Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake

“The Way to a Man’s Heart is Through his Stomach”

The man that I love just happens to also love Cookie Dough. When I came across Something Shiny’s Cookie Dough Cake, I knew that I had no other choice but to make this for him. In the past I have surprised Rich with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes, also nice batches of Raw (with egg) Cookie Dough to make him smile, and even Cookie Dough Truffles for Holidays! This cake I knew would be a big hit – even if it meant many hours of preparation going into it (do not let the long list scare you off – it is worth every second you will spend working on it)!

Rich knew that he was getting some sort of baked goodie for Valentines Day this year, but I do not think that he expected this. We started this evening out with some wine and cheese and meats that I had picked up to hold him over until I could finish making the cake and then make dinner, and the evening of food was one that we totally enjoyed – especially with this cake ending the whole night. People may tell you that you need to spend lots of money to make people happy but I know that the best gifts come from the heart (and go to the stomach?).

Before reading any further please promise me that you will not worry about your diet for just a little bit – happiness is what you make it 🙂

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Layer Cake

* All parts of this recipe are from Something Shiny – many of the inspiration recipes she used she got from other places & those are noted, but be sure to go check out Kelly’s amazing page!

1-2-3-4 Cake

Adapted from Paula Deen

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups self-rising flour*, sifted
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup milk, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp butter flavoring

*An easy substitute for self-rising flour is to add 1-1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt for EACH cup of flour. That’s what I did.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans. Here’s how! On parchment paper, trace around the bottom of each pan and trim just inside the line. Spray pan with cooking spray, then line with trimmed parchment. Spray again, making sure to coat entire pan. You can smooth it out with a pastry brush if you want. Then sprinkle with flour, tapping the edge of the pan with the heel of one hand as you rotate the pan with the other. This ensures that the flour is evenly distributed over the entire surface. Don’t skip this step. You’ll be sorry – trust me!

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. This will take a few minutes. Scrape the bowl and continue mixing. Add sugar and continue to cream well for 6 to 8 minutes, scraping down the bowl a couple of times to make sure it’s all getting mixed in and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Add vanilla and butter flavoring and continue to beat until just mixed.

Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Level batter in each pan by holding pan 3 or 4 inches above counter, then dropping it flat onto counter. Do this several times to release air bubbles and assure you of a more level cake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Cool in pans 5 to 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks lined with plastic wrap. Wrap tightly and put in the freezer for at least 1 hour prior to decorating.

The Best Buttercream Frosting EVER

*as listed the frosting makes just enough –  double if you like extra or want to play it safe

• 1 cup sugar
• 6 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (you could use any flavoring you want)

Measure sugar and flour into a medium sauce pan. Whisk together to incorporate the flour into the sugar. This makes it easier to dissolve. Add milk to pan and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. It will seem like nothing is going to happen, when all of the sudden, it thickens up. Cook for just a few minutes after it begins to set up. Keep stirring; you don’t want it to burn-and it will.

Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Once cooled, combine with butter in large mixing bowl or stand mixer and whip like crazy (use whisk attachment). Beat for at least 5 minutes (probably closer to 10) until the mixture is light and fluffy. Use immediately. It can be kept in the fridge, but it hardens considerably and will need to warm up a bit before being spreadable.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

*or use your favorite Cookie Recipe (I seem to struggle with baking chocolate chip cookies & can’t find a recipe that actually works for me, this one included)

Recipe adapted from Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes, by David Lebovitz (Ten Speed Press)
Yield: about 4 dozen cookies

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups nuts (such as walnuts, pecans, almonds or macadamia nuts), toasted and coarsely chopped
• 14 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/2- to 1-inch chunks

In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract at medium speed just until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly incorporated, then blend in the flour mixture, nuts and chocolate chunks.

On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into quarters. Shape each quarter into a log about 9 inches long. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, preferably 24 hours. (The dough logs can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.)

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Slice the dough logs into ¾-inch-thick disks and place the disks 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the nuts or chips fall out, simply push them back in. Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until very lightly browned in the centers, about 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack. The baked cookies will keep well in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Cookie Dough Filling

from Fake Ginger

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 7 ounce sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.

Take the “dough” and quickly form into small balls and place on parchment paper. Note: these balls can also be dipped in chocolate to make Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffle Balls!

ASSEMBLY

You are finally ready to create your masterpiece. Take your bottom cake layer from the freezer and place it onto your preferred cake platter. Spread a thin layer of Buttercream on your whole cake. Drop your Cookie Dough Balls on top of the Buttercream, you want them as close as possible so that you can still tell that they are balls but you also want as much of this as possible in each bite (maybe even just make it slightly less dense and turn it into a layer of frosting itself!?). Once you have any many little truffles on the cake as it can handle, fill in all of the gaps with more Buttercream and place your second layer on top. At this point you want to crumb coat your whole cake. The purpose of crumb coating (just a thin layer of frosting) is so that your cake looks amazing and you can get it even and flat and without chunks of crumbs all over the place.

Place your roughly assembled cake in the refrigerator for about a half hour and then use the rest of the frosting to make a smooth layer of masterpiece. If it is not perfect – no worries – you will place baked cookies around the outside and garnish as much as you want with chocolate chips (for appearance and taste and covering any boo-boos).

ENJOY – you never know what joy a cake can bring!

One Year Ago – Reuben Soup (delicious – a ‘must try’)

And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… What food have you cooked for a loved one and they have just loved you even more because of it!?

p.s. – big announcement coming soon – check out my Next Post!!!