Now you can have your cake AND your cookies too! This Neapolitan Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake is made with three layers of thick chocolate chip cookie cake sandwiched between chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry buttercream.
I receive a lot of press releases in my inbox. They usually start with a chipper greeting and an assurance that “I know your readers will love this!” before seguing into a pitch about gluten-free dog biscuits, or fat-burning pumpkins from Peru, or my personal favorite, a man who invented a new form of psychological therapy that takes place on a skateboard. (I mean, it doesn’t have anything to do with dessert, but all snarking aside, how fun does that sound?)
Either those PR pros are out of touch with what my readers actually love, or I am, because if I had to estimate the number of times those pitches actually seemed relevant to SugarHero, the answer would rhyme with “shmero.”
…until now.
Recently, I received an email telling me that May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Unfortunately, I don’t actually know what the email was trying to promote, because I stopped reading after that and sprinted to my calendar to make sure that I had this important holiday marked down. (However, if other pitches are any indication, the email probably took a left turn and was about chocolate chip-flavored steak sauce or cookie-scented perfume.) **
**Update: the day after I wrote this blog, I got a press release about chocolate chip flavored salad dressing. Not joking! I think I should win some sort of Most Psychic Blogger prize.
No matter—it had accomplished its mission. I love cookies, and I love made-up food holidays, so you know that I’m going to be celebrating National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day tomorrow, and I hope you will too. Hang the cookie wreath and play the cookie carols! I’m bringing this Neapolitan Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake to celebrate.
This might look like a typical cake, but the layers are actually made from chocolate chip cookie dough, baked in 8-inch cake pans. I tweaked the dough to produce extra cakey cookies, so the layers bake up soft and fluffy—you don’t want to be sawing through chewy cookie layers when you’re trying to serve it! They still have the familiar brown sugar taste of chocolate chip cookies, though, and are still packed with (you guessed it) lots and lots of chocolate chips.
In between each giant cookie is a thick layer of frosting, because I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t want to frost, or a cake I didn’t want to embiggen. If you’re less of a frosting fan you can easily cut the recipe by a third to make a more reasonable portion, but the cookie layers were substantial enough that I found they stood up well to a big ole scoop of frosting.
Besides, this cake is as much about the frosting as it is about the cookies. The layers of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla frosting are what make it special, and Neapolitan-ish, and they elevate it from the typical giant cookie cakes you can get at the mall. I used unsweetened chocolate to give the chocolate layer a deep, rich taste, while the strawberry layer gets its light and tangy flavor from freeze-dried strawberry powder. Be sure to try this delicious Cookie Dough Frosting next!
I’m not saying you have to make this cake for National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, but I do think you should eat some sort of chocolate chip cookie to celebrate. Let not all those press releases be sent in vain. Carpe cookie!
🎂More Desserts You’ll Love
- Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark
- Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta
- Strawberry Crisp
- Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cakes
- Blueberry Layer Cake
- Rocky Road Layer Cake
Strawberries and Cream Layer Cake
Cookie Monster Cupcakes
Neapolitan Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Ingredients
For the Cookie Layers:
- 13.75 oz all-purpose flour (3 1/4 cups)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 9 oz unsalted butter
- 11.25 oz brown sugar (1 1/2 cups), lightly packed
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 18 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (3 cups)
For the Buttercream:
- 3 oz unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 2 cups freeze-dried strawberries
- 12 oz unsalted butter at room temperature
- 36 oz powdered sugar (9 cups)
- 1/2 cup milk divided use
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
To Make the Cookie Layers:
- Line three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper, and spray them with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat them together on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla extract.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just a few streaks of flour remain. Stop the mixer and finish mixing by hand, using a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl well. Add the chocolate chips and stir them in completely.
- Divide the dough between the 3 prepared pans—if you want to use a scale to portion them, each pan should get about 20 oz. Bake the cakes for about 22 minutes, until they’re golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cookie cakes on a wire rack until completely cool. They can be made in advance and kept, well-wrapped in plastic, for several days until ready to use.
To Make the Frosting and Assemble:
- Place the unsweetened chocolate in a small bowl and microwave it in 30-second increments until melted. Once melted and smooth, set it aside to cool to room temperature.
- Place the freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor and process them until they are a fine powder.
- Combine the butter, powdered sugar, 1/3 cup milk, vanilla extract, and salt in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until the sugar is moistened, then raise the speed to medium and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Divide the frosting into three approximately equal portions, making one slightly larger than the other two. (This will be the top layer, which requires more frosting for piping decorations.) Add the melted chocolate and a tablespoon of milk to the second portion, and stir until well-mixed. Add the strawberry powder and the remaining milk to the third portion and stir until well-mixed.
