This brownie cookie dough cake consists of fudgy chocolate brownie cake layers with milk chocolate chips, a thick layer of edible brown butter cookie dough, silky buttercream with chunks of cookie dough, and more scoops of cookie dough on top. This cake is indulgent, fudgy, chocolatey, creamy, and delightfully crunchy from the chocolate chips. This makes one 8” round, double layered cake.
The Layers
This cookie dough brownie cake has 2 layers of decadent fudgy brownie with chocolate chips. I used milk chocolate chips, but you can use your favourite chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (semisweet works great too). Alternatively, you can add chopped nuts and whatever other fillings you like into the brownie batter before baking.
Sandwiched in between the brownies is a thick layer of edible brown butter cookie dough. The cookie dough is creamy and tastes exactly like real cookie dough. It has the same addictive thick texture and the brown butter adds so much toasty flavour. If you haven’t jumped on the brown butter bandwagon, now is your chance! The cookie dough is egg-less and the flour is pasteurized to make the cookie dough safe to eat when raw.
You can make extra cookie dough to scoop onto the top as well. The cookie dough recipe is from my previous blog post, get it here.
The Frosting
The frosting base for this cookie dough fudgy brownie cake is a super creamy and luscious, two-ingredient Russian buttercream. It is made from butter and sweetened condensed milk. The condensed milk gives it a beautiful milky flavour, which works perfectly with the cookie dough and brownies. Milk and cookies, anyone?
The butter is creamed until super fluffy and some vanilla extract and condensed milk is added gradually. It whips up to be super smooth. Set some aside to pipe the border around the top of the cake. Room temperature cookie dough is then added to the buttercream and mixed very briefly, so that it remains in big chunks.
In this cookie dough brownie cake recipe, I add less sweetened condensed milk than I usually would so that it doesn’t become too sweet once the cookie dough is added.
To get super fudgy brownie layers, you have to watch out for a few things that are outlined in the recipe.
Weigh out your flour with a scale or use a measuring cup properly. To properly measure with a measuring cup, stir the bag of flour with a spoon. Scoop the flour into the measuring cup and scrape the top off with the flat edge of a knife, without compressing the flour into the cup.
Do not overmix the batter when adding the flour. You want to mix it just until everything is incorporated. By overmixing you will develop too much gluten which will make your brownies more cakey.
The most important step is to make sure that you do not overbake the layers. Take the brownie layers out when they are still jiggly in the center and set around the edges. They will continue to cook through as they cool.
The cake has a lot of butter in the layers, cookie dough, and buttercream. It’s important to serve it at room temperature so that the cake is soft and the frosting is creamy from the softened butter. That way you get the most moist and soft slice of cake.
Make sure your butter is very soft before you whip it to be very light and fluffy. Leave the butter at room temperature for an hour or two to soften. You do not want it to be melted.
Beat the butter very well with a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer, this will take at least 5 minutes. The butter will be very light in colour and fluffy. It should also increase in volume.
Add the room temperature sweetened condensed milk gradually to the beaten butter. Beat very well when adding the condensed milk so that the frosting comes together smooth and doesn’t split. Beat for at least 5 minutes. The frosting will become even lighter and fluffier.
Add the room temperature cookie dough to the frosting and give it a quick mix with a stand mixer or handheld electric mixer. You want there to be large chunks.
Fold the cookie dough buttercream with a spatula a few times to get rid of any large air pockets before frosting the cake. Store the frosting at room temperature for up to a few hours until it is ready to use.
If your frosting splits, take a quarter cup of the frosting and melt it in a water bath (a bowl nestled in some hot water) or in the microwave. Cool to room temperature for 5 minutes and add it back into the bowl of frosting. Beat well until light, fluffy, and smooth.
The layers can be made a day or two ahead. Wrap the cooled layers tightly with plastic wrap and store at room temperature.
The frosting should be made the day of frosting the cake. If you are going to be short on time, make the Russian buttercream base the day before (do not add the cookie dough). That is because the texture will change once it is refrigerated and it needs to be beaten very well before frosting the cake. The day of frosting the cake, let the frosting come to room temperature and beat the base until it is light and fluffy again, then add the cookie dough. The frosting can be left at room temperature for a few hours until you are ready to frost the cake.
The cake can be assembled the day before. Store it in the refrigerator with a large bowl upside down over the cake or wrapped with cling wrap. Let the cake come to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Check these out:
- Salted Pecan Chewy Brownie Recipe
- The Best Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Vegan Muffins with Chocolate Chips
Ingredients:
Full ingredients and steps are in the recipe card below
Cake Layers
- All purpose flour: weigh the flour to get the perfect fudgy brownies.
- Baking soda: This will give the brownies a little bit of lift - but not too much, so that the brownie layers stay fudgy.
- Salt: Gives the brownies extra depth of flavour. The salt cuts down on the sweetness and works really well with the chocolate flavour. Don’t skip this ingredient!
- Natural cocoa powder: Choose a natural cocoa powder, not dutch processed in this recipe. The acid will help react with the alkaline in the baking soda and powder, creating a rich chocolate flavour.
- Unsalted butter: The unsalted butter is melted and added to the brownie for moisture and flavour. Use good quality real butter.
- Brown sugar and granulated sugar: Brown sugar will help give the brownies extra flavour and moisture. Granulated sugar will give the brownies a good chew.
