Molten Vegan Brownie Cookie Dough Sheet Cake
This brownie cookie dough cake is strictly for brookie lovers ONLY! It’s a beautifully soft, “buttery” rich brown sugar vanilla sheet cake studded with chocolate chips and baked with edible cookie dough AND brownie batter on top. We finish the cake with a marbled swirl of chocolate buttercream and cookie dough frosting all topped with edible cookie dough and brownie bites. And the wild part is that it’s entirely vegan- no eggs, no dairy, and I’m going to show you how!
Tell me about this brownie cookie dough cake:
I actually first made this cake roughly 6 years ago, back in 2020, when my first obsession with all things brookie took over for me. Since then, I developed a cookie dough cake and a brownie cake, but both were layer cakes.
So I decided to revisit this brownie cookie dough cake (the culmination of my two favorite recipes EVER: my vegan fudge brownies and my Better Than Tollhouse vegan chocolate chip cookies!). And make it even better.
Here’s what you need to know:
- It’s designed to be a sheet cake- YAY, easy! When I went back to the testing rounds for this cake, I kept wanting it to still be a layer cake. But honestly, with how many components it needed (brownies, cookies, cake…FROSTING), when it came time to assemble, even I was exhausted. So I converted it to a sheet cake- easy for celebrations and yet you still get that awesome cake to frosting ratio.
- The perfect balance of fudge brownie, chewy cookie, and soft cake! I mean, say less. You have ripples of brownie batter baked JUST enough into the cake, with globs of still-soft edible cookie dough and a deliciously tender brown sugar chocolate chip cake batter. It’s everything that indulgence stands for!!
- You truly don’t need any eggs nor butter. This cake is FULLY vegan, and you’d never be able to tell. We’re using dairy-free yogurt for eggs (I know, shocking at first, but it REALLY works. And you won’t taste the yogurt because the baking soda neutralizes the flavor!) and vegan butter for butter. Trust me, I’ve been baking vegan for 9+ years- this is the real deal!
My tips on assembling a brookie cake:
For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.
So there are 3 components to this sheet cake:
- Cookie dough
- Brownie batter
- Chocolate chip “cookie” cake batter
I have found in my testing that the best order is to make the cookie dough, followed by the cake batter, then the brownie batter. While we barely see it since the cake is frosted, that shiny crinkle top on the brownies always shows up better if it’s going into the oven RIGHT after making the brownie batter.
Now, it’s also a bit tricky to determine if the cake is truly done baking if you cover the ENTIRE top of the cake with brownie batter and cookie dough. So leave a few portions of cake, like I did, uncovered on top. That way, you can easily stick a toothpick in to ensure the batter is fully baked.
Once baked, you need to let this cake fully cool before frosting. Even though it’s a sheet cake, we don’t want any warmth on top. Otherwise, the frosting will still melt and slip onto the cake plate.
The frosting components are ALSO brownie and cookie inspired:
- My classic chocolate buttercream
- My cookie dough frosting (from my cookie dough cake!)
We swirl the two together and top with even MORE cookie dough and brownie bites!!
A note about heat treating the flour:
So personally, I’ve eaten a lot of raw cookie dough in my time, and only recently started heat treating my flour. And sometimes I still don’t do it. I know it’s an annoying step- and chances of getting something funky aren’t that high, but it IS always better to be safe than sorry.
So I do recommend heat-treating the flour for both the cookie dough portion and the cookie dough frosting portion. I know, I know, an extra step, but it can be worth it.
Just remember to also sift the flour after it’s been heat-treated. It always tends to clump up from the heat, so this just ensures a smooth dough!
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Vegan Brownie Cookie Dough Cake
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This brownie cookie dough cake is strictly for brookie lovers ONLY! It’s a beautifully soft, “buttery” rich brown sugar vanilla sheet cake studded with chocolate chips and baked with edible cookie dough AND brownie batter on top. We finish the cake with a marbled swirl of chocolate buttercream and cookie dough frosting all topped with edible cookie dough and brownie bites. And the wild part is that it’s entirely vegan- no eggs, no dairy, and I’m going to show you how!
Ingredients
Cookie dough:
- 1 batch edible vegan cookie dough, divided
Cake:
- 1 cup (226 g) salted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (150 g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (240 g) unsweetened dairy free yogurt, room temperature
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract (yes, 2 tablespoons!!)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3 2/3 cup (450 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup (300 mL) vegan buttermilk, room temperature
- 1 cup (170 g) mini vegan chocolate chips.
Brownie batter:
- 1/4 cup (57 g) avocado oil, HOT
- 1/4 cup (25 g) high quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 3 ounces vegan chocolate
- 1/8 cup (40 mL) dairy free milk, room temperature*
- 1/3 cup (75 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) dairy free yogurt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup (100 g) all-purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour
Toppings:
- 1/2 batch small batch vegan brownies
- 1/2 batch vegan chocolate buttercream
- 1/2 batch vegan cookie dough frosting
- Edible cookie dough from the above section
Instructions
**NOTE BEFORE BEGINNING: You’ll need to heat-treat the flour for both the cookie dough portion that will be just for topping (i.e. the portion NOT going to be baked in the cake) and the cookie dough frosting portion, as well as sift it afterwards in order to be edible. Those instructions are in the post of the cookie dough. **
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F. First we’ll make the cookie dough (make 1 full batch then a separate half batch, to be saved for topping). Then we’ll make the cake batter, followed by the brownie batter. While the cake is baking, you can make another small batch of brownies (as instructed in the topping section) for topping the cake afterwards. Grease a 9×13″ baking pan with cooking oil and line with parchment paper.
