Frosted Sugar Cookie Layer Cake

This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This Frosted Sugar Cookie Layer Cake is a light and fluffy cake that’s full of sugar cookie flavor! It has a frosted sugar cookie filling and is flavored with vanilla cookie creamer! Inspired by the popular holiday cookie, it’s perfect for the holidays!

Why You’ll Love My Frosted Sugar Cookie Layer Cake

If you love the idea of cookies, but want cake, combine them into this amazing cake. You get the wow factor of a cake with all the flavor of homemade sugar cookies. Here’s why I think you’ll love it.

• So moist and flavorful. Adding coffee creamer to desserts can add flavor and moisture. This recipe uses sugar cookie creamer, and it’s baked right into the layers of the cake. The soft, moist and fluffy cake layers have the light flavor of sugar cookies in every bite! The rest of the cake is frosted with buttercream that’s – you guessed it – filled with more sugar cookie creamer.
• Cookie dough filling. The filling is like cookie dough, but in a thinner buttercream frosting consistency. To give it that signature vanilla cookie flavor, it’s full of sugar cookie creamer, cookie crumbs, sprinkles, and even some heat-treated flour. Crazy, right?! The combination of ingredients was spot on for the cookie flavor I was going for. All the moisture soaks into the cookie crumbs giving the illusion of really light cookie dough. It’s perfect with the cake.
• Customizable. You can use any color of sprinkles to match any occasion. This version is all decked out in red and green for Christmas! And, don’t let the décor on top of the cake intimidate you. It’s very easy. I used store-bought sugar cookies to decorate and you can use any type of sugar cookie you like – or leave those off entirely. You could even make your own sugar cookies.
• Not overly rich. This cake was a huge hit with everyone that tried it. Despite seeming like it could be rich, it’s actually very light.

What You’ll Need to Make a Frosted Sugar Cookie Layer Cake

Here are a few ingredient tips to keep in mind when preparing this recipe. Check out the recipe card toward the bottom of this post for the full amounts.

For the Cake Layers

• Flour – Be sure to measure it properly, preferably with a food scale. Too much flour is the most common culprit to a dry cake. Without a food scale, I recommend the spoon and level method.
• Leaveners – Baking powder and baking soda are both used in this cake for the best rise and tender texture.
• Unsalted butter – I recommend using room temperature unsalted butter when baking so that you can control the precise amount of salt. If you only have salted butter, just omit the extra salt in the recipe.
• Vegetable oil – I chose to use oil in this recipe because it adds extra moisture to the spongy cake layers.
• Sugar – Use granulated sugar for sweetness and texture.
• Vanilla extract – For flavor.
• Eggs – Use large eggs when baking. Allow the eggs to come to room temperature to make them easier to incorporate into the batter. If you need to warm the eggs in a hurry, you can submerge them in a bowl of lukewarm water for a few minutes.
• Frosted Sugar Cookie coffee creamer – I used International Delight brand Grinch Frosted Sugar Cookie Coffee Creamer, but any brand with a similar flavor would be fine. Sadly, this particular flavor is only available at Christmastime. You could use another flavor (such as vanilla or sweet cream) during other seasons of the year or just regular milk. It’s best to bring the coffee creamer or milk to room temperature before using it to bake.
• Buttermilk – It’s also good to bring the buttermilk to room temperature before using it. Buttermilk will make the cake crumb nice and tender. If necessary, you can substitute regular milk.

Sugar Cookie Filling & Buttercream Frosting

• Unsalted butter – Room temperature butter is easier to beat. If you don’t have unsalted butter, you can use salted and omit the rest of the salt in the frosting.
• Powdered sugar – To add volume to your frosting and get it a good consistency for decorating. Feel free to reduce it, if desired. Just keep in mind that adjustments change the consistency of the frosting.
• Sugar cookie crumbs – You’ll want to grind up your own cookie crumbs from pre-made Lofthouse-style sugar cookies. (You can make your own sugar cookies, but it’d be a shame to do all that work, and then crush them up.) You can use plain or frosted sugar cookies. I used 5-6 frosted cookies and popped them into the food processor whole (frosting and sprinkles and all)! The frosting and sprinkles blend into the filling perfectly and are practically invisible.
• Vanilla extract – Use your favorite brand for extra flavor.
• Frosted Sugar Cookie coffee creamer – See tips in cake ingredient section above.
• All-purpose flour – The all-purpose flour in the cookie filling should be heat-treated. To do that, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, spread the flour into a thin, even layer on a cookie sheet and bake it for about 5 minutes, or until it reaches 160 degrees F. Let it cool completely, then use it in the recipe.
• Sprinkles – Feel free to use any style or color of sprinkles you like for any occasion. I went with red and green for Christmas. I like to mix them into the cookie filling and decorate the outside of the cake with them. If you’re not a fan of sprinkles, they are optional.
• Cookies – You could use additional Lofthouse-style cookies, or any others you can find for decorating the top of the cake. I used a bag of Pepperidge Farms sugar cookies that I had on hand.

How to Make a Frosted Sugar Cookie Layer Cake

Check out the step-by-step photos for a quick overview of the directions. More comprehensive directions can be found in the recipe card below.

To Make the Cake Layers

• Prepare pans and oven: Prepare three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
• Combine dry ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
• Cream butter, sugar and vanilla: Add the butter, oil, sugar, and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time!
• Mix in eggs: Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.

