One of my favorite go-to things to bake are actually the simplest things ever: chocolate chip cookies. I don’t have a fancy recipe (I literally just use the one on the back of the Hershey’s chocolate chip package), but in my opinion, a warm chocolate chip cookie dipped in milk at the end of a long day is like heaven. So as I was whipping up a batch the other day, I had an epiphany: why not translate the deliciousness of chocolate chip cookies and milk into cake form? It didn’t take me long after that to start testing recipes for the best milk & cookies cake ever. Here’s what happened:
It’s a chocolate chip cookie flavored cake with vanilla buttercream, chocolate ganache, and plenty of homemade chocolate chip cookies on top! I’m calling it a Milk & Cookies Cake as a nod to its inspiration.
Let’s talk about this cake. I based the ingredients off of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, so there are both brown and white sugars involved in the creaming process. The brown sugar gives such a deep, rich flavor and adds a little bit of moisture. I wanted it to be extra moist though, so I added a some sour cream to the batter as well.
You can use regular sized chocolate chips in this recipe, but I opted for mini chocolate chips instead! Either way, be sure to coat them in a few Tbsp of flour before folding them into your batter at the end. That will make it less likely for them to sink to the bottom of your cake layers in the baking process.
Vanilla buttercream is the milk to this chocolate chip cookie cake, and it provides a nice subtle flavor to wrap it all up in. Just like milk to a cookie, it’s a great complementary flavor that doesn’t try to steal the spotlight. Not too sweet, just right.
I used Wilton Tip 1M to pipe a buttercream rope border on top, then topped it with some homemade chocolate chip cookies to really go the extra mile! Here’s a quick video to show you the entire decorating process, from filling and frosting the cake layers to garnishing with cookies and chocolate ganache:
Like I said before, I’m all about the basic recipe on the back of the Hershey’s chocolate chip bag (although sometimes I get a little crazy and substitute the vanilla extract for almond extract – so tasty!), but if you’ve got a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and want to make them your cake toppers, my hat’s off to you. If you want to use store bought cookies like Chips Ahoy instead, you totally have my blessing. However you decorate it, you can be sure that this cake will satisfy all the cookies and milk loving people in your life!
Milk & Cookie Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- 3 3/4 Cups (400g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/8 Cup (254g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Cup (220g) granulated white sugar
- 3/4 Cup (140g) packed brown sugar
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 Cup (112g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 Cups (355ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 1 1/2 Cups (283g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, coated in 1.5 Tbsp flour
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 2 Cups (452g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 7 Cups (840g) powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp (45ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
For Garnish (optional)
- chocolate chip cookies
- chocolate ganache drip (see link below)
Instructions
Make The Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch or four 6-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker's Joy is my favorite) and a wax paper circle fitted to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans.
- Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Add in white and brown sugars and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and sour cream, turn the mixer to high, and mix for one minute, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the whole milk and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps, then fold in the flour-coated chocolate chips. Batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
- Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans (about 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 35-40 minutes. The cakes are done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they’re entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.
Make The Vanilla Buttercream
- With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated.
Assembly
- Fill and frost the cake layers with vanilla buttercream. Crumble the chocolate chip cookies (either homemade or store-bought) and garnish the cake by adding them to the bottom third of the frosted cake, pressing the crumbles in to the sides.
- If garnishing with a chocolate ganache drip, chill the cake for 30 minutes before dripping with ganache. Finish by piping a border on top with vanilla buttercream (I used Wilton Tip 1M) and placing whole chocolate chip cookies on top.
Hi Whitney. Love the cake, the only issue I had was that all of the mini chips sunk to the bottom! ugh….I tossed them in flour and folded them in…any thoughts?? :-/
Oh no! That’s the only way I really know how to try and prevent them from sinking – coat them in flour and fold them in. You could try chopping them smaller next time so they don’t weigh so much but other than that I don’t have any additional advice for sinking mini chips.
Well..it’s still a great tasting cake!! Could I have used too many chips? I measured 1 1/2 cups of mini chips. That was nearly the entire bag. Maybe that was why? I wonder if chilling the mini chips and tossing in flour will make the flour stick better and then not letting them sink? Who knows!
Just made today!!! Like a few other people who posted, I like tall layers and I usually bake in 6″ round pans. I used all the batter and made 4 equal 6″ layers that baked to just around 1 3/4″ tall each. I was afraid to try to use only 3 pans so 4 was the better decision. I will have an extra layer and make my cake using 3 as Whitney did. Hope mine turns out as gorgeous!
I am making this cake this week and wanted to make two cakes, one three layer and one two layer. I’m seeing comments about there possibly being left over batter. My question is, if I’m using 6-inch pans, should I 1.5x the recipe to get 5 total layers or will the original recipe be enough?
