Vegan Cookie Cake
Celebrating something special? This easy vegan cookie cake recipe 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.
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.
Add dollops of vegan chocolate frosting on top with sprinkles for added fun!
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- MOIST — Using brown sugar keeps this cookie cake nice and moist throughout
- EGG-FREE — Ground flaxseed is a perfect egg replacer that adds binding to the batter without adding flavor.
- CHOCOLATEY — Pressing reserved chocolate chips into the top of the cookie dough before baking means lots of melty chocolate chips will show through in your cookie cake!
Key Ingredients
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.
- Vegan butter — Use Earth Balance butter (not tub margarine) or homemade Vegan Butter.
- Brown sugar — Use light, dark, or made from scratch Brown Sugar.
- Cornstarch — Cornstarch makes this cookie cake soft.
- Flour — Use all-purpose flour for a tender cookie cake. Substitute whole wheat pastry flour.
- Leavener — Using both baking soda and baking powder is important
- Chocolate chips — Use your favorite Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips
- Plant-based milk — Use any plant-based milk.
- Chocolate Frosting — Add swirls of Vegan Chocolate Frosting.
You can also bake sprinkles right into your cookie cake. Use this confetti cookies recipe as a guide.
You can get the complete list of instructions in the recipe card below. Here is a synopsis of the steps to make this vegan chocolate chip cookie cake:
- Whip vegan butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.
- Beat in flaxseed, cornstarch, and vanilla extract.
- Stir the dry ingredients and pour this into the butter mixture. Mix until combined.
- Add 1 cup of chocolate chips.
- Stir in almond milk to achieve a spreadable consistency.
- Press the batter into a prepared pan.
- Press chocolate chips on top of the batter.
- Bake until the edges are golden.
- Decorate the baked and cooled cookie cake with chocolate frosting.
Reader Reviews
★★★★★
Wendy
We served this for my son’s birthday and everyone raved over it. It was so good!
★★★★★
Pooja
This cake turned out great! Made it for my brother’s birthday party and was a hit… It tastes even better on day 2! Loved this, will be saving the recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can freeze a cookie cake as a whole or individual slices. Allow the cake to cool completely, then wrap it in plastic wrap. You can add a layer of foil to ensure it’s sealed completely. Then freeze for up to 3 months. Transfer cooled slices to a freezer-safe container or bag for individual slices and freeze.
You can leave a cookie cake at room temperature for several hours, but after that, you’ll want to wrap it in plastic to prevent it from drying out. Adequately 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:
- Serve your cookie cake with or without frosting.
- I used a Wilton 1m Star Piping Tip (paid link).
- 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.
- Knowing how long it takes to bake a cookie cake is essential. 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 tender. It will firm up as it cools.
More Vegan Birthday Treats
If you love this vegan chocolate chip cookie cake, you will love this vegan chocolate cake or this vegan vanilla cake. So many birthday cake dessert options! Here are some more festive vegan treats to try:
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Ingredients
- ¾ 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
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups dairy free chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- Optional: Vegan Chocolate Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°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 to 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 cookie dough batter 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 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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
Made this recipe today and it was awesome! Thank you thank you!
So glad you like this cookie cake, Susan!
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.
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!
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!