Brownie Cookie Cake

This cake is not a cake. It is heaven. Or better yet, it is a salted brown sugar chocolate chip cookie layered with a black cocoa brownie and covered with an espresso buttercream.

This cake is not pretending to be anything other than what it is: the richest, most decadent, gut wrenching dessert you’ve had in a long time.

Note: this recipe makes enough for two, three layer cakes. One for now and one for when you polish off the first cake and wish you had a second :).

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Brownie Cookie Cake
adapted from Bake from Scratch and yours truly

Brownie Layers
397g (2⅓ cups) dark chocolate morsels/chips, divided
227g (1 cup) unsalted butter, cubed
300g (1½ cups) granulated sugar
220g (1 cup, packed) brown sugar
188g (1½ cups) all purpose flour
64g (¾ cup) black cocoa powder
2 tsp salt
5 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Cookie Layers
113g (½ cup) butter, at room temperature
48g (4 tbsp) granulated sugar
184g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp packed) brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ tsp baking soda
Heaped 1/4 tsp salt
215g (1 ¾ cups) all purpose flour
225g (8 oz) dark chocolate morsels/chips

Coffee Buttercream
6 large egg whites
300g (1½ cups) granulated sugar
340g (1½ cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp espresso powder, not granules

Make the brownie layers: Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray three 6” cake pans and line with parchment paper (you can also make bake this in a 13x9 baking pan for traditional brownies).

In the top of a double boiler, add 1⅓ cups (227 grams) of the chocolate morsels and butter. Stir occasionally until the mixture is smooth. Turn off heat and whisk in sugars. Remove from heat, and let cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Add half of beaten eggs to chocolate mixture, whisking until combined. Add remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Whisk in vanilla. Gently mix in flour mixture with a spatula until just combined. Fold in remaining chocolate chips and spread batter into prepared pans.

Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs, about 18 minutes.

Make the cookie layers: Heat oven to 360°F. Spray three 6” cake pans and line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, beating until incorporated, and scraping down the bowl as needed.

Beat in salt fine sea or table salt and baking soda until combined, then the flour on a low speed until just mixed. Fold/stir in the chocolate chunks.

Evenly divide the dough into the three cake pans. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until just golden on the outside but still soft inside.

Make the buttercream: Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.

Place bowl over a double boiler on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins). Or registers 160F on a candy thermometer.

Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).

Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth. Add vanilla bean paste and espresso powder. Whip until smooth.

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Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

I love decorating cakes with sugary, buttery frosting with sprinkles and flowers and chocolate and anything else that makes you smile. But sometimes the prettiest cake is also the simplest.  And in my opinion, the simplest cake is one baked in this gorgeous geometric bundt pan.

Please, don't cover this cake with any additional decoration; it is way too pretty on its own. And guess what, it tastes just as good as it looks.

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Brown Sugar Bundt Cake
from King Arthur Flour

1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using a baking spray (not cooking oil), lightly grease a 9 or 10-cup Bundt pan making sure that every crevice is covered (use a pastry brush for this).

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute or two between additions. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the baking powder, salt, and baking soda, then gently beat in half the flour. Gently beat in the sour cream and vanilla, then add the remaining flour, mixing just until blended.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and get ready to get some aggression out: find a firm surface such as a cutting board to firmly tap the pan on. This forces trapped air bubbles out and get the batter into every nook and cranny of the pan.  Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven, and cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling. 

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Deadly Cookie

I made a cookie last week filled with coffee and three different types of chocolate that will make you cry. You will cry because the cookie is not only amazing but also because you will eat so many of them that you will curl up into a stomach ache induced fetal position.

This cookie is based off of Baked's, Cowboy Cookie. I omitted the pretzels and added grapenuts. No, this was not to add "fiber"but rather, crunch. I also used three different types of chocolate: milk, semi sweet, and 70% dark.

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Deadly Cookie
adapted from Baked

Make the cookies: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the oats to combine.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and egg yolk and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla. Dissolve the espresso in 1/4 cup hot water and add to the mixture. Mix until combined.

Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (15 seconds). Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold in the chocolate and Grape-Nuts.

Cover and refrigerate the bowl for a few hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°. Using a #50 scoop, scoop cookie dough on parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet. Flatten the cookies slightly and bake for 10 minutes.

1 3/4 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups rolled oats
14 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp instant espresso powder
12 oz chocolate (I used a combination of milk, dark, and semi sweet)
3/4 cup Grape-Nuts

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