This Chocolate Chip Cake is 2 layers of moist and delicious cake with mini semi-sweet chocolate chips baked right in, and a sweet vanilla chocolate chip buttercream frosting to boot!
About the Recipe
This chocolate chip cake is 2, 8-inch layers of moist and fluffy white cake that has mini semi-sweet chocolate chips baked right in. It's a super easy recipe to make without using your hand mixer or stand mixer and pairs perfectly with this creamy vanilla chocolate chip buttercream frosting.
Both the chocolate chip cake layers and the chocolate chip buttercream frosting can be made in advance. You can even freeze this cake easily after frosting it too. Just make sure to bring it to room temperature before enjoying it!
A Few Helpful Tips
Prep your cake pans. Whenever I am baking cakes (bundt cakes included), I always use Baker's Joy. It's a flour-based baking spray that just works super well and I've never had any issues getting a cake stuck in a pan. Generously coat both 8-inch cake pans.
I also recommend adding a parchment paper circle to the bottom of the cake pan, then respraying the top lightly with more baking spray.
Coat your chocolate chips. This is just for the cake part of the recipe. Coating them in a little of the whisked dry mixture before adding them to the batter at the end helps to keep them from sinking to the bottom while baking.
I will say, though, that even with flour coating, sometimes your chips will still sink (it's even happened to me), but your cake will still be good, I promise!
Let your cakes cool. Before frosting your cakes, make sure they are 100% cooled.
Storing your cake layers. If you are making your cake in advance, you can keep these chocolate chip cake layers kept at room temperature double-wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze them for up to one month, by double wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap and placing them into a large freezer bag.
Wait on the chocolate chips. If making your chocolate chip buttercream frosting in advance, wait to add in the chocolate chips until you're ready actually to frost the cake. If you add them in before, it will make it harder to revive the frosting when you mix it again in the mixer.
Keep the frosting stored in a tightly sealed food container for up to a week in the refrigerator. Bring it out 45 minutes to 1 hour before using, then give it a few whips of the stand mixer and paddle attachment. Then you can add in the chocolate chips.
You can also omit the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips from the buttercream frosting entirely if you would like a smoother look to your frosting, or having them in the cake is perfect enough.
Alternatively, you can try this chocolate frosting recipe.
Recommended Cake Baking Tools
Recipe FAQs
I used Wilton brand 8" x 2" cake pans for this chocolate chip cake recipe.
This is totally your call. I do, on occasion, like to use my Wilton bake strips when baking round cakes. They do an excellent job of preventing doming on your cakes. If you don't have any, you can either cool the cakes upside down on the cooling racks or simply cut and level the domes off the top of your cakes. Make sure to use a serrated bread knife and wait until your cakes have cooled completely.
This helps to prevent them from sinking to the bottom during baking. Even with doing this sometimes, they'll still sink, but I promise your cake will still taste just as good!
When fully assembled and frosted, this chocolate chip cake measures approximately 4 ½ inches high (with each cake layer being 2" tall).
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Chip Cake
Author:Ingredients
chocolate chip cake
- 2 ¼ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs (room temperature)
- ¼ cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Whole Milk (1% or 2% can also be used)
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips
chocolate chip buttercream frosting
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
- 4 cup Sifted Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup Heavy Cream
- ¼ cup Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips
Instructions
chocolate chip cake
- Adjust oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Spray 2, 8 inch cake pans with a flour-based baking spray and set aside. You may also wish to add parchment paper circles and/or cake strips.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Reserve 2-3 tablespoons of this dry mixture for the mini chocolate chips to be coated in before they're added to the batter.2 ¼ cups All-Purpose Flour, 2 teaspoon Baking Powder, ¼ teaspoon Salt
- In a separate large mixing bowl, beat together the unsalted butter and granulated sugar. Add in the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and whole milk, mixing until well blended.½ cup Unsalted Butter, 2 Large Eggs, ¼ cup Vegetable Oil, 1 cup Whole Milk, 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract, 1 ½ cups Granulated Sugar
- Add the whisked dry ingredients (minus 2-3 tablespoons for coating the mini chocolate chips) with the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the coated semi-sweet mini chocolate chips. The cake batter will be on the thicker side, but easily spreadable in the cake pans.1 cup Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips
- Evenly scoop and spread the cake batter into the 2 prepared 8-inch cake pans and bake side-by-side for 32-35 minutes at 350ºF or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (my oven took 35 minutes).
- When done, allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes before inverting the cakes onto wire cooling racks. Make sure the cakes have cooled completely before frosting.
- Cakes can be double wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up 3 days. If planning to freeze, double wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and place them in a large freezer bag. Cakes can remain in the freezer for up to a month. When ready, take the cakes out of the freezer and frost.
chocolate chip buttercream frosting
- Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the unsalted butter on medium-high speed until completely smooth (about 2-3 minutes).1 cup Unsalted Butter
- Switching the speed to low, add in the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until blended. Then add in the vanilla extract and heavy cream. Stir the mini chocolate chips using a spatula. If making the frosting in advance, wait to add the chocolate chips until you're ready to frost the cake.4 cup Sifted Powdered Sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, ¼ cup Heavy Cream, ¼ cup Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips
Video
Recipe Notes
- This cake when assembled and frosted measures approx. 4 ½" high (with each cake layer being 2" tall).
- When spraying the cake pans with baking spray, you can also add an 8" circle of parchment paper to the inside bottom of the pans.
- While I didn't test the recipe this way, you can make this Chocolate Chip Cake as cupcakes. The baking time stays the same, but you will reduce your baking time to 18-20 minutes. The recipe will yield 18-24 cupcakes.
- 9/30/22 - The recipe has been retested/updated after hearing issues with chocolate chips sinking to the bottom.
Nutrition
Nutritonal information provided above is an estimate only and will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Leah says
Jennifer! I baked this cake for my birthday party (as chocolate chip-anything is my favorite food group), and it turned our perfectly! Thank you so much for the detailed and spot-on instructions. I'm already looking forward to baking it again...
Jennifer says
Happy Birthday, Leah! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the feedback on the instructions too!
jay says
Absolutely the worst cake and frosting I have hade in years. I would have been way better off to just get a box cake.
No real flavor other than sickeningly sweet.
Jennifer says
Sorry to hear you didn't like it, Jay!
Julie Hart says
Hello, I only have 9” rounds. Will they work. Thank you in advance!
Jennifer says
Hi Julie! I didn't test them in the 9-inch pans, but I think that would be fine. The layers might be a little thinner, so be sure to start checking on them a little earlier than the recommended baking times. Baking temp stays the same.
M says
Unique concept. The cake worked well. The chocolate chips, mixed with flour as directed, sank a little but did not form a chocolate crust as described by others. A friend suggested perhaps baking for a few minutes before mixing in - not sure if that would cause the cake to fall? The frosting has way too much butter for my taste. If I were to make the recipe again, I’d crumb coat the cake before adding the mini chips for the final coat of frosting. My sons said it tasted like a chocolate chip muffin.
Erin says
So easy & looks delicious! Made for my MIL birthday & my first time ever making a cake.
Cake pieces turned out beautifully & I used a standard mixer. I did take out 3tbsp of the dry mix and totally forgot to add it back in. I added the chocolate chips directly to the mix and they didn’t fall at all!
I am waiting for the cake pieces to cool but already made the frosting. Once I frost, can I put in the fridge for a couple hours before our celebration? Or would room temperature be best?
Jennifer says
Yay! This is awesome Erin, thank you for making it and for your feedback! Once you frost the cake, with enjoying it that same night, you can do either, it's up to you!