Easily prepare an impressive layer cake with this Chocolate Cookie Dough Layer Cake recipe. It contains safe-to-eat cookie dough made with simple, fresh ingredients, leaving you with the perfect dessert.

Cookie Dough Stuffed Chocolate Cake
If you find yourself nibbling on cookie dough whenever you’re planning to bake some cookies, try this Chocolate Cookie Dough Layer Cake.
The impressive dessert consists of three layers of fluffy chocolate cake with cookie dough crumbles and frosting between them. It’s perfect for cookie dough lovers!
Why You’ll Love this Chocolate Cookie Dough Cake Recipe:
- Safe. It’s safe to eat the homemade cookie dough that you’re adding to this delicious cake.
- Chocolatey. The Chocolate Cookie Dough Layer Cake is a chocolate lover’s paradise. It’s decadent, moist, and delicious.
- Customizable. You can customize the cake by adding more toppings over your buttercream frosting, such as chocolate syrup or sliced strawberries.


How to Make Chocolate Cookie Dough Layer Cake Recipe
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Set your oven to 350°F and line 3 8-inch cake round pans with parchment.
- Grab a bowl and whisk your cocoa powder with hot water before tossing the vanilla and vegetable oil into the bowl.
- Whisk your eggs into the mixture, and add the sour cream.
- Whisk your sugar until it dissolves and you can no longer see it.
- Grab a separate bowl and combine flour with baking soda, salt, and baking powder.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients, whisking well.
- Divide the batter between three cake pans.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes.
- Prepare your cookie dough filling and the buttercream frosting.
- Let the cakes cool and then add a layer of cookie dough on top of one cake followed by an additional layer of cake and more cookie dough.
- Once you’ve added the cakes, it’s time to frost them with the homemade buttercream frosting.


While you can use any unsweetened cocoa powder you prefer, I like to use natural cocoa powder in the cake because the baking soda helps to neutralize the acidity of natural cocoa powder, letting its rich flavor shine. In the frosting, however, I like to use Dutch-process because it has a smoother, less acidic flavor.
Stirring cocoa powder with hot or boiling water helps to “bloom” the cocoa, releasing its intense flavor and thickening the liquid.
The cookie dough isn’t cooked. However, it’s a combination of ingredients that are safe to eat raw! You don’t have to worry about dealing with salmonella because you can make the cookie dough without eggs, and we pre-cook the flour to kill off any dangerous bacteria.
Let your cakes cool on a rack before you attempt to remove them from the pans. One of the reasons people have trouble with cake sticking to the pans is that they’re trying to remove them while they’re still hot. Also, make sure you prepare the pans with the liners and a bit of baking spray.

Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Wait for your cakes to cool before adding the cookie dough layer or the frosting.
- Smooth the frosting with a slightly damp spatula after dipping it into warm water. It works really well!
- Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to store the cake for up to 5 days.

If cookie dough is one of your favorite treats, try this Chocolate Cookie Dough Layer Cake. It’s a great dessert to make for birthdays, baby showers, and other special events.
If you make this recipe be sure to leave us a comment or rating. Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Stuffed Chocolate Layer Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder 105 grams
- 1¼ cups hot water 284
- ¾ cup vegetable oil 150 grams
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
- 3 large eggs 150 grams
- ¾ cup sour cream 170 grams
- 2 cups granulated sugar 400 grams
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 240 grams
- 2 teaspoons baking powder 8 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 6 grams
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3 grams
For the Cookie Dough
- ½ cup unsalted butter 113 grams, room temperature (1 stick)
- ⅔ cup brown sugar 142 grams
- ¼ cup granulated sugar 50 grams
- 2 tablespoons milk 28 grams
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3 grams
- 2 cups heat-treated all-purpose flour 240 grams, see note
- 1¼ cups mini chocolate chips 213 grams
For the Buttercream
- 6 cups powdered sugar 678 grams
- 1½ cups unsalted butter 339 grams, room temperature (3 sticks)
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 84 grams
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 8 grams
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup milk 57 grams
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Prep 3 8-inch round cake pans by lining them with parchment paper and then spraying them with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water. Add in the vegetable oil and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and then the sour cream. Lastly, add in the sugar and whisk well to dissolve.
- In a separate, small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture and whisk together just until the flour is incorporated.
- Evenly divide the cake batter into each of the prepared cake pans. Place into the oven to bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the cookie dough filling and the buttercream.
- Make the Cookie Dough: Combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using a paddle attachment, beat on medium-high speed until the ingredients are creamed together. Add in the milk, vanilla, and salt and beat together. Add in the flour and mix. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Set aside.
- Make the Buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all of the buttercream ingredients except the milk. Using a paddle or whisk attachment, beat first on low until the powdered sugar has incorporated. After about 3 minutes, turn the mixer up to high and beat for another minute. Add in the milk and beat on high for another 3 minutes.
- Once the cakes are cooled, place one layer onto a cake stand or a plate. Line the used cake pan with parchment paper. Place half of the cookie dough into the cake pan and evenly spread it out to fill the pan. Remove from the pan and place it on top of the bottom layer of cake. Place a second layer of cake on top of the cookie dough. Spread the second half of the cookie dough and place it on top of the second layer of cake. Place the last layer of cake on top.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a piping tip with ¾ cup of buttercream. Spread the remaining buttercream around the sides and the top of the cake. Using an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of buttercream over the entire cake to seal any crumbs into place. Let set for 5-10 minutes so that a buttercream sets a little before spreading another layer of frosting on.
- To smooth the frosting, fill the bottom of a cake pan with warm water. Dip the offset spatula into the water and let most of the water drip off. Gently press the offset spatula parallel to the cake at a 45-degree angle and pull the frosting around the cake allowing a sort of wall to form at the top edge. Before wetting the spatula each time, remove any frosting from the back of the spatula and place back into the bowl. Dampen the spatula again and continue smoothing the sides. It may take several times around the cake to smooth it out. Once the sides are smooth, smooth the top by laying the spatula at the edge and gently pulling the frosting edge in towards the center of the cake. Once the frosting “wall” is smoothed out, smooth the rest of the top of the cake by laying the spatula at a 45-degree angle and turning the cake, pulling the frosting around and removing any excess. Remember to remove any frosting from the spatula before dampening it.
- To further decorate the sides, place mini chocolate chips in the palm of your hand and cup them close to the bottom of the cake. Gently press them into the sides. Pipe frosting onto the top of the cake. I like to pipe the frosting swirls in the formation of a clock. First pipe at “6:00” then “12:00” for good starting references. Then pipe at “3:00” and “9:00”. From there, each time you pipe a swirl, pipe another one directly opposite to it. This will help to have a perfect round circle of swirls.
- Slice and serve the cake!
Notes
- Flour: To heat treat flour, spread it in an even layer on a lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F for about 5 minutes.
- Wait for your cakes to cool before adding the cookie dough layer or the frosting.
- Smooth the frosting with a slightly damp spatula after dipping it into warm water. It works really well!
- Wrap with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to store the cake for up to 5 days.
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