• Add half of the dry ingredients: Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter, and mix until mostly combined.
• Pour in the creamer and milk: Slowly add the coffee creamer and milk. Mix until well combined. The batter may look a little curdled at this point, but that’s ok.
• Add remaining dry ingredients: Add the remaining dry ingredients, and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated, but do not over mix the batter.
• Pour batter into cake pans: Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs.
• Cook and cool: Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

To Make the Sugar Cookie Filling

• Cream butter: Add the butter to a mixer bowl, and beat until smooth and creamy.
• Add powdered sugar and cookie crumbs: Add the powdered sugar and sugar cookie crumbs and mix until well combined. It will be thick.
• Pour in vanilla and creamer: Add the vanilla extract and coffee creamer, and mix until well combined.
• Blend in heat-treated flour and salt: Add the flour and salt and mix until well combined.
• Mix in sprinkles: Add the sprinkles and gently stir together until evenly dispersed. Set aside.

To Make the Buttercream

• Cream butter: Add the butter to a mixer bowl, and beat until smooth and creamy.
• Mix in half of the powdered sugar: Add half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Add creamer and salt: Add 3 tablespoons of the coffee creamer and salt, and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Mix in remaining powdered sugar: Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Adjust consistency: Add additional coffee creamer, as needed to get the right consistency of frosting.

To Assemble the Cake

• Remove cake domes: Use a large serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of the cakes so that they’re flat. These cakes don’t have a large dome, but I like to make sure they’re completely flat.
• Place first cake layer: Place the first cake layer on a serving plate or a cardboard cake round.
• Spread half of the filling on top: Spread ½ of the filling evenly on top of the cake. It should be fairly thick and stay in place well, so you shouldn’t need to pipe a dam to keep things in place. 
• Place second cake layer and remaining filling: Add the second layer of cake and the other half of the filling.
• Place top cake layer and cover with buttercream: Top with the remaining cake layer, and frost the outside of the cake with buttercream. Refer to my tutorial for frosting a smooth cake, if needed.
• Decorate: Press sprinkles into the sides of the cake. Pipe swirls of frosting around the top edge of the cake. I used Ateco tip 844. Place cookie halves between the swirls and add a few more sprinkles to the top of the cake. 
• Storage: Store the cake in an air-tight container or wrap with plastic wrap. It is fine to sit at room temperature for about 24 hours, but should be refrigerated after that. The cake is best if eaten within 3-4 days. Serve at room temperature or just slightly cool, not cold. 

Tips for Making The Best Vanilla Layer Cake

These simple suggestions will help guide you through the process of making this layer cake. Don’t forget to give them a read!

• Cream butter and sugar fully. Be sure to fully cream the butter, oil and sugar together, at least 2-3 minutes. You will actually see the butter and sugar mixture change to a lighter shade of yellow and become fluffy in texture. This is super important because it adds air to the batter and makes this cake so, so light.
• Don’t over-mix. When combining the wet and dry ingredients for the cake batter, be sure not to over-mix. This can cause the glutens in the flour to over-develop, resulting in a tough, overly dense cake.
• Make cookie crumbs from whole pre-made sugar cookies. You could certainly make your own sugar cookies, and then crush them into cookie crumbs. But, honestly, it’d be a shame to do all that work just to crush them up. I highly recommend using soft, frosted Lofthouse-style sugar cookies to make the cookie crumbs. I left the sprinkles and frosting on them and just popped them in the food processor to get crumbs. It took about 5-6 cookies to get the right amount of crumbs, and the colored sprinkles blended right into the crumbs. You don’t even notice them. You can use different sugar cookies, but I only tested the filling with those, so I’m not entirely sure how others would turn out.
• Use heat-treated flour in the filling. Raw all-purpose flour can contain bacteria. When eating raw flour in a filling, it’s important to treat it with heat to make it safe to eat. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, spread the flour into a thin, even layer on a cookie sheet, and bake it for about 5 minutes, or until it reaches 160 degrees F. Let it cool completely, then use it in the recipe.
• Consistency matters. You want to make sure that the frosting isn’t too stiff or too runny. Stiff frosting won’t spread properly and frosting that is too soft won’t hold things in place. Do your homework beforehand and learn how you can adjust the amounts of powdered sugar and heavy cream to get the right frosting consistency.
• Frost like a pro. Don’t go in blind here, check out my post on frosting a smooth cake before diving in.

What If I Can’t Find Flavored Coffee Creamer?

Flavored coffee creamers, like the Grinch Frosted Sugar Cookie Coffee Creamer, can be seasonal. If you can’t find the flavor you want, you can replace the creamer with another flavor creamer (such as vanilla or sweet cream) or use regular milk. Just keep in mind that milk lacks flavoring. To get similar flavoring, try adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract or something fancy like LorAnn’s Cookie Butter emulsion.

How to Store This Cake

You can store this cake at room temperature for about 24 hours but then it should be refrigerated in an air-tight container. I do recommend serving it at room temperature to experience the best texture and flavor.

More Christmas Layer Cake Recipes

• Christmas Cookie Layer Cake
• Sparkling Cranberry White Chocolate Cake
• Eggnog Layer Cake
• Peppermint Chip Layer Cake
• Moist Gingerbread Layer Cake
• Hot Chocolate Cake

Print

Enjoy!