The Birthday Cake for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Lover.

The most amazing birthday cake recipe for people whose first love is not cake, but chocolate chip cookies.

The recipe is simply called "chocolate chip cake", which, honestly, doesn't do it justice. This isn't a plain sheet cake with a handful of chips thrown in. This is a cake that tastes straight-up like chocolate chip cookie dough, layered with an amazingly rich buttercream frosting. IT BLEW OUR MINDS.

My husband Kevin LOVES chocolate chip cookies — I've written about that before — but I'm a firm believer that birthdays require cake. Since Kevin likes cake pretty well too, when I stumbled on this recipe from John at Preppy Kitchen as Kevin’s birthday approached, I knew I had to try it. And I’ve come to believe that a homemade cake is the best birthday treat there is.

Here’s the thing about this recipe: the instructions are a chef’s kiss. Follow every bit of John’s advice and you will be rewarded with a perfect cake.

John’s tips — don’t skip these

• Use a kitchen scale for measuring ingredients

• Use real buttermilk — don’t make a substitute at home

• Douse your chocolate chips in flour before folding in

• Listen for crackling sounds to know when it’s done

• Room temperature eggs

  
  

The one change I made: I baked it in two deep six-inch pans instead of the standard size. This gives you a beautifully tall, petite four-layer cake that still serves eight people — just know it takes roughly double the bake time. I also skipped the cake strips entirely and it turned out just fine (probably because of my deep cake pans). Lastly, I added a touch of fun sprinkles. :)

As for the result: the crumb is tender and moist in that pure chocolate chip cookie dough way. The frosting melts into each bite and pulls the whole thing into something that genuinely tastes like dough. The chips add just the right texture. It is, without question, one of the best cakes I've ever made.

Kevin approved. Highly. The recipe is linked here — let me know what you think if you try it!

Ashley