Yesterday was Peter's 35th birthday. As we were getting our coats on to leave in the morning, Eli hugged him and said, "I love you because you're old." Ahhh, kids.

Eli and I decided to get all elaborate with Peter's birthday cake this year. I found this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies and Milk Cake and we attacked it with gusto. Pete's favourite treat is sea salt chocolate chip cookies, and who doesn't love chocolate chip cookies and milk? In birthday cake format - even better, right?

So we got to work...two days before Pete's birthday. This cake is a labour of love. On Tuesday night, Eli and I made the cake layers and the "cookie dough" filling and stacked everything up. I could have eaten a bowl of the cookie dough on its own, because I'm an animal. By the time that was done, it was after 9pm, so I decided to wait until the next day to attempt the frosting.

This was my first attempt at making a boiled frosting. Step one involved heating up milk and flour, and I think I let mine go for too long, because it started turning into spaetzle-like dumplings. I decided to forgo the boiled icing and make a tried and true buttercream frosting instead.

The verdict? This cake was HEAVY. Like it weighed more than a new baby and I was a little concerned it was going to break the shelf in the fridge heavy. A little slice goes a long way - there's a lot going on here. But it's good, and definitely the best of both worlds: cake and cookies.

Kid shown for scale.