Biscoff Cookie Butter Cake

This deliciously moist and fluffy cake is an absolute winner! It quickly became one of my family’s favorites. There’s cookie butter in the cake layers and the frosting, and there’s even more drizzled throughout. The combination of buttermilk, oil, and cookie butter makes this cake deliciously moist and flavorful. Make it to impress your family and friends!

This cookie butter cake quickly became a family favorite for many reasons:

1. There’s an explosion of cookie butter in every bite
2. There are no crazy ingredients – just be sure you have cookie butter!
3. Its small size makes it perfect for small gatherings, a smash cake, or when you’re just craving a delicious cake.
4. It’s the perfect combination of moist, fluffy, and sweet.
5. It turns out super cute every time – no one will ever be able to tell how how easy it is to make!

Important ingredients for this Cookie Butter Cake

All-purpose flour: This helps create structure in this cake. Measure your flour using the spoon-and-level method or weigh your flour to ensure your cake doesn’t turn out dry.

Baking soda and baking powder: These are the leavening ingredients. They’re extremely important to cause the cake to lift, as there are no eggs in this recipe.

Soy milk + vinegar or lemon juice: This is your vegan buttermilk. It adds moisture to the cake and is the acidic ingredient that reacts with the baking soda. I recommend using soy milk for the best outcome.

Granulated sugar: This sweetens the cake while keeping it light and fluffy.

Lotus Biscoff Creamy Cookie Butter: This is the heart of the cake. If you can’t find Lotus cookie butter, then you can use Trader Joe’s Speculoos cookie butter or another vegan alternative.

Lotus Biscoff Cookies: You’ll want these to decorate the cake, however if you can’t find them, the cake will still be cute and tasty.

Vegetable oil: This is the fat in the cake. It adds richness and moisture to the cake. You can use any kind of vegetable oil but if you’d like to substitute for coconut oil, I recommend refined, as this will add no coconut flavor.

Vanilla extract: This adds a delicious rich flavor to the cake. You should use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.

Tools and Accessories Used

Kitchenaid Mixer: While not necessary, I love using my Kitchenaid mixer when making cakes. It helps make smooth batter and fluffy buttercream.

Rubber Scraper: You’ll need one of these to scrape the sides of the bowl. I also like use it to stir my buttercream by hand a bit to remove air bubbles before using.

6″ Round Cake Pans: You’ll need three of these to make this layer cake.

Parchment Rounds: These make for easy cleanup.

Cardboard Cake Board: I recommend frosting your cake on top a cake board for easy transfer and easy cleanup.

Offset Spatula: You’ll use this to spread the frosting.

Bench Scraper: This helps create perfectly smooth edges.

Rotating Cake Stand: You’ll want to continuously turn the cake while frosting it to ensure smooth sides.

Squeeze Bottle: Creating neat drips around the cake is much easier with a squeeze bottle.

Piping Bag and Wilton 1M Tip: These are necessary to create the cute swirls around the top of the cake.

