Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Celebrating something special? This easy chocolate chip cookie cake will make your party sing for more! If you’re looking for easy cookie cakes with lots of chocolate chips and a soft, buttery cookie crust, this is the one for you.
Add dollops of vegan chocolate frosting on top with sprinkles for added fun!
I like to party. But not in the way some people think. I love having people over and celebrating fun events, like birthdays, anniversaries, and you know, random Tuesday nights!
It’s nice to have a go-to recipe that’s a real crowd-pleaser. That’s where this chocolate cookie cake comes in. It’s based on my vegan chocolate chip cookies recipe which is a bakery-style cookie.
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- Using brown sugar keeps this cookie cake nice and moist throughout
- Ground flaxseed is a perfect egg replacer that adds binding to the batter without adding unnecessary flavor
- Pressing reserved chocolate chips into the top of the cooke dough before baking, means lots of melty chocolate chips will show through in your cooke cake!
What You Need
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- Vegan butter — I oftentimes buy Earth Balance buttery sticks at the store (spreadable tub margarine does not work here), or I’ll use homemade Vegan Butter.
- Brown sugar — Use light, dark, or even made from scratch Brown Sugar.
- Ground flaxseed — You can substitute chia seeds.
- Cornstarch — We’ll add cornstarch to make this cookie cake extra soft and chewy!
- Vanilla extract
- Flour — I recommend all-purpose flour for a tender cookie cake, but you can use whole wheat pastry flour (different from whole wheat flour)
- Baking soda + baking powder — I love this explanation from The Kitchn on why using both baking soda and baking powder is important
- Salt
- Chocolate chips — Here’s a guide on how to find Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips
- Plant-based milk — you can use almond milk, soy milk, or your favorite plant-based milk.
- Chocolate Frosting — I love adding swirls of Vegan Chocolate Frosting, but it’s entirely optional.
This is an easy cookie cake recipe, because not only is it delicious, it’s also dairy-free. That’s right. This is a vegan version of those famous Toll House Cookie Cakes.
- Cream together vegan butter on medium speed for 1–2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Beat in flaxseed, cornstarch, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Stir together the dry ingredients, from the flour to the salt.
- Make the cookie dough by beating the flour mixture into the butter mixture at low speed until combined.
- Stir some chocolate chips into the batter and press it into the prepared pan.
- Place the remaining chocolate chips on the top of the batter, pressing them in just a little.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges of the crust are golden.
- Decorate the edges of the cooled cookie cake with vegan chocolate frosting. This frosting tip from Amazon works great.
Here are the step-by-step instructions:
Step One: Cream Butter + Sugar
The first step is to combine the dairy-free butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Then, add the flaxseed, cornstarch, and vanilla and beat again.
Step Two: Combine Dry Ingredients
Then in a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and stir this together.
Pour the flour mixture in with the butter mixture. Beat again to combine.
Then add one tablespoon of your favorite plant-based milk. Add up to two tablespoons until the cookie cake dough is just spreadable. Add some of the chocolate chips to the batter.
Step Four: Press into a Pan and Bake
Press the dough into a prepared cake pan. You can use a standard 8- or 9-inch cake pan, but I used a springform pan, the kind used for cheesecakes.
Add more chocolate chips to the top of the cookie dough (to make it look irresistible), and then bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Frequently-Asked Questions
You can freeze a cookie cake as a whole or individual slices. Allow the cake to cool completely and then wrap in plastic wrap. You can add a layer of foil to make sure it’s sealed completely. Then freeze for up to 3 months. For individual slices, transfer cooled slices to a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze.
You can leave a cookie cake out at room temperature for several hours, but after that you’ll want to wrap it in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Properly covered, it can stay out for up to 3 days.
Marly’s Tips
Use these tips to make this cookie cake recipe perfect every time:
- You can serve this cookie cake with or without frosting
- To frost your cookie cake as I did, I used a Wilton 1m Star Piping Tip. Be sure to allow the cake to cool completely before frosting
- Add some colorful sprinkles for a party theme
- Transform this into a gluten-free cookie cake by substituting gluten-free baking flour for the all-purpose flour
- It’s important to know how long to bake a cookie cake. I recommend 20 to 25 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t overbake. You want the crust to be a light golden brown, but the center can be a little tender. It will firm up as it cools.
More Vegan Birthday Treats
If you love this vegan chocolate chip cookie cake, here are some more festive vegan treats to try!
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Ingredients
- 3/4 cup vegan butter , softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar , packed
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups dairy free chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- Optional: Vegan Chocolate Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Spray an 8-inch round cake pan or springform pan with vegetable cooking spray.
- Combine vegan butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix with a beater on medium speed for 1–2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add flaxseed, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Beat for another minute until combined and light.
- In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Pour this into the bowl with the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until just combined.
- Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter. Add almond milk 1 tablespoon at a time, until you achieve a spreadable consistency. Press into the prepared pan.
- Place the remaining chocolate chips on the top of the batter, pressing them in just a little. Bake for 20–25 minutes until edges of the crust are golden.
- Optional: Decorate the edges of the cookie cake with chocolate frosting once it has cooled completely. This frosting tip from Amazon works great.
Recommended Equipment
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The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.
Such a great post. I really need to work on less sugar too!
So glad you liked this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe!
By natural sugar do you mean honey or agave? What about sugar in the raw?
I’ve since adapted there recipe and call for natural granulated sugar.
Wow, I *need* to try this recipe! Good to know 🙂
So glad you like cookie cakes! Me too!
Great post! My mom used to make me chocolate chip cake when I wa a kid- I loved it. May need to make this recipe to relive the “olden days.” 🙂 YUM!
Ah, I love this story about your mom making you cookie cakes. So sweet! I’m all about reliving those old food memories!
I love sugar a little too much – but I´ll never be able to give it up. And I don´t want to either! But, as an aspiring dietist (!) who loves baking and cakes, I try to bake a little healthier – so I can have my cakes as often as I like! 😉 This looks amazing – how can a giant chocolate chip cookie cake be anything but delicious!;)
Thanks, Malin! I’m with you! Can’t go wrong with a chocolate cookie cake!
OH MY GOSH. I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. Can’t wait to try this homemade cookie cake!!!!!!!!
Hope you love this chocolate chip cookie cake recipe!
I made this cookie cake yesterday and my 3-year-old son LOVES it!!!!
I’m so glad! It’s almost like a cookie cake pie, so I can see why your son loves it so much!
Can you substitute something else? Thanks!
There are lots of substitution ideas in the post for this chocolate chip cookie dough cake. For example, you could substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the flour. You can substitute coconut sugar for sugar, etc.
I’m allergic to soy. Do you think you can use the “buttermilk process” on either rice or almond milk and it would yield the same results? I’ve never tried it. Thanks for the recipes. I’m a new reader, and I love your style!
I have used it with almond milk and it worked so I imagine it would work with rice milk too. Either way it will get the benefit of working with the baking soda. Let me know if you try it and how it goes!
Chocolate chip cookie + cake = YUM
Does it matter if the butter is salted vs. unsalted?
I use Earth Balance baking sticks and it is salted. I’m not aware of a vegan butter that is unsalted, unless you make it homemade. I hope this is helpful!
Can I substitute egg replacer for the flax or should it definitely be flax?
I have had good luck using egg replacer in this recipe!
This cake turned out great! Made it for my brother’s birthday party and was a hit 🙂 I found it a tad bit sweet so reduced the sugar a little bit, and added sea salt instead of regular salt which worked very with the chocolate flavors. It tastes even better on day 2! Loved this, will be saving the recipe.
Made this recipe today and it was awesome! Thank you thank you!
So glad you like this cookie cake, Susan!
Do you think you could amke the dough in advance? I want to make it for my husbands birthday but im not confident ill manage to get it prepped, cooked, cooled and iced in the 90 minutes I have after work!
Hi Lorraine. Yes, definitely, you can make the dough ahead of time. Just cover it tightly so the dough doesn’t dry out in the fridge, then let it set out at room temperature for 30 minutes or so before spreading it into your pan. Hope your birthday celebration is fun and festive!
Will this work in a skillet pan ?
Hi Rebecca. I have not personally tried making it in a skillet pan, but I’m confident it would work…and look gorgeous too!
could coconut oil be used instead of vegan butter?
Hi Amy. Yes, absolutely. I substitute coconut oil for vegan butter in some of my baking. Here’s an example of my coconut chocolate chip cookies.
I was just wondering what the measurements were. This recipe looks so good!
Hi Ashley, the recipe card includes ingredients and it’s at the bottom of the post. I hope you enjoy it!
Hi there,
Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I want to make this for thanksgiving, but want to make it in advance due to other commitments. So, I was wondering if I can make this cake in advance and can freeze it. Is it possible to freeze the whole baked cookie cake for 4-5 days without compromising its taste? If yes, do you know how can I thaw it and use it on thanksgiving day?
Thanks so much in advance
Hi Rinky. Yes, you absolutely can make this in advance. Follow the directions all the way through to baking it. Then allow it to cool completely. Wrap it tight (even a couple of layers would be best) and then freeze it whole. The day before you need it, place it in the fridge to thaw overnight. Then the next day you can frost it. I hope this helps. Happy Thanksgiving, friend!
Hi, do you metric conversion weights at all? I am UK based. Thanks
Hi Holly! Yes, we do. It has to be manually turned on for each recipe, so I did that for this one. Let me know if you see others you’d like the conversion for!