This delightful Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake has three layers of soft and fluffy vanilla chocolate chip sponge paired with pastel pink vanilla buttercream. It’s decorated with homemade mini chocolate chip cookies, cute buttercream swirls and extra chocolate chips on top. If you love cookies and cake, this is the recipe for you!
This is an extra special recipe to celebrate an extra special occasion… I’m so unbelievably grateful to be sharing my baking journey with 100,000 of you on Instagram! THANK YOU!!!
What makes this recipe special?
- Flavour. Imagine the flavour of a chocolate chip cookie but baked into a delicious cake. Rich and buttery, with a sweet vanilla flavour and notes of caramel. That’s what you can expect from this recipe!
- Texture. The sponge layers are soft, fluffy and moist, with solid chocolate chips dotted throughout. The pink buttercream is soft, creamy and literally melts in your mouth. Break up one of the crunchy cookies and enjoy with a spoonful of the cake for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie cake experience!
- Time to celebrate. This cake is extra special as I made it to celebrate reaching 100,000K followers on Instagram 🥳 but really it would be perfect for any type of celebration. Just switch up the buttercream colours, add a cute cake topper and voila!
How to make Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
This recipe can be broken into three parts: the chocolate chip sponge layers, the pink vanilla buttercream, and the homemade mini chocolate chip cookies. Let’s talk through each in a bit more detail, and I’ll share my top tips and links to equipment along the way.
Chocolate chip sponge layers
The sponges have a delicious cookie-like flavour thanks to vanilla extract, light brown sugar and chocolate chips. Apart from these extras, the sponge mixture is made using the usual ingredients found in a basic cake recipe… butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour and a splash of milk.
The mixture is then divided evenly between three 6-inch round cake tins. TOP TIP: To bake perfectly flat cake layers, use the back of a spoon to make a well in the middle of the mixture before baking, or try using cake strips. Flat layers = easy to stack and decorate.
Instead of being folded into the cake mixture, the chocolate chips are scattered on top of the cakes before being put in the oven. This technique stops them from sinking all the way to the bottom when baked.
Pink vanilla buttercream
The buttercream is made using salted butter to balance the sweetness of the cake. If you’ve not used salted butter before for buttercream, you’ll just have to trust me; it will taste so much nicer! The buttercream is also flavoured with vanilla extract to compliment the flavour of the cakes, and we add a splash of milk to give it a soft and creamy texture.
TOP TIP: oil-based food colouring works best for buttercream. Start off by mixing in a few drops at a time. Remember you can always add more to build up the colour. Not a fan of the colour pink? You can use any food colouring you like to make this cake your own.
Spread the buttercream on top of the cake layers to sandwich them together. Then apply a thin coat of buttercream to seal in any crumbs, chill the cake for 30 minutes, and then apply the final coat of buttercream. This is known as a ‘crumb coat’ and will give your cake a neat, smooth and clean finish.
Homemade mini chocolate chip cookies
This cake wouldn’t be complete without the adorable chocolate chip cookie border! Using my no-chill cookie recipe as inspiration, the recipe for these mini cookies couldn’t be easier and will only take 20 minutes from start to finish. TOP TIP: You can make the cookies whilst the cakes are cooling down to save time. But also, if you want to take a shortcut, you can absolutely use shop-bought Maryland cookies instead.
The cookies are made using the same ingredient list as the cakes, which is ideal as you won’t need to buy any extra ingredients. The measurements will make enough cookie dough to make 12 mini cookies in total, with each cookie being equal to roughly one heaped teaspoon of cookie dough.
Once you’ve applied the buttercream, arrange the cookies around the outside of the cake, pressing them gently into the buttercream so they stay put. I used 9 cookies to decorate the outside of my cake, so you may have a few leftover to snack on!
Quick recipe tips
- Cake tins. Use the same-sized cake tins (6-inch) for accurate measurements and baking times. Got a different-sized cake tin? Drop a comment below, and I’ll help you convert the recipe.
- Chocolate chips. Scatter the chocolate chips on top of the cakes before baking to stop them from sinking to the bottom.
- Baking time. Try not to open the oven door to check on the cakes before the 25-minute mark, otherwise they might sink. Test the cakes by pressing the middle lightly with your finger. If the sponge springs back, they are ready to come out of the oven. If your finger leaves an indent, bake for another 5 minutes.
- Cake decorating. Helpful tools for cake decorating: cake turntable, large icing spatula, cake scraper, piping bag and nozzle set.
- Crumb coat. For a clean, smooth buttercream finish, apply a crumb coat by spreading a thin layer of buttercream on the outside and on top of the cake. Chill for 30 minutes in the fridge. Then apply the final coat of buttercream.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate chip sponge cakes
- 280 g Unsalted butter room temperature
- 140 g White caster sugar
- 140 g Light brown sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 3 large Eggs room temperature. You can use 4 medium eggs instead.
- 300 g Self raising flour or 300g all-purpose plain flour mixed with 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp Milk
- 50 g Chocolate chips milk or dark chocolate
Pink vanilla buttercream
- 350 g Salted butter room temperature
- 700 g Icing sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp Milk
- Pink food colouring oil-based works best
Mini chocolate chip cookies
- 50 g Unsalted butter room temperature
- 30 g White caster sugar
- 50 g Light brown sugar
- 1 medium Egg yolk room temperature
- 0.5 tsp Vanilla extract
- 100 g Self raising flour
- 20 g Chocolate chips
Instructions
Start by making the chocolate chip sponge cakes:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan / 180°C conventional. Grease and line the base and sides of three 6-inch cake tins with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, white caster sugar, light brown sugar and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined (add 1 tbsp of the 300g flour with each egg to stop the mixture from curdling).
- Add the rest of the flour and the milk, then fold together until the cake mixture is smooth and combined.
- Divide evenly between the baking tins and scatter the chocolate chips on top of each cake.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until risen, golden in colour and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed in the middle. Leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
Make the mini chocolate chip cookies whilst the cakes are cooling:
- Cream the butter, white caster sugar and light brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Fold in the flour until the mixture comes together into a cookie dough.
- Scoop up teaspoon-sized portions of cookie dough and roll into small balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, leaving space between each. Press a few chocolate chips into the top of esch cookies.
- Bake for 8 minutes until lightly golden brown and firm around the outside. Leave to cool completely on the baking tray.
Now make the pink vanilla buttercream:
- Beat the salted butter until smooth and creamy. Sift in the icing sugar and add the vanilla extract and milk. Beat again until the buttercream is smooth and combined. If it feels a little stiff, add a drop more milk.
- Mix in a few drops of pink food colouring to dye the buttercream a baby pink shade.
Assemble and decorate the cake:
- Place one sponge layer on a cake stand. Drop two heaped tablespoons of buttercream on top and use a spatula to spread it into an even layer.
- Repeat with the second cake layer, then place the third one on top.
- TIP: To get a neat and smooth finish, apply a crumb coat by covering the cake with a thin layer of buttercream around the outside and on top. It doesn't have to be super neat and don't worry if you pull up a few crumbs. Place the cake in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Now apply a final coat of buttercream, using a spatula or cake scraper to get a smooth finish.
- Arrange the cookies around the base of the cake, pressing them gently so they stick to the buttercream.
- To finish, use any leftover buttercream to pipe pretty swirls on top and fill in the middle with extra chocolate chips. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Have you made this chocolate chip cookie cake?
I really hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear what you think! Leave a comment or star rating below. Drop me a message on my Instagram or tag @jessie.bakes.cakes in your posts so I can see your delicious bakes!
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