Vegan Chocolate Cookie Dough Cake

This vegan chocolate cookie dough cake is so decadent, it’s the perfect treat for a fun special occasion! Totally gluten free and naturally sweetened.

Happy birthday to ME! The day this is posted, my birthday was yesterday, and I had the BEST time celebrating last weekend. We went to Barn Sanctuary and got to see so many sweet, loving animals, and my parents came up to visit, too!

Oh also, did I mention we had some vegan chocolate cookie dough cake? I MEAN, LOOK AT THIS THING!!

Can we just take a moment and appreciate this vegan chocolate cookie dough cake for what it is?! An absolutely decadent, over the top, special occasion, cute little chocolatey, cookie dough-y delight.

You guys know I’m all about health and fitness, and the good news is this cake is of course still made with healthy, vegan ingredients. Though unlike a lot of other things on my blog, I think it goes without saying that this isn’t something I’d eat every day.

In a perfect world, though…

So last week I posted these CRAZY GOOD vegan cookie dough brownies. Picture rich, fudgy brownies slathered in sweet, sweet cookie dough. They lasted about a day and a half at our house, and yes, that was between only two humans (no chocolate for the pup).

Those brownies were easily top 3 of anything I’ve ever baked in terms of flavor and just overall wonderful-ness, so I knew I wanted to create some more cookie dough magic. I hadn’t baked a cake in awhile, which is pretty sad since it’s my favorite dessert treat.

So, I figured for one’s own birthday, might as well go big, right?

Ingredients for vegan chocolate cookie dough cake

• Rolled oats: you’ll blend the oats into flour, which gives the cake its dense, rich, fudgy texture. Some rolled oats also go into the cookie dough.
• Almond flour: a bit of almond flour helps keep the cake soft.
• Cacoa powder: cacao (or cocoa powder) gives the cake and frosting rich chocolate flavor.
• Medjool dates: you’ll blend the dates with hot water to make a paste, which gives the cake natural sweetness. Dates are also the main sweetener in the cookie dough.
• Applesauce: unsweetened applesauce helps the cake stay soft and moist
• Nondairy milk: a bit of milk brings the cake batter and the cookie dough together. I always use unsweetened nondairy milks for neutral flavor.
• Chickpeas: chickpeas are the base of the frosting, which makes it super gooey and rich.
• Vegan chocolate chips: I love PASCHA unsweetened or Lily’s stevia-sweetened chips, but use any vegan chocolate chips you like.

Tips for making vegan chocolate cookie dough cake

• Measure the rolled oats before blending into flour. I always list the amount of oats used BEFORE they’re blended for flour. So in this case, you’ll measure out 2 cups of whole, rolled oats, then put those 2 cups into your blender to make flour.
• Don’t forget to spray or line the cake pans. You want to avoid any sticking, so make sure you use silicone pan or line with parchment paper for easy removal.
• Let the cake cool completely. Make sure to let the cake cool in the pan before carefully turning it out to cool completely before adding the frosting.
• Choose whatever assembly option you like. You have options for how to frost and serve this cake!
  • Option 1: a single layer cake. Super simple, like I did with this chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. You’ll just spread a thick layer of cookie dough frosting on top of the cake. Easy, basically effortless, but still so pretty.
  • Option 2: a 6 layer naked cake. Use a mug to cut out three rounds of the cake from the single layer that came out of the oven. Spread a generous heap of frosting between each layer and on top, sprinkle with some chocolate chips, and you’re done.
  • Option 3: a 6 layer full frosted cake. Yes, I know it also resembles a little football, haha, I’m not a cake decorator, okay guys?! Cut me some slack! Besides, something about it is still so cute to me. Again, you’ll just use a glass or mug to cut out three rounds from the baked and cooled cake, spread frosting between each layer (saving enough for the outside!), then spread the frosting around and on top of the cake. This process is a little bit tricky – I tried piping, but the cookie dough is thicker than traditional frostings, so that failed. I ended up plopping and spreading it all over, and may or may not have had to use my hands. It was a messy, delicious process, so no complaints here.

Honestly, I think my favorite look for this vegan chocolate cookie dough cake is the naked, layered cake. Just so cute and sweet and innocent looking! Until you bite into that dense, dark chocolate cake combined with the sweet, gooey cookie dough. I don’t even know what else to say, IT IS SO DAMN GOOD.

I can’t think of a better way than to start my 26th year than with vegan chocolate cookie dough cake.

Xo,

Sara