Chocolate Cookie Dough Lava Cake

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
2. Stir the espresso powder into the hot brewed coffee until completely dissolved. Set aside.
3. Make the chocolate cake. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, apple cider vinegar, oil, yogurt, vanilla bean paste, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
4. Sift the cake flour, Dutch-process cocoa powder, natural cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt directly into the wet ingredients. Do not skip sifting the cocoa powders - cocoa clumps easily and those dry pockets are difficult to whisk out later.
5. Whisk gently until the batter is mostly combined and only a few dry streaks remain.
6. Slowly stream in the hot coffee mixture while whisking gently until the batter is fully smooth.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.
8. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the centers spring back lightly and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs.
9. Cool the layers in the pans for 10-15 minutes, then turn them onto cooling racks and cool completely before assembling.
10. Make the cookie dough lava. Melt the butter with both sugars in a saucepan over medium heat until melted and glossy.
11. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the heat-treated all-purpose flour.
12. Stream in the cream gradually until the filling is molten but still thick.
13. Stir in the vanilla bean paste and salt. Cool for 5 minutes, then continue cooling until close to room temperature.
14. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Once the lava is at room temperature, add milk a little at a time if needed to reach your desired consistency.
15. Make the cookie dough pieces. Mix the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, heat-treated all-purpose flour, salt, vanilla bean paste, and enough cream to form a soft dough. Fold in the mini chocolate chips, then break or cut the dough into small pieces.
16. Make the chocolate buttercream. Beat the butter until smooth.
17. Add the powdered sugar and both sifted cocoa powders. Mix on low, then increase the speed until combined.
18. Stream in the melted and cooled dark chocolate. Mix until smooth and glossy.
19. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix until combined.
20. Add the cream gradually on low until the buttercream is silky and light.
21. Assemble the cake. Place the first cooled cake layer on a cake board or serving plate. Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the top, then pipe a tall buttercream dam around the edge.
22. Spoon cookie dough lava inside the dam and scatter cookie dough pieces over the filling, keeping everything below the top of the dam.
23. Repeat with the second cake layer, another thin layer of buttercream, a tall dam, cookie dough lava, and cookie dough pieces.
24. Add the final cake layer and frost the outside with chocolate buttercream.
25. Finish the top with more cookie dough lava and cookie dough pieces.

Helpful notes

• For the cookie dough and lava, use commercially heat-treated flour labeled ready-to-eat. Heating regular flour at home is not a reliable substitute. Sift out any lumps before mixing.