Turns out, chocolate chips are just as delicious in a cake as they are in a cookie! This Chocolate Chip Cake features a super moist, vanilla cake studded with semi-sweet chocolate chips and a creamy chocolate frosting to top it off. As the cake cools, the chocolate chips set, and the texture variation between the speckles of chocolate and soft, fluffy cake makes every bite pure heaven!
With the perfect mix of vanilla and chocolate, this dessert is a sure thing when it comes to winning over the crowd. It's perfect for any occasion -- birthdays, holidays, potluck parties, BBQs, and more!
Looking for more crowd-pleasing cake recipes to add to your baking lineup? Be sure to bookmark this Sopapilla Cheesecake for next time!
HOW TO MAKE A CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE
- Mix Dry Ingredients
- Cream Butter and Sugar
- Add Eggs, Sour Cream, and Vanilla
- Alternate Adding Dry Ingredients With Buttermilk
- Add To Cake Pan and Bake
1, MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS
This Chocolate Chip Cake Recipe begins with the sifting of a few dry ingredients. Sifting ensures that those dry ingredients are evenly mixed while simultaneously aerating your flour. This results in a lighter, fluffier cake!
Just add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to either a cake sifter or a fine-mesh sieve and tap (or crank) over a medium-sized mixing bowl until the entire mix has been processed through.
2. CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR
Creaming together the butter and sugar is yet another way to ensure a nice, fluffy, tender cake! It is absolutely essential when you are creaming butter and sugar that your butter is at room temperature!
To do this, you'll add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl, or my favorite -- the stand mixer bowl. If you have a stand mixer fit it with the paddle attachment; if you don't have one, grab your handheld mixer instead!
Mix the butter and sugar together at medium-high speed until the mixture appears fluffy and is visibly lighter in color. It should be a nice, pale yellow.
3. ADD EGGS, SOUR CREAM, AND VANILLA
Now, you'll add in more wet ingredients, starting with the eggs. Add each egg one at a time and take care to mix well after each addition. Add the sour cream and the vanilla and mix once more.
Throughout this process, it's a good practice to wipe down the sides of the bowl every now and again! This will help your Chocolate Chip Cake batter to bake evenly.
4. ADD DRY INGREDIENTS AND BUTTERMILK
Time to bring this home! Alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk. The dry ingredients will be added in three additions, while the buttermilk is added in two.
Once the batter has come together, scrape down the sides of the bowl once more, add in the chocolate chips and it's almost time to bake!
5. BAKE
Add the Chocolate Chip Cake batter to a greased, 9x13" cake pan (more on this below). Smooth over the top and bake for about 28-32 minutes.
It's always a good practice to start checking your baked goods at the earliest mentioned time. In this case, the 28-minute mark.
6 MORE CAKE RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE!!!
- Chocolate Coffee Cake
- Butter Pecan Cake
- Easy Yellow Cake
- Kentucky Butter Cake
- KitKat Cake
- Butterfinger Cake
A WORD ON CAKE PANS
When it comes to baking the perfect Chocolate Chip Cake, it's best if you use a metal pan, rather than a ceramic baking dish.
As beautiful as those ceramic/earthenware dishes are because they are thicker and more insulated they both take longer to come to temperature and have a tendency to retain heat. This means a cake baked in a ceramic dish is more likely to cook unevenly and possibly continue to cook longer...even out of the oven.
Unless you are an experienced cake baker with impeccable timing, a light-colored, metal baking pan is going to be your best friend in the world of cakes!
HOW TO KNOW WHEN THE CAKE IS DONE
The cake is ready when the center of it springs back ever so slightly after a gentle poke or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs clinging to it.
THE BEST FROSTING FOR CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE
For this particular Chocolate Chip Cake, we opted for a fluffy, chocolate buttercream frosting and a sprinkle of chocolate chips to finish it off. We used a mix of both regular-sized miniature chocolate chips and minis for the garnish.
The chocolate frosting is a cinch to make and it comes together with just a few simple ingredients. Here's how you make it:
- Whip the Butter
- Sift the Sugar, Cocoa, and Salt
- Mix
1. WHIP THE BUTTER
For the perfect chocolate frosting, you'll want to take a few extra minutes to whip the butter. This will make the butter extra smooth, also incorporate some extra air into it to make it extra fluffy! You can do this via the stand mixer or with a handheld mixer. If using the stand mixer, this is a great time to put your whisk attachment to use!
2. SIFT SUGAR AND COCOA
Next, you'll sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. This step helps to ensure an extra smooth and creamy frosting without any lumps! If you aren't all that worried about appearances, feel free to skip the sifting and add these ingredients straight to the bowl.
3. MIX IT ALL UP
Lastly, add the milk and vanilla, and mix it all up. Be sure to start on low so you don't end up covered in powdered sugar!
Once the frosting is ready and the Chocolate Chip Cake has completely cooled, spread the frosting across the top, sprinkle with chocolate chips, and serve!
MORE FROSTINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE!
Feel free to get creative and top this cake off with a mix-and-match frosting from any of our other cake recipes!
- Vanilla Buttercream (from our Funfetti Cake)
- Fudgy Sheet Cake Icing (from our Texas Sheet Cake!)
- Peanut Butter Frosting (from our Peanut Butter Cake)
- Chocolate Whipped Cream
Lots of Chocolate Chip Cakes call for a cinnamon-sugar topping. If this is up your alley, here's how you make it:
CINNAMON-SUGAR TOPPING
- For a cinnamon-sugar topping, combine ¼ cup of granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl.
- Add the batter to the pan, and sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Then sprinkle with a ¼ cup of chocolate chips.
- Bake as directed in the recipe card below!
MORE DESSERTS TO TRY:
Chocolate Coffee Cake
Butter Pecan Cake
Butterfinger Cake
Easy Yellow Cake Recipe with Chocolate Frosting
Kentucky Butter Cake
KitKat Cake
Chocolate Chip Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus ¼ cup for the topping (I like to use a mix of both regular-sized and mini chocolate chips)
For the Icing:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons milk, half-and-half, or cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
To Make the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and have ready a greased 9x13" cake pan, preferably light-colored steel or aluminum.
- Sift the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt over a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside until ready to use.
- Add the butter and sugar to a large bowl and using a handheld mixer, mix until fluffy and pale yellow in color (about 3-5 minutes). You could also use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for this task.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream and the vanilla and mix again. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl using a silicone spatula and mix once more.
- With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in 3 rounds, alternating with the buttermilk (adding it in 2 rounds). Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl, and mix once more. Add 1 cup of the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Bake for 28-32 minutes (checking at the 28-minute mark). Set the cake aside to cool completely on a wire rack before icing. If you are using a ceramic or glass baking dish, your cake will take about 3-6 minutes longer to finish baking.
To Make the Icing:
- Add the butter to a large bowl and using a handheld mixer, mix on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes. You could also use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Set aside.
- Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Add to the butter, along with the milk, and vanilla and begin mixing on low. Slowly increase the speed and mix until smooth and well-combined.
- Spread the frosting across the top of the cooled cake and garnish with chocolate chips, if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
HOW TO KNOW WHEN THE CAKE IS DONE:
The cake is ready when the center of it springs back ever so slightly after a gentle poke or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs clinging to it.Nutrition
JoLynn says
Is the sour cream measurement correct? I have not come across 1/3 tablespoon before.
Kelly Anthony says
1/3 cup! Thanks, JoLynn!