Soft Red Velvet Cookie Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A giant, soft-baked red velvet cookie topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. It has all the flavor of the classic cake but bakes fast in one pan and only needs a handful of bowl mixing.

This one lands at the intersection of a great cookie and an easy showstopper. The crumb stays tender around the edges and a little fudgy in the center, while the frosting sets up creamy and cool against the warm spice of the cocoa.

Why This Cookie Cake Works

The cookie base uses both cocoa powder and a touch of red food coloring, so the color stays deep and the chocolate flavor stays subtle. Creaming the butter and sugars first gives the whole thing a crisp edge and a soft middle, exactly the texture you want from a cookie cake.

The cream cheese frosting takes two minutes to whip up and spreads into swoops while the cookie is still warm. That slight heat melts the frosting just enough that each slice ends up with a ribbon of it tucked into the top, and the rest stays fluffy and cool.

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour: spooned and leveled, not scooped
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder: natural or Dutch-process both work
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tsp liquid red food coloring: use the amount that gives you the color you like
• ½ cup white chocolate chips: regular chocolate chips work too, but white ones keep the red velvet look

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Variations / Substitutions

• Gel food coloring: if you have gel coloring, start with ¼ tsp and add more. The color will be more concentrated and you will not thin out the dough the way liquid coloring can.
• Darker chocolate: use semisweet or dark chocolate chips instead of white. The cookie will taste a little more like a red velvet brownie and lose the red contrast.
• Gluten-free: swap in a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend that contains xanthan gum. The texture will be slightly more crumbly but still good.
• No cream cheese frosting: a quick vanilla buttercream or even a dusting of powdered sugar works if you need a shortcut. The frosting is what makes it read as red velvet, though.

If you have a few extra minutes, Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are a fun handheld alternative that bakes up in a muffin tin.

How To Make Red Velvet Cookie Cake

Step 1: Mix the Dry Ingredients

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 ¾ cups flour, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until no cocoa clumps remain.

The flour mixture should look evenly pale brown with a reddish tint from the cocoa. If you see any dark streaks, keep whisking.

Step 2: Cream the Butter and Sugars

In a large bowl, beat the ½ cup softened butter with an electric mixer for about 1 minute until it looks smooth and pale. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping the bowl once. The mixture will look fluffy and lighter in color, and it should not feel gritty when you rub a little between your fingers.

Stopping too soon here leaves the cookie cake dense instead of chewy, so let the mixer run until the texture changes. The batter will start to pull away from the sides of the bowl a bit.

Step 3: Combine the Wet and Dry

Beat the egg, vanilla, and food coloring into the butter mixture on low until the color is even and there are no streaks. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix just until the flour disappears, then fold in the white chocolate chips with a spatula.

The dough will be thick and a deep red, and it should hold a soft shape when you nudge it. If it still looks pale after the dry ingredients are in, add an extra tiny drizzle of food coloring and fold a few more times.

Step 4: Bake the Cookie Cake

Scrape the dough into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer with damp fingertips or the back of a spoon. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the top looks set and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs but no raw dough.

The edges will pull away from the pan slightly and the top will have a crackly finish. Let the cookie cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before you go near it with frosting.

Step 5: Frost and Serve

While the cookie cake cools, beat the cream cheese and butter together until no lumps remain, then mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla until the frosting is smooth and spreadable. Run a knife around the edge of the pan, tip the cookie cake out onto a plate, then flip it right side up again onto a serving plate.

Spread the frosting over the top while the cookie is still warm. The heat will soften the cream cheese just enough that you can swirl it with the back of a spoon, leaving ribbons and little peaks behind. Slice and serve right away, and watch the frosting settle into the cuts.

A Couple Things That Help

• Use room-temperature butter and egg. Cold butter will not cream properly and the cookie cake can turn out heavy. Leave them on the counter for 45 minutes before you start.
• Do not over-measure the flour. Scooping directly from the bag can add an extra couple of tablespoons, which makes the cookie cake dry. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it.
• If the frosting gets too soft while you spread it, pop the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes and try again. Warm cookie cake plus too-soft frosting makes a puddle instead of swoops.
• Let the cookie cake cool in the pan for the full 10 minutes. It continues to set as it rests, and the center will finish cooking from the carryover heat.

Bake times by pan size:

Keeping the Cookie Cake Fresh

• Refrigerate: cover the leftover cookie cake and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. The cream cheese frosting needs to stay cold.
• Reheating: a single slice warms up nicely with 15 to 20 seconds in the microwave. It brings back that soft-baked texture and the frosting gets a little melty.
• Serve cold: this cookie cake is just as good straight from the fridge. The frosting firms up and the cake turns almost fudgy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use natural food coloring?

Yes, but the color will be more brownish pink than true red. Powdered beet coloring gives the best result, though the flavor is very slightly earthy.

Why did my cookie cake turn out dry?

That usually happens when the flour is packed too tightly into the measuring cup or the cookie cake is baked a few minutes too long. Weighing the flour at 220 grams takes the guesswork out.

Can I skip the white chocolate chips?

Yes, you can leave them out entirely or swap in chopped pecans for a little crunch. The cookie cake will still bake up soft and tender.

Can I make this cookie cake ahead of time?

You can bake the cookie cake a day in advance, wrap it tightly, and store it at room temperature. Frost it right before serving so the frosting stays fresh.

Red Velvet Cookie Cake Recipe

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 415

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tsp liquid red food coloring
• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened (for frosting)
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened (for frosting)
• 1 cup powdered sugar (for frosting)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract (for frosting)

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9-inch round pan and line with parchment. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
2. Beat butter and sugars until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, and food coloring and beat until combined.
3. Mix in dry ingredients just until incorporated, then fold in white chocolate chips. Dough will be thick and red.
4. Press dough into prepared pan. Bake 22 to 25 minutes until set. Cool in pan 10 minutes.
5. Beat cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla for frosting. Remove cookie cake from pan, frost while warm, slice, and serve.

Notes

Let the cookie cake cool the full 10 minutes in the pan before turning it out. The center finishes setting as it rests and will be easier to handle. If you want neat slices, wait until it cools completely, but you will lose the soft frosting effect.