This Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Chip Buttercream Frosting is 2 layers of moist and delicious white cake sprinkled with mini chocolate chips throughout, and a sweet chocolate chip buttercream frosting to boot! This cake recipe makes 2, 8" cake layers and the frosting makes enough to cover the entire cake without going crazy with the sweetness. If you want to get a little fancy, you can watch my short and sweet tutorial below to add this swirled top filled in with—you guessed it—more mini chocolate chocolate chips! Go big or go home, right?

I've been on a cake making kick lately (even revamped my chocolate cake with oreo buttercream frosting recipe), so I thought I'd add a Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Chip Buttercream Frosting to the recipe box. It's a recipe I haven't made in quite a while...I'm talking 20+ years, so it was time!

The chocolate chip buttercream frosting is your basic, creamy vanilla buttercream frosting with one cup of mini chocolate chips added to it! That's it. If you'd rather leave them out though that's totally fine!

Both recipes come together very easily. With the chocolate chip cake recipe, you don't even need to use your hand mixer or your stand mixer! Just grab 2 mixing bowls, a whisk, and 2 cake pans and you're set. With the chocolate chip buttercream frosting recipe, I do recommend using your hand or stand mixer.

a few things to note before getting started

chocolate chip cake

• I used Wilton brand 8" x 2" cake pans for this chocolate chips cake recipe.
• I like to use my Wilton bake strips when baking round cakes. They do an excellent job from 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.
• Whenever I am baking cakes (bundt cakes included), I always, always, 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. I'm not even getting paid by them to say this, that's how much I love their product!
• 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. Just make sure to respray the bottoms of the pans again with the baking spray.

chocolate chip buttercream frosting

• Because of the mini chocolate chips in the frosting, it's harder to get a smoother look to the cake. I didn't create thick layers of the frosting either, and used the entire amount.
• To get the decorative swirled top as I did, you'll need an offset spatula and a revolving cake stand. Take the offset spatula and place it in the center of your cake. Without moving it, begin to spin the cake stand and let the spatula work its way to the outside of the cake. Take a little of the mini chocolate chips at a time and sprinkle them into the swirl, gently pressing down so they don't go anywhere. You can also view my short and sweet video below on how to add the swirl!
• You can omit the mini chocolate chips from the vanilla buttercream frosting recipe if that's just too many chocolate chips for you. Alternatively, you can try this chocolate frosting recipe.

general baking

• Prep and cooking times noted in the recipe below are for the chocolate chip cake only. Add another 15-20 minutes to make the frosting, plus the additional time it typically takes you to frost a cake.
• I bought 2, 12 oz. bags of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to use for this recipe. You'll have extra left, especially if you don't create the swirl on top.
• This cake when assembled and frosted measures approx. 4 ½" high (with each cake layer being 2" tall).

recommended chocolate chip cake baking tools

give these other delicious Beyond the Butter cake recipes a try!

• Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
• Chocolate Cake with Oreo Buttercream Frosting
• Chocolate Meringue Layer Cake
• Single Layer Carrot Cake

Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Chip Buttercream Frosting

Author: Jennifer

This Chocolate Chip Cake is 2 layers of moist and delicious white cake with mini chocolate chips in it. Double down on the mini chocolate chips and make this sweet chocolate chip buttercream frosting! Definitely a must-make for any small party or gathering! Makes 2, 8 inch cake layers

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Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16 servings

Ingredients

 

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chocolate chip cake

• 2 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 cup Milk
• ½ cup Water
• ¾ cup Vegetable Oil, or Canola Oil
• 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 Large Eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips

chocolate chip buttercream frosting

• 1 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
• 4 ½ cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• ¼ cup Heavy Cream
• 1 cup Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips, plus extra for the top swirl

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-size mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In large size mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, water, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and eggs.
• Slowly whisk in the dry ingredients with the wet and mix until just combine, then fold in the mini chocolate chips. Do not over mix the cake batter.
• Evenly pour into the 2 prepared 8 inch cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes at 350ºF or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (my oven took 40 minutes).
• When done, allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the pans. To remove the cakes from the pans either carefully flip them over onto the cooling rack - or - take the top of the cooling rack, place it over the top of the cake pan, and carefully turn it upside down so the cake is now resting on top of the cooling rack. Remove the cake pan. Make sure the cakes have cooled completely before frosting.
• Cakes can be double wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and kept in the fridge for 2-3 days. If planning to freeze, double wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag. Cakes can remain in the freezer for up to a month. When ready, take the cakes out of the freezer and let them sit at room temperature fro about 15-20 minutes before frosting.

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).
• Switching the speed to low, add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time until blended. Add the vanilla extract and heavy cream, then stir in the mini chocolate chips and mix until blended. 
• If you'd like for the frosting to be thicker, add in 1 tbsp of confectioners sugar at a time until the desired consistency is to your liking. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Recipe Notes

Prep and cooking times noted above are for the chocolate chip cake only. Add another 15-20 minutes to make the frosting, plus the additional time it takes to frost the cakes.

This cake when assembled and frosted measures approx. 4 ½" high (with each cake layer being 2" tall).

Because of the mini chocolate chips in the frosting, it's harder to get a smoother look to the cake. I didn't create thick layers of the frosting either, and used the entire amount.

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. Just make sure to respray the bottoms of the pans again with the baking spray.

I bought 2, 12 oz bags of the semi-sweet mini chocolate chips to cover both the chocolate chips in the cake recipe and the frosting recipe, plus I used extra from the 2nd bag for the top swirl.

Keyword 8" cake recipes, cake recipes, chocolate chip buttercream frosting, chocolate chip cake, chocolate chips, vanilla buttercream frosting, vanilla cake

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