Thick, chewy layers of fudge brownie cake with gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough baked inside are layered between a brown sugar cookie dough frosting make this Half Baked Cake inspired Ben & Jerry’s ice cream a cake that’s too good not to eat!
Half Baked? What’s that? You’ve heard of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, right? Half Baked is one of their flavors that has gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough and brownies running through it. Yah… it’s so good!!!
Well, this cake is inspired by that ice cream! My Half Baked Cake has three layers of chocolate fudge brownie cake filled with gobs of cookie dough. It’s filled and with a brown sugar, cookie dough frosting and adorned with mini chocolate chips.
Is your mind blown yet?
If you’re looking for a cake that’s low calorie, low sugar or low fat – you’re in the wrong place. This cake has everything that’s amazing about baking “Paula Deen Style” … all butter, all sugar and all delicious flavor. It really truly is a decadent, heavenly cake.
PS… you’re gonna need a HUGE glass of milk with this cake. It’s so rich! Every bite has both brownie and cookie dough – it’s a sugar rush in your mouth!
Enjoy!
Half Baked Cake
This Half Baked Cake is three layers of rich fudge brownie with gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough running through it all filled & topped with cookie dough frosting and adorned with mini chocolate chips.
Ingredients
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Fudge Brownie Cake
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, sliced
- 6oz unsweetened baker’s chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 cups sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Cookie Dough Frosting
- 36 Tbsp (4.5 sticks or 2 1/4 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, loose - not packed
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- mini & regular chocolate chips to garnish
Instructions
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, sugars, milk and vanilla until smooth.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients.
- Add the mini chocolate chips and fold together.
- Cover and freeze 30 minutes or until firm.
Fudge Brownie Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease 3 8in cake pans, line with parchment paper, grease again then flour.
- In a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, melt together the butter and bakers chocolate until smooth. Whisking often.
- Add the sugar and whisk together until smooth.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and whisk after each addition. NOTE: Make sure to whisk well after each egg. The batter should become thick.
- Whisk in the vanilla.
- Sprinkle the flour, baking soda and salt over the batter and whisk until just combined.
- Pour 1 1/2 cups of batter into each prepared cake pan.
- Remove the cookie dough from the freezer. Roll marble sized balls of dough and drop into the batter. Add as many dough balls as you want... I added 12-15 per pan.
- Using your finger, press the dough balls down into pan and cover with batter. You want all the balls to be completely submerged and covered with batter.
- Bake on the center rack of your oven for 25-28 minutes or until the top begins to crack slightly and a toothpick comes out clean from the center.
- Cool in the pans for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. NOTE: It will be helpful to run a butter knife along the edge of the pan before removing the cake to help prevent sticking.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frosting
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth.
- Crumble the brown sugar so that there are no lumps and add it to the butter. Cream together until smooth.
- Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl and mix on medium-low speed until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- Mix in the vanilla.
- Sift the flour into the bowl and mix on medium-low speed until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- Add the heavy cream and salt and mix on high for 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix another minute.
Assembly
- Place one cake layer on your cake stand and spread 1/4 inch layer of the frosting chips over the top. Place the second layer on top and spread another 1/4 inch layer of frosting. Place the last layer of cake on top.
- Crumb coat the outside of the cake. Freeze the cake for 20 minutes.
- Reserve 1 cup of frosting for decorating. Fold in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips into the remaining frosting.
- Cover the outside of the cake with the cookie dough frosting.
- Using the straight edge of a cake decorating comb, make sure the sides and the top of the cake are smooth and even.
- Using the edge with the triangle scallops, run the decorating comb along the outside of the cake.
- Press mini chocolate chips onto the bottom 1-2 inches of the cake at the base.
- Using a large star piping tip fitted to a disposable piping bag, pipe small swirls/mounds of frosting along the top edge of the cake. Place a chocolate chip, upside down in the center of each swirl.
Notes
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough & Frosting originally from my Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
Brownie cake & decoration inspired by Sprinkle Bakes
If you love this cake, you may also be interested in these Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes!
Here a few of the supplies needed to make this cake!
Oh sweet heavens *faints from overload of goodness*
I had the same reaction when I took the first bite! <3
This is amazing..l not sure I am ready to tackle it! Betsy, how long did this masterpiece take?
Helen,
It took me one day to make. But, I took my time, didn’t rush things. I have a toddler and a teenager keeping me busy all day, so I did it during down time. It took about 4-5 hours of actual baking/decorating time. It may seem overwhelming- but really, it’s not. Just make the cookie dough, make the cake batter, bake. Make the frosting, assemble, decorate. Eat! 🙂
OK, I will give it a try!
Sorry for the double post but I want to be sure I receive your insight on how long to allow if I attempt this masterpiece.
This cake is just unbelievable!!! Genius in every possible way!
Awww, thanks Jocelyn!! 🙂
I. Am. In. Heaven.
Seriously, it cannot get more mind blowing than this. You are my new best friend.
HEAVEN! Ahhhhhhhhh, we’re BESTIES!! hehehe <3
Your cake looks delicious, your decorating skills are great. Subscribing to your blog!
Awesome! Thanks, Laura!! <3
i wonder how many mls are there in your cup for your measurements?
Thanks in advance x
I’m not sure… but there are lots of conversion charts online you could look at! 🙂
it doesn’t say anything about flour in frosting???
Does the cookie dough turn cookie-like in the oven, or does it retain its gooey raw texture? It’s hard to tell from the pictures. In any case, I vow to conquer this delicious beast someday!
It definitely bakes, but it doesn’t have a cakey texture… it’s more chewy. 🙂 It’s super yum!!!!
Going to attempt for my son’s 14th birthday…he requested a cake that has chunks of cookie dough inside…I think this fits the bill!
Would it still come out ok if I bake this in 2 9″ layers? I dont have 8″ pans…
Yes…. should be totally fine! 🙂 Happy Baking!
If I decide to use cake flour instead, should anything else be changed?
In the Cookie Dough Frosting section, what does ‘¼ + 2 Tbsp cup heavy cream’ mean!? Am I measuring in cups or tablespoons?
It’s 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp heavy cream. 🙂 Happy Baking!
Thanks so much- great recipe!
I really love the idea of this cake! But i tried making it in two 6 inch pans, and they sunk a lot in the middle and even though the edge was obviously overcooked the middle is still a bit raw, it turned out to really be a half baked cake. I used the rest of the batter for cupcakes and the same thing happened.
How do i get it to cook evenly?
Six inch pans are really too small for all this batter, which is probably why the cake didn’t bake through the center… but that’s just a guess. I can’t really tell why the recipe went wrong unless I was there with you when you made it. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you like it did for me. 🙁
I made 3 8″ pans and they were quite a bit shorter in the middle also. I went exactly like the recipe. Should it be a fudgy cake? I baked 30 minutes. Just want to make sure thats how its suppoed to be before giving it to someone.
This cake sounds delicious but I am a bit confused about the frosting. What kind of flour is added to this frosting? Because it’s harmful to eat raw flour.
So don’t eat this cake and frosting then if you’re fearful of being harmed.