- Large eggs (room temperature): Eggs will give the brownie moisture and body, all the things you want for the perfect fudgy, decadent layers.
- Pure vanilla extract: For the best vanilla flavour use pure vanilla extract.
- Chocolate chips: Use your favourite chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. I used milk chocolate chips. Semisweet chocolate chips will work great as well.
Frosting
- Unsalted butter, softened: The butter has to be very soft so that it whips up to be very light and fluffy.
- Sweetened condensed milk: You can buy this in cans at most grocery stores. You need one 300 mL, 390 g, or 14 oz (by weight) can.
- Pure vanilla extract: Vanilla will give the frosting a lovely vanilla flavour.
- Mini chocolate chips: I added a bit more extra chocolate chips for some extra crunch. You will need even more for decorating the sides.
Cookie dough recipe here: You need one batch of the recipe. Half of the batch will go in between the brownie layers and the other half in the frosting. To scoop some extra on top, you will need an extra half batch of dough (optional).
Steps
Cake Layers
- Preheat oven and prepare two 7” or 8” round cake pans.
- Melt butter and let cool to room temperature.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
- Whisk sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract vigorously until very smooth and light in colour.
- Whisk the melted butter into the eggs until smooth.
- Fold in the flour and chocolate chips.
- Pour into prepared cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes. They should still be jiggly in the center. Let cool.
Frosting
- Beat softened butter until very fluffy and light in colour. This will take at least 5 minutes.
- Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk gradually while beating.
- Fold the buttercream with a spatula to remove any large air pockets.
- Set aside ½ cup of buttercream for piping the border of the cake (optional).
- Add some mini chocolate chips and half of the cookie dough into the buttercream and mix just until barely incorporated. You want there to still be chunks.
Assembly
- Spread a dollop of buttercream on a cake board or cake stand. Place a cake layer on top.
- Spread the second half of the batch of cookie dough on the cake layer. Add cookie dough buttercream on top.
- Add the second cake layer, bottom side up. Spread the rest of the cookie dough buttercream over the top and sides of the cake.
- Pipe a border from the set aside buttercream (without cookie dough) on the top edge of the cake. Add mini chocolate chips on the sides.
- Decorate the top of the cake with more cookie dough (optional). Slice and serve!
Happy baking! xx
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Fudgy Brownie Cookie Dough Cake
Equipment
- Stand mixer or electric handheld mixer
- Two 8" round baking pans
Ingredients
Fudgy brownie cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup natural cocoa powder not dutch processed
- 1 ¾ cup butter
- 1 ¾ cups brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips I used milk chocolate chips - semisweet will also work
Cookie Dough Buttercream
- 2 cups butter softened
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk 300 mL, 390 g, or 14 oz (by weight)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup mini chocolate chips for decorating and to add extra into the buttercream
Cookie Dough
- 1 batch edible brown butter cookie dough
- ½ batch extra brown butter edible cookie dough to scoop extra on top optional
Instructions
Fudgy brownie cake
- Preheat oven to 175°C (345°F). Grease two 7” or 8” round cake pans with butter or oil and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Melt butter in a saucepan or in a microwave (stirring constantly) until completely melted. Let cool to room temperature.1 ¾ cup butter
- Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.2 cups all purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 cup natural cocoa powder
- In a separate bowl, whisk sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract vigorously until very smooth and light in colour.1 ¾ cups brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 5 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Whisk the melted butter into the eggs until smooth.
- Fold the flour and chocolate chips into the butter and egg mixture.1 cup chocolate chips
- Pour into prepared cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes. They should still be jiggly in the center. Remove from oven and let cool completely to room temperature. They will sink in the middles a bit.
- To remove the cake from the pans, run a knife or spatula around the edges and flip the cake pan over. The cake should fall out in one piece. Peel the parchment paper off the back.
Cookie Dough Buttercream
- Beat softened butter until very fluffy and light in colour. This will take at least 5 minutes. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.2 cups butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add the sweetened condensed milk gradually to the butter and beat in between each addition until smooth.1 can sweetened condensed milk
- Fold the buttercream with a spatula to remove any large air pockets.
- Set aside ½ cup of buttercream for piping the border of the cake (optional).
- Add ¼ cup mini chocolate chips and half of the edible cookie dough (recipe link in notes) into the buttercream and mix just until barely incorporated. You want there to still be chunks.1 ½ cup mini chocolate chips, 1 batch edible brown butter cookie dough
Assembly
- Spread a small dollop of buttercream on a cake board or cake stand. Place a cake layer on top. Don’t trim the edges even: the sunken middle will make the perfect place for the cookie dough.
- Spread the second half of the batch of cookie dough on the cake layer. Add a good layer of cookie dough frosting on top and smooth so that it is even.
- Add the second cake layer, this time bottom side up. Press down firmly. Spread the rest of the cookie dough buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. Smooth out as best as possible. Press the rest of the mini chocolate chips onto the sides of the cake.
- Pipe a border of the buttercream set aside (without cookie dough) on the top edge of the cake.
- Decorate the top of the cake with more cookie dough (optional). Slice and serve!½ batch extra brown butter edible cookie dough to scoop extra on top
Notes
- Weigh out your flour with a scale or use a measuring cup properly.
- Do not overmix the batter when adding the flour.
- Do not overbake the layers. Take the brownie layers out when they are still jiggly in the center.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!