The Cookie's in the Cake

Sometimes the most miraculous of ideas come from the least likely places. Those who never are involved in a certain subject often have the most clear perspective and can come in fresh, with a new idea.

Now usually I wouldn't be saying this about baking, because there are a lot of factors involved in baking that can lead to mishaps such as burning and chemical mishaps. Yet my boyfriend's silly nature lead to a miracle in the baking world. As I discussed baking a chocolate fudge cake mix that I had in the pantry waiting for a slow day, he discussed buying cookies at the store. When I said I could make cake instead, or he could go buy cookies if he didn't want cake, he insisted that both happen. It didn't make sense to me. He said he would buy cookies and put them in the cake. In the cake? Yes, as in inside the cake.

You have had cake. You have had cookie cake. You have eaten cookies and cake probably in the same delicious day. Yet have you ever actually stuffed a chocolate cake with cookies? The idea of putting cookies inside seemed a little strange, but I suggested making a cookie dough. He didn't want actual cookie dough pieces though. He wanted fully baked cookies. We compared the chocolate chip cookie recipe and the cake box recipe. Both were at similar temperatures, but the cake usually baked around 25-30 minutes while the cookie took 9-11 minutes. The cookie would take longer though if it was inside the cake itself, because the chocolate goodness around it would reduce the amount of heat getting to the dough. Therefore, we decided to let the cake itself start cooking for 12 minutes and then stuff the still soft cake with the cookie dough.

Excited for our experiment, which we had no idea how it would work, my boyfriend began to mix the cake mix as I made cookie dough from scratch. He put the cake into the oven and set the timer. Then after the 12 minutes, it was time to stuff the cake. This was really messy, but allowed for a delicious cleaning up process. My boyfriend spooned small balls of cookie dough, which I then used the end of another spoon to press into the cake. The experiment looked like this (see right photo) before it was put back into the oven. The edges were more cooked than we expected, so it was harder to get the dough into the more cooked cake and we were left with some parts with more cake than cookie. Yet it still was stuffed with cookies and went back into the oven for the remaining 20-ish minutes.

Finally, the smell of chocolate floated through the kitchen and the buzzer rang. Our experiment was ready. Like a mad scientist I pulled it from the oven, thrilled to see my precious baby:

The cake was cooked and the cookies were too. It wasn't what we expected with the cookies peeking out of the top, but it ended up being absolutely wonderful. It would have been better if we hadn't left it originally in for 12 minutes, but rather 7 or 8 and then put in the cookies, but at least we knew the cookies wouldn't be burnt. They were soft next to the cake and when we put chocolate frosting on top it was the perfect dessert.

Can you see the delicious piece of cookie within the chocolate? It's there. It was soft with chocolate chips and that fresh cookie taste. The cookies never got stale either! The cake was so good that I rushed home many days to devour a large piece with a mug of milk.

Now you know, experiments can turn into beautifully delicious pieces of art. Do not be afraid, chefs. There will always be risks, but sometimes they lead to satisfying your sweet tooth in a way it's never known before.

- Mollie