Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
This decadent cake is perfect for birthdays and special occasions but you can also make it as a sheet cake. You'll love how much the cake portion actually tastes like chocolate chip cookies!
Grease and flour two 9 by 2 inch round cake pans and line with a circle of parchment.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine.
Place mini chocolate chips in a bowl and scoops a couple tablespoons of the flour mixture onto them; stir and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip butter with the paddle attachment until pale and fluffy.
Add sugar and coconut oil and beat until fluffy, at least 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine buttermilk, vanilla extract, vinegar and molasses and whisk to combine.
Add eggs to butter mixture one at a time.
Add dry ingredients and buttermilk mixture in three intervals, beginning and ending with the flour.
Finally, add the chocolate chips and stir by hand until the flour has mostly incorporated.
Divide batter equally between pans and bake 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool on a rack for about 5-7 minutes and then turn out cakes.
Cookies
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip butter with the paddle attachment until pale and fluffy.
Add sugar and beat for 5 minutes.
Slice vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape with a knife.
Add vanilla beans and extract to butter mixture and discard vanilla pod.
Add eggs one at a time.
Slowly add flour mixture and beat to combine.
Add chocolate chips and mix by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Press a very thin layer (about the height of a mini chocolate chip) into cake pans reusing the parchment paper.
Bake about 12-16 minutes until golden.
Cool cookies in pans and then turn out.
Assembly
Once the cake and cookies have cooled completely, frost cake, starting with a cake layer and alternating with cookie layers.
Serve at room temperature.
Notes
The cookie recipe will leave lots of extra dough for making cookies to decorate the cake, bake later, or you can just eat the leftovers straight from the bowl...we won't judge ;-)