Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

This past weekend, I spent my time with other people and not just by myself! That sounds more sad than I'd like it to, but honestly, I've been in this city for 5 weeks and I know absolutely nobody. Maybe I should join the gym. A fellow first-year teacher had a barbecue at his place and invited a bunch of his friends, me and another new teacher. We watched football, played whiffleball, played with the dog, ate, drank, and headed out to Roanoke (my city!) afterwards. It felt great to meet new people and have some fun!

I volunteered to bring dessert (duh) and had originally decided on Boston Creme Pie. Looks delicious, right?! It was, but only I know that because it never made it out of my kitchen. Nothing turned out right presentation-wise. I realized too late I don't have a hand mixer. I thought to myself, I could totally whip those eggs by hand! I did, but it probably could have used more whipping which my arms were not up for, so the cake looked pretty lame. But I decided to proceed anyway. Except, the pudding was too runny. I guess it could have used more cooking time.



Epic fail much? I thought something like this would happen, so I had a back-up plan, which was this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake. This turned out perfect. I thought the whole thing might be too sweet since there was chocolate in the cake, in the filling, and on top, but it was fine! I spread only a thin layer of chocolate between the cakes. Everybody at the barbecue really enjoyed it, which is always a plus. Seriously, if this teaching thing doesn't work out, should I open a bakery?



Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
From Photo A Day

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick butter, room temp
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar [I used 1/2 cup]
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp light brown sugar, lightly packed [I used 1/2 cup]
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks

1 cup chocolate chips, caramel chips, or Nutella
1 tsp vegetable shortening

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans, set aside.

In a medium bowl sift or whisk the flour and baking soda, set aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugar, until it turns pale yellow in color (about 2 minutes). Add salt and vanilla. Cream until smooth. Add the egg and beat on low until incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture. Then fold in 1 cup chocolate chips.

Divide the dough between the two cake pans. Pat the batter into the pans, leaving at least 1/2 inch open from the edge. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

For the filling, pour the chips and shortening into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals just until the chips are starting to melt. Spread chocolate mixture onto cooled cake bottom and top with second cookie. I microwaved about a half cup of the chips and put them into a plastic zip lock bag with the tip snipped off so I could drizzle the chocolate over the top cookie.