Inspired by Erin Ireland’s To Live For this cookie dough layer cake with vegan vanilla cake layers, tasty raw cookie dough filling covered in a vanilla buttercream and topped with chocolate ganache drips and cookie dough and cookie crumbles.
My 2023 resolution is to eat more cake so we’re naming this year the year of cake!
Inspired by Erin Ireland (who’s cake decorating on Instagram led me into this passion) I’ve made this Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Layer Cake. Erin has a recipe for this cake on her blog and now sells a version of it in her new café in Vancouver ‘To Live For’. I’ve been daydreaming of tasting everything the bakery has been sharing on Instagram since they opened and I figured that if this is going to be a year of cake I should start up with one of the first cakes that got this cake curiosity and passion going.
I’ve drafted up my own recipe here for vanilla cake layers, chocolate chip cookie dough, vanilla buttercream and a chocolate ganache drip that you can find below.
You can also watch my YouTube video for this cake to see how it all came together.
If you end up giving this a try please tag me in your post @sachagud – I’d love to see it!
Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Layer Drip Cake
cookie dough layer cake with vegan vanilla cake layers, tasty raw cookie dough filling covered in a vanilla buttercream and topped with chocolate ganache drips and cookie dough and cookie crumbles.
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Rotating Cake Decorating Stand
- 6 inch cake pan x 3 (could try two 8 or 9 inch pans)
Ingredients
Vegan Vanilla Cake Layers
- 2 cups non dairy milk
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- 2 tbsp vegan egg replacer
- 6 tbsp water
- 3/4 cup softened butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup vegan, dairy free chocolate chips
Vanilla Buttercream
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk (if needed)
Ganache
- 1/4 cup vegan dairy free chocolate chips
- 2-3 tbsp non-dairy milk
Instructions
Vanilla Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease three six inch or two eight inch cake pans and cover the base with a circle or square of parchment paper.
- Make vegan buttermilk in a large bowl by stirring together non-dairy milk and vinegar. Set aside for a few minutes.
- In a large bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer) sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk until combined.
- To the vegan buttermilk mixture add sugar, oil and vanilla, whisking to combine.
- Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients beating with a hand mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment until smooth.
- Divide cake batter evenly to the prepared cake pans, smoothing out the tops and bake for 30 mins approximately. Time will vary depending on your oven and what size of pans you choose to use. I always like rotate the pans at around the 20 minute mark. I will use a toothpick to check the cakes doneness – minimal crumbs stick to a toothpick after you insert it into the centre of the cake.
- Place pans on a cooling rack and wait until completly cooled to decorate.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- In a small bowl mix together vegan egg replacer and water. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer), cream vegan butter and sugars together with hand mixer or stand mixer for 3-5 minutes.
- Add vanilla and vegan egg to the creamed butter and sugars.
- In a medium bowl add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, whisking to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Cover bowl and place it in the refrigerate, letting the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, roll out a portion of the dough (roughly 1/3rd) into two 6 inch layers (mimicking the cake layers though I prefer these to be slightly thinner than the cake layers). Use a plate or the cake tin to cut out your circle. Refrigerate until ready to decorate.
- Using some of the cookie dough make cookie dough balls to decorate the top of the cake. (Make as many as you would like to use) Refrigerate until ready to decorate.
- With the remaining cookie dough you can bake cookies to place at the bottom of the cake or just for enjoying. You can also freeze the cookie dough and use it later.
- If making cookies to decorate the cake, use a teaspoon to measure the dough and roll into balls with your hands and place on parchment at least two inches apart. You can press down on the cookies to flatten them slightly. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes and let cool completely
- Freeze remaining dough for future cookies! (Tip: Best to create dough balls and then freeze!)
Vanilla Buttercream
- Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl with hand mixer, whip vegan butter and vegetable shortening together until smooth. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and continue to mix.
- Add the vanilla and mix well.
- If icing is too dry/thick add non-dairy milk 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Chocolate Ganache
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips and non-dairy milk in 10 second bursts, removing from the microwave to stir in-between.
- Repeat steps until the chocolate has melted and mixture is completely smooth, test consistency by dripping some of the ganache in your bowl before adding to the cake.
Assembly
- In the center of the cake board, place the first cake layer top side up. Depending on the size of cake tins you used you'll need to adjust the amount of buttercream you add. Start with 1/4 to 1/2 cup and spread it gently over the cake layer. You don't want too much buttercream as you'll add the cookie dough filing next.
- Place cookie dough filling disc and add a thing layer of icing.
- Repeat with second cake layer. (Cake, icing, cookie dough filling, icing)
- Place the final cake layer, top side down, on the second layer of filling.
- Apply a thin layer of buttercream around the cake for a 'crumb coat'. Place the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Once the crumb coat is set, frost the cake with remaining buttercream and decorate to your liking. I added crushed cookies, buttercream dollops with cookie dough balls and chocolate ganache drips. Tip: test the drip consistency on the side of the bowl before testing on the cake!.
