Chocolate Chip Cake

This Chocolate Chip Cake is next level good. It's soft, fluffy, comes together in one bowl, and is quite literally the best cake I've made on the blog yet!

Happy 2025 friends! I hope that you all had a beautiful Christmas and New Years, and spent it with loved ones, laughter, and good food. This it the first post of the year and I'm SO excited for it and all the delicious baked goods we'll bake together.

Okay let's talk about this cake. It's phenomenal. The cake batter comes together in one bowl and mixes in a couple steps. It's got simple everyday ingredients, and is soo delicious!

This cake will knock your socks off so let's get to baking.

For more cake recipes, try Easy Chocolate Sheet Cake, Applesauce Coffee Cake, and Banana Cinnamon Roll Cake.

Jump to:

• Why this recipe works
• Ingredients Notes
• Step by step instructions
• Expert Baking Tips
• FAQ
• Check out these recipes
• Chocolate Chip Cake

Why this recipe works

Easy to make - The cake batter is made in one bowl. No mixers or fancy equipment.

One layer cake - No stacking layers or crumb coats required.

Chocolate chips - Loads of gooey chocolate in every bite.

Moist and fluffy- This cake creates the fluffiest texture!

Ingredients Notes

Scroll to view a few ingredients notes. Full recipe and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Butter – Unsalted butter works best. This must be very softened for the batter.

Baking soda & baking powder – Make sure it isn’t expired!

Cinnamon – Adds a bit more depth of flavour to the cake.

Chocolate chips - I used mini chocolate chips and recommend you do the same. Since they are small, it helps prevent the chocolate from sinking to the bottom.

Cornstarch – This helps add a tender crumb to the cake.

Eggs – Remove two hours before baking.

Flour – I used all-purpose flour for this recipe. 

Sour cream - Make sure to use full fat sour cream and at room temperature.

White sugar - Used to sweeten the cake and also sprinkled on top for a nice 'crunch'.

Vanilla – Using a good quality vanilla is important to enhance the flavours.

Step by step instructions

Here is how to make and bake this Chocolate Chip Cake. You will need an 9×9 square pan lined with parchment paper, two mixing bowl, an electric hand-held mixer, and a spatula.

Step 1 – Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C and line and grease a 9×9 inch square pan. I like to put a piece of parchment paper hanging over the two sides for easy removal, and greasing the other two sides.

Step 2 - Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt. Set aside.

Step 3 - Mix wet ingredients. In another large bowl, add in white sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla, and sour cream. Mix together on medium speed for 1 minute until just combined. The trick here is to not over-mix the wet ingredients.

Step 4 - Add in dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients in and using the electric mixer, mix on high for 2-3 minutes until lighter in colour and all combined. Make sure to stop and scrap the bowl.

Step 5 - Add mini chocolate chips. Mix in the chocolate chips. Do not over-mix!

Step 6 - Transfer. Add the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Add extra chocolate chips and sprinkle white sugar on top (optional, but recommended).

Step 7 – Bake. Bake the cake for 32-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out dry. Mine took 38 minutes. If it is wet, then the cake hasn’t fully baked yet so continue to bake at 5 minute intervals.

Slightly open your oven door to allow the hot air out and then remove completely from oven and allow it to continue cooling. Once ready, slice and enjoy!

Expert Baking Tips

Here are a few expert baking tips from my kitchen to yours

• Make sure all of your wet ingredients are at room temperature. It’s important or else the ingredients won’t work the way we want them too together.
• Use mini chocolate chips, as they are smaller and won't sink to the bottom of the cake.
• Mix the wet ingredients until JUST combined. Usually you mix the wet ingredients for longer than the dry, but here it is the opposite. So only mix the wet ingredients for 1 minute, and once you've added in the dry ingredients, mix it on high speed for 2 minutes until paler in colour.
• Make sure to use an electric hand mixer. It will make it a lot easier!
  

FAQ

Why is there sour cream in this cake and can I taste it?

You cannot taste it at all. Using sour cream in cakes creates a superrrr soft and tender cake. It is what fluffy dreams are made of. If you don’t have any sour cream on hand, use full fat plain yogurt instead.

How come my cake sank in the middle after removing it from the oven?

Chances are your cake needed to bake for a few more minutes. Make sure to insert a toothpick into the middle of your cake when checking if it's done! If there's any hints of wet batter, it needs to keep baking.

Check out these recipes

PS : If you enjoyed this recipe, please make sure to leave a STAR REVIEW down below! I'd love to stay connected on Instagram @taffeybakery! To get more recipes follow me on TikTok @taffeybakery!