coconut milk, flour. Then stir in the chocolate chips.
• Divide the cake batter between greased 8-inch cake pans, spread the batter out to evenly cover the bottom of the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes (at 350 Fahrenheit), until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool completely.

Make the Buttercream.

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and shortening for 1 minute until smooth.
• With the mixer on low, stir in the powdered sugar and meringue powder until combined.  Add the vanilla bean paste and the cream/milk, then increase speed to medium high; whip for 4-5 minutes until very light and fluffy.

Make the Cookie Dough.

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars for three minutes.  Scrape the bowl down and beat in the vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, combine the heat treated flour, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and espresso powder.  Add the flour mixture to the butter, mixing on medium low to combine, then add the milk, until the dough is moistened, but still very thick.
• Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.

TIP: A food scale is helpful for the next few steps so you can portion out the dough evenly.

Assembly

Shape the Cookie Dough Layers

• Weigh out 8 ounces of the dough, and divide into 8 one-ounce balls to garnish the top of the cake.  Set the 8 balls of dough in the refrigerator in an airtight container until needed.
• You’ll have about 40 ounces of dough remaining – divide into two 20-ounce portions. Take an 8-inch cake pan (the same size that you baked the cake in) and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.  Press one 20-ounce portion of dough into the pan, using your hands to press it out as evenly as possible. Set another circle of parchment paper on top of the dough, and use the bottom of a glass to smooth the dough out completely.  Turn the pan over to remove the disk of cookie dough and set aside.
• Repeat with the other 20-ounce portion, so you have two cake-sized disks of dough.

Stack, Fill and Frost the Cake

• Place one cooled cake bottom side up on a cake pedestal or cardboard cake circle.  Frost the cake with a very thin layer of buttercream, then set one of the disks of cookie dough on top of the cake (after removing the parchment paper). Frost the cookie dough with a very thin layer of the buttercream. (You don’t want to spread the buttercream thickly, but just enough so that the layers of cake and cookie dough stick together.)
• Repeat with the rest of the cake and cookie dough so that you have three layers of cake filled with two layers of cookie dough.
• Frost the cake all over with a thin crumb coat of the buttercream, then chill for about 20 minutes.
• Frost the cake with a final coat of buttercream.  Garnish the top of the cake with the eight balls of cookie dough, and press the chocolate chips (pointed side in) around the cake for decoration. Finish the cookie dough balls on top with a sprinkling of salt.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I adjust this cake recipe for a smaller 6-inch cake?

Just cut the cake and cookie dough recipes in half, and you can make three 6-inch cake layers filled with cookie dough.

Could I make cupcakes out of this recipe?

I haven’t tested this chocolate chip cookie dough cake recipe as cupcakes, and I can’t be certain it would work well. If you do try it, be sure to leave a comment.

What can I substitute for the meringue powder in the buttercream?

Meringue powder is made of dehydrated egg whites, and it’s commonly used in royal icing. In buttercream, though, it helps to stabilize the buttercream and improve the texture. There’s no substitute for it, so if you’re not able to find it locally, you can purchase meringue powder online, or simply leave it out. It can be expensive, but you only need a little for each batch of buttercream, so it lasts a long time.

If I can’t have dairy, what should I substitute for the whole milk in the cookie dough?

You can use any dairy-free milk in place of the whole milk.

Since there’s milk in the cookie dough, will it spoil if the cake is not refrigerated?

No, it will be fine. Buttercream contains milk, too, and it’s perfectly fine stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The small amount of milk in the cookie dough and the buttercream is stabilized by the high sugar content, so it’s considered safe to store at room temperature for several days.

How should I store this cookie dough cake?

Keep the cake in an airtight container or cake carrier at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Does the coconut milk in the cake batter add coconut flavor?

The canned coconut milk in the cake is rich and creamy, and makes a soft, tender cake with a lovely texture and flavor that does not taste like coconut.

If I can’t have coconut, what can I use instead of the coconut milk?

Half ‘n’ half would be a good substitution, since it’s rich and creamy like the canned coconut milk.

Is the cookie dough raw, and is it safe to eat?

Yes, the cookie dough is unbaked, edible cookie dough that’s safe to eat raw. Since there’s no eggs in the dough, and with using heat treated flour, there’s no bacteria in the cookie dough.

Can the cookie dough be made in advance?

Yes, you can make the cookie dough in advance, shape it into disks, wrap it well, and refrigerate it for up to a week, or freeze for 3-6 months.

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