- Place one cookie layer on your serving plate, and spread the chocolate frosting on top of the cookie. Add a second cookie on top, and spread the strawberry frosting on the second cookie. Finally, top the stack with the third cookie. Spread some vanilla frosting on top, and use the rest to pipe rosettes or other decorations around the edge. Top with chocolate chips, sprinkles, or mini cookies.
Recipe Notes
This recipe provides a very generous amount of frosting. If you like thinner layers of frosting, or don’t want to do decorative piping on top of the cake, you can reduce it by a third.
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
Nutrition
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I would love some opinions or suggestions on making a fudge cookie and Andes mint cookie cake for my boyfriend. He’s going into the Navy and before he goes to Boot, I would love to make him something super special!
That sounds delicious! I think you could pretty easily use the frosting recipe from this post and add some mint extract to the plain vanilla version, and then use this cookie recipe and double it:
https://www.sugarhero.com/junior-mint-cookiesand-a-new-arrival/
It would also be tasty to mix some chopped Andes mints into the cookie batter, and maybe some chocolate chips too.
This is such a sweet idea for your boyfriend! When does he leave?
He leaves at the end of next month. And he’ll be gone for about 16 weeks. It’s going to be so tough, but I know it’s worth it for him!
Oh wow! He would love those Junior Mint cookies on their own!!! I’m adding that recipe to my “care package” list! And I’m definitely going to use that for the cookie cake! Thank you so much!!! I’ll try to get pictures and let you know how it turns out!!!
Awesome! Please do send me pics if you do (elizabeth @ sugarhero.com) I would love to see it! I’m not entirely sure what September holds, but if I have some time I’ll try to make and post a version for the blog before the end of the month, because I think it sounds awesome. 😉
I will do my best! I’ve got a bag of Andes mints that I’m going to cut diagonally and arrange on the top for decoration!
I did this cake this week for a special Christmas time with a dear friend. It was easy to make, looked GORGEOUS, and was sooooo delicious!! I can’t thank you enough for a cool recipe that a novice like me can do and look like a pro!
Cate, thanks so much for the comment! I’m so glad that it worked for you and that you enjoyed it! Merry (early) Christmas!
This looks AMAZING!!! This is going to be my cookie loving daughters 2nd birthday cake!!!! Can this be made a day or so in advance? If so, whats the best way to store it?
Thanks Kelley! This would be such a fun second birthday cake, I love it! It can definitely be made in advance. I would actually hold off on some of the decorating until the end. What I would do is assemble the cake and add the top layer of vanilla buttercream, but not the rosettes. Put the cake in the fridge until the buttercream is hard, then wrap it well in plastic wrap (to keep it from drying out) and store it in the fridge overnight. The next day, before the party, you can add the frosting rosettes on top and stick the cookies in. It’s best when it’s had a chance to sit at room temp a bit so it’s not so cold and the frosting isn’t rock-hard, but it will get soft if it’s out in the sun for awhile or at really warm temps–fortunately that’s probably not likely in February!
GREAT! Can I store the extra frosting for the rosettes overnight too?
Yes! Frosting can be stored in a tupperware with plastic wrap pressed directly on top to stop it from forming a crust. Keep it in the fridge overnight then beat it a bit to soften it before piping on the rosettes. Let me know how it goes!
My hubby made this for my birthday today! It was his FIRST go EVER at baking a birthday cake (in 14 years of marriage). Turned out wonderfully! He was thrown off a little at first because there wasn’t a recipe for the cookies that go on top, so he went with the tollhouse recipe on the back of the Nestle Springtime morsels package, making sure to place the colored chips on top of the mini round cookies right out of the oven, not before, for that chocolate kissed look like your photos (even I didn’t know that). He used frozen strawberries for the puree, so YUMMY. Your tip about adding extra powdered sugar to stiffen was spot on.
I’m not at all ashamed to admit my family of six enjoyed this for DINNER, complimented by my youngest son’s homemade tart frozen yogurt. Never mind waiting for dessert-this cake is easily the main course! None of us were able to finish off a whole slice, but every bite was delicious 🙂
Hello, this looks amazing and I can’t wait to try making it! Where did you get the pink chocolate chips on the cookies from please?
Hi Lauren,
They were part of a “Spring Mix” from Nestle a few years ago! I’m not sure whether this is something they bring back every spring, or not.
Should I be measuring the ounces by weight or volume?
Hi, measure the ounces by weight. If ever they should be by volume, I designate it as “fl oz,” or “fluid ounces,” to avoid confusion. 🙂
What are those pink chips I the small cookies ? Strawberry? White chocolate?? Do you have the recipe or links to buy them?
Hey Angie, they were actually part of a mix I bought. I think they were seasonal or limited edition because I haven’t seen them since. I’m sorry!
It looks absolutely delicious! but I was wondering, how’d you make the cookies?
Hey Nommi, I actually just used a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe and then pressed the different colors of chocolate chips into the top! Thanks so much!