Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie Cake

Vanilla Bean Sugar Cookie Cake - made March 25, 2012 from Dreaming of White Chocolate blog

I have seen various versions of this around the blogosphere for the past few months, most having rave reviews and leading me to wonder "what am I missing?"  I like vanilla so I wanted to make it too.  And I did attempt it a few times, including my Valentine Sugar Cookie Cake that I made up on the fly.  The most common version was the Lofthouse Sugar Cookie Cake which contains cream cheese and butter.  The first 2 variations of the same recipe that I tried didn't include cream cheese so for my third attempt, I decided to stick to the more common version that had it.

Why was I trying so many (for me) times?  Because I have to admit, I was underwhelmed with the results of the cookie cake.  I liked the flavor but not the texture.  But so many people raved about them, not just liked them but raved about them, that I convinced myself I must've done something wrong on the previous tries.  And if I could just hit on the right recipe and technique, I too would rave.  I went with this version from Dreaming of White Chocolate's blog because her picture showed a fluffy, moist cake and that was what I wanted (click on the title above to go to her recipe).  What I hadn't liked about my previous attempts is they always seemed a little dry to me.  Part of that was my own perception - if it's made in a 9 x 13 pan and looks like a cake, it should be moist like a cake.  But it's meant to be a "cookie cake" and cookies aren't as moist and fluffy as a cake.  But still, I wanted a moist cake.

I followed the directions for the cake but made up my own frosting recipe.  I was a little concerned when I cut the frosted cake because mine didn't look fluffy like the Dreaming of White Chocolate blog picture.  It looked.....dry.  Gads.  Been there, did it again.  Once again, I had made a decent bar cookie but a slightly dry cake.  The only thing that really saved it was the frosting.  And I'm not even a frosting person!  So when the frosting is the best part of the piece, well, as I said, I was underwhelmed.

But wait, you know what you can do with a dry-ish cake?  That's right, pop it into the microwave for 10 seconds.  The frosting gets a little melty on top and the cake softens up to the perfect texture.  So I actually ended up loving these when they're warm to lukewarm.  So that's a good tip to remember: if you like the flavor of something but not the texture, try warming it up just a bit.  For cakes, I wouldn't go more than 15 seconds in the microwave, 10 seconds if it's got frosting.  Same with cookies.  I liked this warm but no, I wouldn't eat it at room temperature.

Vanilla Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2-3 cups confectioners' sugar (depending on the consistency you want the frosting to be)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1-2 tablespoons whole milk, as needed

Beat butter until soft and creamy.  Add 2 cups confectioners sugar and vanilla extract and paste.  Alternately add milk and confectioners' sugar until you have the desired consistency and taste.