- Make the edible cookie dough: Prepare the cookie dough according to instructions, make one full batch and dividing in half (one portion for the cake batter and the remaining half batch for the topping of the cake). Or make one half of the cookie dough with heat-treated flour (for decoration) and the other half without heat-treated flour (because it will be baked into the cake). Set aside.
- Make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted vegan butter, dairy free yogurt, sugar, light brown sugar, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Add in the baking powder and baking soda, and whisk again. Then add in the flour along with the buttermilk, and whisk JUST until combined. Switch to a silicone spatula and pour in the chocolate chips. Fold the chocolate chips into the batter to evenly distribute throughout the batter.
- Make the brownie batter: Make the fudge sauce by heating the neutral oil in the microwave until hot, about 1-2 30-second intervals in the microwave. Pour the hot oil over the 3 ounces of vegan chocolate in a heat-safe bowl. Let sit for 2 minutes to melt the chocolate, then stir until the chocolate is completely melted into the butter. Then add in the cocoa powder, and stir until dissolved. Set aside. Next, in a separate medium bowl, whisk or use a hand mixer to whisk together the dairy free milk, granulated sugar, brown sugar, dairy free yogurt, vanilla extract and sea salt. Mix on medium speed until the sugar is nearly dissolved. If you pinch the batter between your fingers, you should feel very small granules if at all. Pour in the chocolate fudge sauce, and mix with a hand mixer again until the chocolate mixture is combined. Then add in the flour, and mix on low speed JUST until the flour is integrated into the chocolate brownie batter.
- Assemble the cake: Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Then take a large ice cream scoop and scoop dollops of batter on top of the cake batter, leaving room for large “patties” of cookie dough. Next, take the half batch portion of the cookie dough and press large scoops (roughly 3-4 tbsp) into large patties. Place each cookie dough patty onto the cake so that it alternates with the brownie batter (see blog post photo).
- Bake: Place the cake into the oven to bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to fully cool before frosting.
- While the cake is baking: You can prepare another half batch of brownie batter (as listed in the toppings section) for decorating the cake.
- When ready to decorate: Prepare both frostings according to their separate instructions. To frost, alternate with scoops of chocolate and cookie dough frosting. Use a spoon to smear and swirl the frostings together. Top with sliced vegan brownies and cookie dough balls.
- Slice and serve! Slice into 12-18 cake slices and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or in the freezer for up to 2 months!
Notes
Gluten-free: I recommend using King Arthur Measure-for-Measure for all gluten-free flours in this recipe.
I CANNOT wait to make this!! Which exact all purpose flour did you use? Gluten free? I’ve used different products and they all vary in taste (some bad, some good). I want to use whatever you used.
Thanks!
Jess 🙂
Hi Jess! Aw I’m so happy to hear it!! I’ve tested this with King Arthur’s all purpose flour, Whole Foods 365 all purpose flour, and Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten free 1:1 baking flour. If you’re not gluten-free, I would use the all purpose flour, but it does work with the BRM’s GF flour!
What vegan yogurt did you use?
Hi! I used Forager Project cashew milk, but have tested this with Culina coconut yogurt, and it works great as well!
Hi! I love brownies and cookie dough so I know I’m going to love this cake! I’m new to vegan baking and it honestly feels like I’m doing a science experiment each time I try something new lol! Can I use brown sugar in place of the coconut sugar?
Oh I totally get that!! That’s how it felt like for me too (and honestly, gf vegan baking now feels like the science experiment 🤣in a good way!!). Yes, you can! Coconut sugar is a good sub for brown sugar when you don’t have access to a vegan brown sugar (one of the annoying things about US sugars haha not all of them are vegan!), BUT you can absolutely use brown sugar (Florida Crystals has a vegan brown sugar that I use, so that’s what I stick with!).
And if you’re just getting into vegan baking, definitely check out my vegan baking guide here: https://thebananadiaries.com/vegan-baking-made-easy/ I’ve linked a ton of vegan baking articles in there too to help, including my top favorite vegan egg replacements and which ones I use for which types of recipes!
Hi! Is it possible to make this cake without the espresso powder? Can I just leave it out, or would it need to be substituted with something else? I know very little about baking, so I’m not sure if it’s just for flavor, or if leaving it out would affect the way the cake layers bake.
Absolutely! You can just use the hot water, no problem. The espresso powder just enhances the chocolate flavor, but it’s already pretty chocolatey!
This is by far THE BEST VEGAN CAKE RECIPE EVER!!!!
I have high standards for cake and this turned out AMAZING. I made the recipe 1.5X for a 3-tier 9″ pan version, which was incredible. I served this for my son’s 7th birthday and all family was extremely impressed. My son picked out this recipe and it’s a new family favorite.
I used decaf instant coffee powder, otherwise made everything per the recipe. Also, I used the new Country Crock Plant Butter “Salted” Sticks (comes in 2-stick packs) and it tasted fantastic. Best nut-free vegan butter for baking in my opinion.
I just made this and holy delicious!! I made it gluten free using King Arthur 1 to 1 Gf flour but I get equally amazing results when I can only find Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF flour. It obviously requires a lot of bowls and a lot of steps but I’ve made several of your other recipes including the chocolate chip cookie dough recipe so that made it a lot easier! And your directions are very well written. Very easy to understand and simply worded! I’m such a fan. Thanks for another great one!
Oh my goodness!! I am so honored, it looks FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for trusting me with your time, ingredients, and energy!! So grateful you’re loving all of the recipes 🙂 Wonderful job, enjoy!!