How to make and frost this cake

1. Make and cool the cake layers. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6″ round pans with parchment paper on the bottom and non-stick spray around the sides. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the milk with the vinegar or lemon juice (this is your vegan buttermilk). Set aside for at least 10 minutes. In a separate, large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined. To your buttermilk, add the vegetable oil, cookie butter, and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Add the wet mixture to the dry and beat until just barely combined (do not overmix). Scrape the sides as necessary.
2. Distribute your cake batter evenly between the pans (using a kitchen scale can help with this). Bake in the preheated oven for 20-24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just crumbs (no raw batter). Allow to cool completely, then continue with frosting the cake. If desired, place your cooled layers in the freezer for 30 minutes to make them easier to frost. You can also wrap and freeze your cake layers in advance by following these instructions. I find that it’s easiest to frost cake layers when they are chilled.
3. Make the buttercream. Place the softened butter into a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat for a few minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat again until combined. Next, add the cookie butter, 1 tablespoon of milk, and vanilla extract. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides as needed. If necessary, mix in more milk, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, to get the desired consistency. To remove air bubbles, use a rubber scraper to stir the buttercream a bit and press it up against the sides of the bowl. I prefer to make buttercream right before I frost the cake so that the consistency stays perfect. Be sure that your butter sticks are softened before using them.
4. Layer the cake. Place a cake round on top of a rotating cake stand. Melt 1/2 cup of cookie butter and place in a squeeze bottle. Spread a small amount of frosting in the center of the cake round. Place the first cake layer on top of the cake round. Spread a layer of frosting evenly overtop. Drizzle some cookie butter overtop. Place the second cake layer over the frosting. Spread another layer of frosting overtop. Drizzle more cookie butter overtop (you will have some remaining for later use). Finally, flip over the third cake layer so that it is upside-down and place it on top.
5. Crumb coat. Using an icing spatula, spread a layer of frosting all over the outside of the cake. Use a bench scraper to remove any excess frosting. Freeze for 10-15 minutes.
6. Frost. Using your icing spatula, spread a thick layer of frosting all around the cake. Use a bench scraper to smooth out the sides and the top. Fill in any remaining gaps in the buttercream with extra frosting, then scrape again around the sides. Finish by scraping the top, starting near the edges and pulling the scraper in towards the center.
7. Decorate. Crush two Lotus cookies into crumbs. Press them around the bottom of the cake. Using the squeeze bottle with the remaining cookie butter, create drips around the sides of the cake (the cookie butter should still be warm so that it creates drips. If it’s not, you should heat it up a bit). Place remaining buttercream into a piping bag with a Wilton 1M tip. Pipe six swirls around the edges of the cake. Place 6 Lotus cookies in between the swirls (see video below for a detailed visual on frosting and decorating this cake).
8. Enjoy! Slice and serve. This creates six very large slices, however we typically serve ten to twelve with this cake.

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Frosting options for this cake

This recipe has cookie butter in every crevice – including the frosting. However, it would be delicious paired with my chocolate buttercream as well. If you want to lessen the intensity of the cookie butter in this recipe, you could use my vanilla buttercream in place of the cookie butter buttercream.

Tips and tricks

Measure your flour correctly: Use the spoon-and-level method or weigh your flour to ensure this cake doesn’t turn out dry.

Don’t overmix: For the best results, you should mix the dry and wet ingredients together until they are just combined. Overmixing can cause dense and chewy cake.

Line and grease your pans: To ensure your cake layers come out of the pans without breaking, line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease the edges with parchment spray.

Don’t overbake: The cake is done if a toothpick entered into the center comes out with no raw batter. It’s okay if there are some crumbs on the toothpick.

Softened butter: You’ll want the butter to be softened when making the buttercream. Bring it out of the fridge about 30 minutes to one hour before using.

Cool the layers completely: Prior to frosting, cool the cake layers completely. Don’t skip this step or you’ll have melty buttercream and maybe even broken layers. You may want to freeze them for at least 30 minutes or make them in advance to make them easier to frost.

Turning this recipe into cupcakes

You can use this recipe to make cupcakes, as well.

1. Make the cake batter as described in the recipe below.
2. Line two muffin tins with ~15 cupcake liners total. Use a 3 tablespoon scooper to evenly distribute batter into the cavities.
3. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick pressed into the center comes out clean or with just crumbs. Allow to cool completely.
4. Press a small hole into the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a bit of melted cookie butter.
5. To frost, place the frosting in a piping bag with a Wilton 2D tip. Pipe flower-like swirls on each cupcake.
6. Drizzle with more melted cookie butter and top each with half of a Lotus Biscoff cookie.

Let me know your thoughts!

If you love this recipe or have any questions, leave me a comment with a rating below. I also love to see your creations on Instagram, so make sure to tag me @marykatesvegancakes so I can see and repost!

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