Hi Ashley! This recipe makes enough batter for four 6-inch layers that are about 2 inches tall when baked. It’s possible to divide this recipe as-is into 5 6-inch pans, but the layers will be closer to one inch tall. If you want to keep the height in your baked cake layers, I would recommend 1.5x the recipe. Hope that helps!
Thank you!
I cannot wait to make this cake this weekend! I saw that you usually do 3 6” layers. I do the same as well. And I love how tall your layers are! Is that how they turn out by filling the pan 2/3 full? Or could I fill them a bit more to give them that height?
Thanks!
Hi Samantha! I always fill my cake pans about 2/3 of the way full, any more than that and they’ll overflow in the baking process. So yes, 2/3 full and you’ll have nice tall layers (they rise a bit in the oven)! So excited for you to make this cake!
What kind of Cake Flour do you use?
Or like any cake box flour and then follow this instructions or what is recommend to buy for this recipe?
Hi Sarah! You can use any brand of cake flour, but the ones I use personally are Swan’s Down and Softasilk.
Hi, can the cake be stored outside for 2 days before I frost it? I got the wrong date
Hi Nan! You can store the cake layers by wrapping them in saran wrap and keeping them at room temp for two days before frosting. Any longer than that and I would recommend storing them in the freezer, then thawing the layers before frosting.
If you 1.5x the recipe for 9” pans do you have to alter the buttercream too or does it make enough? I’m making it for family coming in town for birthdays
Hi Abby! It depends on how many layers you’re making. For 3-4 layers I would do 1.25x the buttercream recipe (you’d have a lot left over with 1.5x). Just multiply all the ingredients by 1.25 and you’ll have the perfect amount!
Hi! Looks so yummy! Can I substitute the granulated white sugar for stevia?
Hi Marina! I have never substituted Stevia before, but I think there are instructions on the Stevia packaging for how to substitute (I don’t think it’s a straight amount for substituting in a baking recipe). If you try it let me know!
This cake looks amazing and I’d really like to try making it for to celebrate my brother’s graduation (or what would have been), but I only have 9″ pans. Any tips on how that will alter # of pans and bake time?
Hi Karlie! This cake recipe makes quite a lot of batter as-is. It should be enough for three short 9 inch layers or more than enough for two tall 9 inch layers. If you want a taller 9 inch cake, you can 1.5x the recipe to ensure you have enough
Hello, how do you get the cookies to stick to the bottom layer of the cake?
Thank-you
Suzanne
Hi Suzanne! I crumbled the cookies and, while the frosting was still slightly wet, pressed them onto the side of the cake with the palm of my hand.
I am in Canada and can’t find whole milk. Is there something I can use as a replacement? Thank you!
Hi Alicia! I’ve never tried cake recipes with anything other than whole milk, but after doing some research it appears that any dairy milk should substitute just fine (2%, 1%, etc). If you can’t find dairy milk, I also hear that soy milk is a good alternative to whole milk. Let me know what you end up trying – now I’m curious!
I made this for my daughter-n- laws 28th birthday. Everyone loved it. However, I used the mini chocolate chips and they still settled to the bottom of the cake. Also, my cake didn’t rise like yours. I followed the recipe exactly. Can you tell me why?
Hi Denise. So sorry that your chocolate chips sank! I learned a trick for this recently – if you coat the chocolate chips in a few Tbsp of flour before adding them to the batter it helps prevent them from sinking while baking. Give that a try next time.
As far as the cake not rising properly, it could mean a few different things went wrong: 1) check to see that your baking powder is fresh. It expires every 6 months, and if it’s expired it will cause the cake to dip in the center because it won’t have enough leavening agent. 2) make sure your ingredients are room temp. If they are colder than room temp, it will mess with the chemistry of the cake and could cause dipping. 3) Make sure you only mix for the exact amount of time specified in the recipe. Overmixing leads to the cake dipping in the center. 4) Check your oven temperature internally. Sometimes the display will read one temp while the oven is actually a different temp.
Most of the time the culprit is either overmixing the batter or expired baking powder. I hope it’s an easy fix for you because this recipe should be failproof!
Hi
Is it possible to make this cake with the buttercream 1 day ahead?
I want To make it for my sons birthday tomorow but i want to finish it today but im not sure if its a good idea or how to store it.
Thank yoi
Hi Roxana! You can totally make the cake and buttercream ahead and frost it a day ahead as well. Just store it in the refrigerator overnight and then continue with the decorating process the next day.
Is it really 1 tbsp of baking powder?
Hi Michele! 1 Tbsp of baking powder is correct.
This recipe is amazing! I made cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday and everyone raved about how they really tasted like milk and cookies. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Tyne! Glad the recipe was a hit and worked well in a cupcake variation!