Treat Mom to something truly special this Mother’s Day: our irresistible cookie cake! Bursting with homemade goodness, it’s the perfect way to show her how much she means to you. Layers of sugar cookies, adorned with refreshing buttercream frosting and sprinkled with love. This allergy-friendly vegan cookie cake is a great dessert option for any occasion.
Why I Made This Recipe
I love making desserts that combine my favourite sweet treats and this cookie cake just hits the spot. I might be biased here, but the combination of soft and crumbly cookies against the tang from the buttercream just blew my mind. The key lime buttercream helps to reduce the sweetness of the cookies and decorations and will have you reaching for more. I couldn’t get enough of this cake.
Why You Need This Recipe
If you enjoy cookies, buttercream and sprinkles. you will love this cookie cake! Filled with gorgeous key lime buttercream which pairs wonderfully with the hint of vanilla in the cookies and the sweetness of decorations, this is a showstopper that is easier to make than you might think. And you can easily change up the flavours and colours to suit any occasion.
This Mother’s Day Cookie Cake recipe is:
- Allergen friendly
- Easy to customize
- Fun to make (and eat!)
Ingredients and Substitutions
To recreate this cookie cake, you will need to prepare your homemade items in advance i.e. bake your cookies, make the buttercream and any piped decorations you require.
I kept everything vegan for this cake but you can easily modify it by swapping out the ingredients in each recipe. Aside from being dairy and egg free. this cookie cake is also nut free and soy free with an easy substitution for gluten free.
Cookies: I used my no spread, no chill vegan sugar cookie recipe to ensure the cookies would retain their shape once baked. Feel free to sub with your preferred cookie recipe. Make sure you bake at least 2 of the same shape (suggestion: bake an extra in case of breakages). Check out my recipe for an easy gluten free option.
Buttercream: it doesn’t get much better than my vegan and gluten free key lime buttercream. You seriously need this flavour in your life. I used plant based butter but you can sub with regular butter if preferred.
Decorations: I made a variety of vegan royal icing flowers and added some sprinkles, mini Party Rings (store-bought UK biscuits which are also vegan) and mini vegan marshmallows.
How to Make a Cookie Cake
Once you have all of the elements ready for the cake, start by adding the first cookie to a serving plate. Fill a tipless piping bag with buttercream, cut the end off and add dollops of buttercream to the cookie.
Top Tip: you can use a piping tip if you prefer a design in your buttercream. I recommend using an open-star tip such as Tip 21.
Carefully place the second cookie on top, taking care not to squish the buttercream underneath. You want it to just nestle on top lightly.
Pipe more buttercream on the second layer. I love how pretty this looks at this stage, like a blank canvas waiting for pops of colour to be added!
Add your decorations to the buttercream. There is no wrong way to do this so just have fun and add as much, or as little as you like. Don’t forget the sprinkles as well!
And that’s it. Our Mother’s Day Cookie Cake is ready to dig into. I wonder if I can convince my kids to make this for me (who am I kidding?!?).
Storage and Freezing
Once assembled, this cake should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Ideally, you want to serve it the day it is constructed so the decorations don’t absorb moisture from the buttercream. You can also refrigerate the cake if you live in a warm climate.
I do not recommend freezing the assembled cookie cake as it will affect the decorated elements. That said, you could freeze the individual elements, such as the cookies and buttercream, and defrost them at room temperature when you are ready to construct the cake.
Common Questions
I used two layers in this cake but you can add more if you prefer.
The cookies for this cake were made with a 10 inch cookie cutter. Any size cutter will work, as long as the layers are the same size and shape.
We split this cake evenly between us and there were 4 generous servings.
More Mother’s Day Favourites
Feeling inspired to bake up a selection of treats for Mother’s Day? Try these family favourites:
- Make her smile with the pops of colour in our Funfetti Drop Cookies (Dairy Free; Small Batch)
- Indulge with some Red Velvet Donuts (Vegan)
- For chocolate lovers, try our Chocolate Ganache Tart (Dairy Free, Gluten Free)
- Bite sized decadence with our No Bake Cheesecake Truffles (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Happy baking!
Mothers Day Cookie Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Large Cookie Shapes (see notes for recipe – any shape works)
- Key Lime Buttercream
- Assorted royal icing flowers (see notes for recipe)
- Party Ring Biscuits
- Mini Marshmallow
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare your homemade elements in advance i.e. bake your cookies, make the buttercream and any piped decorations you require.
- Add the first cookie to a serving plate. Fill a tipless piping bag with buttercream, cut the end off and add dollops of buttercream to the cookie.
- Carefully place the second cookie on top, taking care not to squish the buttercream underneath. You want it to just nestle on top lightly.
- Pipe more buttercream dollops on the second layer.
- Add your decorations to the buttercream. There is no wrong way to do this so have fun and add as much, or as little as you like. Don't forget the sprinkles as well!
Video
Notes
- Recommended Recipes:
- For the cookie layers: No Spread, No Chill Vegan Sugar Cookie
- For the buttercream: Key Lime Buttercream
- For the homemade decorations: Vegan Royal Icing
- Size: The cookies for this cake were made with a 10-inch cookie cutter. Any size cutter will work, as long as the layers are the same size and shape.
- Yield: We cut this cake into 4 generous portions.
- Storage: Once assembled, this cake should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Ideally, you want to serve it the day it is constructed so the decorations don’t absorb moisture from the buttercream. You can also refrigerate the cake if you live in a warm climate.
- Freezing: I do not recommend freezing the assembled cookie cake as it will affect the decorated elements. That said, you could freeze the individual elements, such as the cookies and buttercream, and defrost them at room temperature when you are ready to construct the cake.
- If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a 5-star review. Thanks for your support.
This is a great idea! I’ll try making it for Mother’s Day.
Thanks Adele – I hope you enjoy making this!
So sweet and fun! Definitely going into the plans for Mother’s Day.
Thanks Erik. I hope you’ll enjoy making and eating it!
I made this for my mom and she loved it! It was so beautiful and fun to make!
So happy to hear that Jamie!
Such a fun cake for mother’s day! Love this idea.
Thanks Paula. We loved making it.
This cookie cake is so stunning. The perfect mother’s day treat!
Thanks for your kind words Shelby.
What a fun festive cake! Definitely making this one for mother’s day!
I’m so excited for you to try it!