I don’t think I’ve ever laid my eyes on a cake that looked so scrumptious! This brownie layer cake with chocolate chip cookie dough frosting is one of the best creations I’ve come across in a long time. I am so grateful to Gemma Stafford for putting her instructional video on YouTube. You really outdid yourself, Gemma! My husband and son have birthdays coming up and one of them is definitely getting this cake!
You may find this cake to be a bit labor intensive to make but trust me it’s all worth it in the end.
INGREDIENTS
1 ¾ cups (15oz/427g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon Morton salt
3 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
16 ½ oz (465g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 ½ cup (12oz/337g) unsalted butter
2 ¼ cups (18oz/ 510g) granulated sugar
¾ cups (6oz/168g) packed light brown sugar
7 eggs at room temperature
3 tsp vanilla extract
METHOD
To make the Brownies:
1. Preheat the oven to 350oF (180oC). Butter and line a 9” springform or cake tin.
2.. Put the chocolate and butter in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water or place in the microwave. Stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little.
3. Add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined. The mixture should be room temperature.
4. Whisk the eggs and vanilla in a jug together. Add a little of the eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.
5. Sift the flour, salt and cocoa over the chocolate mixture. Using a rubber spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.
6. Pour the batter into your lined and buttered. Bake in the center of the oven on a tray for 1 hour 20 minutes. This is a very heavy brownie and does need quite some time to cook.
There should be still a jiggle in the center of the cake, that says it fudgy in the middle.
7. Let the brownies cool completely before cutting. It can be made up to 2 days in advance or it can be frozen beforehand also.
8. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Frosting
INGREDIENTS
1 cup (8 oz/225g) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
10 Tbsp. Kerrygold butter, softened
1 ⅓ cup Domino brown sugar
2 tsp. McCormick vanilla
4 Tbsp. milk, more if needed to reach desired consistency
1 cup flour
6 cups powdered sugar, more if needed to reach desired consistency
1 ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
METHOD
1. Cream softened cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl.
2. Add brown sugar and vanilla and evenly beat together.
3. Add powdered sugar and whisk to evenly incorporate until smooth. (If you need to add a little milk to thin it, feel free to do so. I prefer my frosting thick so I never needed to)
4. Next add in the milk, flour, and mini chocolate chips.
5. Wrap the frosting and set it in the fridge for about 15 minutes. It thickens up pretty nicely and makes it easier to work with.
6. You can also make it up to 2 days in advance and lake it out of the fridge 45 minutes before you want to use it to soften.
7. Frost cake accordingly.
GANACHE
8 oz/225g bittersweet chocolate ( 72 %)
1 cup heavy cream
To make the ganache: Heat the cream in a heavy bottom saucepan. When it reaches a simmer, take it off the heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit there for 3-4 minutes on the chocolate and then whisk until the chocolate has melted.
Drizzle the ganache over the chocolate cake. Let it drip over the sides. This is an easy way to decorate a cake.
Watch Gemma’s great how-to video below!
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Quick Tip: This cake goes great with ice cream.
Recipe and image courtesy of Gemma Stafford and YouTube.
