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Adorable mini-sized naked cakes with gorgeously defined layers of moist chocolate cake, whipped cookie dough, and rich chocolate ganache.

Naked cakes are undoubtedly impressive, especially for how easy they are to assemble (no finicky frosting to deal with on the outside). This chocolate and cookie dough creation is no exception!

Another year, come and gone.

Not much celebration happening this year for Taylor’s 38th birthday, but the fact that it was just the two of us doing the celebrating doesn’t mean I skipped the cake (I mean, what kind of wife would I be then?)

Because it’s Taylor, the cake is always chocolate, but I do my best to mix it up a bit in a way that doesn’t get too weird for him, but still gives me a unique recipe to share with y’all here (two birds, right?)

I’ve made Milk Bar-style naked cakes (ala Christina Tosi) twice before, once following a recipe straight out of her cookbook and the second piecing together a few different parts to create a chocolate-pistachio-masterpiece. Actually, I did make a third one at some point that included freeze-dried strawberries and pop-rocks and, while good in theory, left a bit to be desired in terms of presentation and execution (maybe I’ll revisit it someday).

This year I’ve taken the basic idea of the naked cake and miniaturized it, making two adorable 4-inch cakes that are perfect for two (well, if we’re being honest, the cake is so rich that each mini cake is more like 4 servings, but who’s counting?)

The layers include a moist chocolate cake, creamy dark chocolate ganache, and a creamy whipped cookie dough studded with chocolate chips (eggless and safe to eat raw!) Assembling the cake in a ring of acetate makes for perfectly defined layers, like a core sample of sedimentary rock (but so much tastier).

The result? Well, let’s just say I almost wished I had made a full size cake because it was so darn good we devoured the little ones in no time.

I actually made two versions of this cake, identical but for the final form of the ganache, both traditional and whipped. While the whipped ganache was delightful, I ultimately decided to use regular ganache as it’s easier to assemble (just pour it on top of the cookie dough layers), and also to preserve the sheen on the top of the cake.

Yes, I’m superficial like that. So sue me.

If you want to do a whipped ganache, up the cream to 8oz. Let the mixture cool until it starts to thicken, then take a balloon whisk and whip it until thickened.

A lot of whipped ganache recipes call for an electric mixer, but that’s really overkill. I was able to whip the ganache to a pipeable consistency un probably 30 seconds by hand. You really don’t need to overdo it.

That said, it doesn’t stay shiny. Or at least, I haven’t figured out the trick to keep it that way.

(I also have yet to figure out the trick to slicing one of these cakes cleanly. In this case, the mini chocolate chips tend to stymie the knife, preventing a super clean cut, though not quite as much as the chocolate crumbs in the pistachio version. But still, despite the mess, there’s no denying it’s gosh darn delicious.)

This recipe makes two 4-inch, 3-layer cakes.

I used mini springform pans as my frames (without the bottoms), but you could use pastry rings as well, set on a base of parchment or a cake board for ease of movement. Either one, lined with 3-or-4-inch-wide strips of acetate, will work just fine here. If you have smaller pastry rings I think you’ll be fine, you can probably eek out three 3-inch cakes.

You’ll also want a round cutter the exact same size as your ring. As it turned out, the container of my round cutter set was exactly 4 inches (the largest cutter inside was only 3.75″). The edge of the tin worked perfectly to cut my cake rounds.

Though it’s a smaller scale than my other 6-inch cakes, the cake itself is actually baked in the same size pan, just with half the quantity of batter. This produces thin layers of chocolate cake that are perfectly proportional to the other layers.

If you want to make a 6-inch layer cake, double just the cake portion of the recipe. Bake it in the same quarter sheet pan (bake for 15 to 20 minutes), then assemble using a 6-inch cake ring. Doing this will give you thicker overall cake layers, but similar size layers of ganache and cookie dough (you don’t need to double those parts).

The little cookie tuile on top? Total accident. I divvied off a few little balls of the raw cookie dough to use as a garnish (planning to bake them up into cookie crisp-esque miniature cookies). I’d done it before in my book, but clearly the super soft dough I used here had other plans, as it spread out into a crispy lace puddle not unlike a florentine. Still, I wasn’t entirely displeased, and cut them into perfect rounds while they were still hot. Once cool, the lacey discs were thin and crispy and actually quite delicious!

If you want to achieve something similar: spoon out a tablespoon or so of cookie dough before you add the cream. Add a spoonful of flour and pinch of baking soda to the dough, then chill for 30 minutes until firm enough to roll into 1/4-teaspoon balls. Place on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet. Press 2 or 3 mini chips on top of the dough balls and bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, use the rim of a large piping tip or a 1″ round cutter to cut the melted cookies into rounds while they’re still hot. Let cool completely, then carefully lift off the parchment with an offset spatula and carefully position on your cake.

I recommend leaving yourself enough time to fully chill the cake. Overnight in the fridge or a few hours in the freezer should do it. If it’s not fully chilled the acetate won’t peel off cleanly (the soft ganache especially is rather sticky).

While you do need to keep this cake refrigerated, I think it’s best served at cool room temperature, so let it sit for 30 minutes or so after peeling off the acetate and before serving.

I mean, how cute would these be for Valentine’s day, topped with some heart-shaped sprinkles of course! (The actual sprinkle medley I used here is called Vanilla Cupcake, though it appears to be discontinued… still, plenty of other adorable options for you to choose from!)