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slice of cookie dough cake

MOIST Vegan Cookie Dough Cake with ‘Cream Cheese’ Cookie Dough Frosting

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 16 1x
  • Category: Cakes
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

This soft & tender unbelievably vegan cookie dough cake consists of a one bowl MOIST vanilla cake batter that’s loaded with dairy free chocolate chips and eggless cookie dough in every bite, and layered with a deliciously rich “cream cheese” cookie dough frosting and chocolate ganache. Decadence in every bite!

Ingredients

Scale

Inspired by Butternut Bakery’s Cookie Dough Cake.

Vanilla Cake: 

  • 2 batches vegan cookie dough
  • 1 1/4 cup (300 mL) vegan buttermilk
  • 3 2/3 cup (450 g) all-purpose flour (or 512 g gluten free 1:1 baking flour + 1 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt 
  • 1 3/4 cup (350 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (220 g) salted vegan butter (I recommend Miyoko’s or Flora Plant butter), room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 g) unsweetened dairy free yogurt, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, 2 tablespoons!!)
  • Optional (but recommended): 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
  • 1 cup vegan chocolate chips (I recommend mini)

Vegan Cream Cheese Cookie Dough Frosting:

  • 1 cup (220 g) vegan butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup  (220 g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (62 g) heat-treated all purpose flour*
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar
  • 2 1/2 – 3 cups organic powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2–4 tbsp unsweetened dairy free milk
  • 1 cup vegan mini chocolate chips
  • Vegan chocolate ganache, for decoration

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease three 8″ cake pans with cooking oil, and line them with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Prep ingredients: Prepare the vegan buttermilk. Combine the dairy free milk with the apple cider vinegar, and set aside to sit for 5-6 minutes. You can weigh and measure the remaining ingredients during this time. 
  3. Make the cookie dough: Make sure the flour is heat-treated for both the cookie dough and cookie dough frosting. In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to whisk together the vegan butter, sugar, light brown sugar, dairy free yogurt, salt, and vanilla extract. Add in the flour, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the flour into the cookie dough.  Fold in the chocolate chips. Then scoop the dough into 2-tablespoon sized cookie dough balls. You should yield about 15 cookie dough balls. You can make more for the decoration of the cake- make sure that you’re using heat-treated flour.
  4. Make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk the vegan butter, sugar, dairy free yogurt, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Then add in the flour and pour in the vegan buttermilk, whisking simultaneously JUST until the flour is combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
  5. Bake the cakes: Divide the batter between the three cake pans evenly. Drop 4-5 cookie dough balls into each cake layer. Bake for 30-33 minutes in  the 8″ cake pans, or until the toothpick comes out clean.
  6. Cool: Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cooled completely (there is absolutely no warmth to the touch!), then you can prepare your buttercream.
  7. Vegan Cookie Dough Frosting: Cream the vegan butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer for about 3 minutes. Sift in the powdered sugar, flour, light brown sugar sugar, and vanilla extract and continue mixing until it becomes a fluffy buttercream.  Use the dairy-free milk if needed to help incorporate the dry ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  8. Assemble the cake: place the first cake layer onto a cake plate or stand. Spread 1/2 of the vegan cookie dough frosting onto the cake layer, then top with the second layer and repeat. Place the cake into the fridge to chill while you make the vegan chocolate buttercream.
  9. Finish decorating the cake: Frost cake the outside of the cake with the chocolate buttercream. Top with extra cookie dough balls and serve!

Notes

Vegan chocolate chips: I recommend Enjoy Life chocolate. They’re 100% vegan, Fair Trade, and have many options, including 100% dark chocolate and vegan milk chocolate.

Heat Treating the flour: you’ll only need to heat treat the flour of the cookie dough frosting, as that will be the only cookie dough part we consume raw (unless you top with additional cookie dough balls on top!). To heat treat flour, check out this article. 

Gluten free: you can use gluten free 1:1 baking flour, such as King Arthur measure for measure flour  for the entirety of this cake recipe if needed. Please still heat treat the flour where necessary.

Find it online: https://thebananadiaries.com/cookie-dough-cake-vegan/