Chocolate chip loaf cake tastes extra moist and is loaded with chocolate chips in each bite. This easy butter cake is manageable and convenient because it’s smaller and quicker than a traditional layer or sheet cake. There’s no complicated decorating required and each slice comes with a fudge-like chocolate peanut butter garnish on top. It’s fun to serve for a small special occasion like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, or whenever you want a treat alongside coffee, tea, or a tall glass of milk!
Have you ever tasted an Entenmann’s or TastyKake style treat? You know those store-bought confections like breakfast pastries, donuts, donut holes, dessert cakes, etc? Well, I created a homemade version of those mass-produced treats. Completely not on purpose—the goal was to make a simple and scaled down chocolate chip cake, but tasting this brought us back to our childhood snacking on chocolate frosted donuts.
A very happy and delicious accident, if you will.
One reader, Cheryl, commented: “Second time I’ve made this cake—it was so good! Was craving something with chocolate chips but didn’t want to make cookies and didn’t want to fuss with muffin tins. The loaf is one easy pan and the recipe is so quick to make. Can tell this will be a favorite of mine! Thanks! ★★★★★”
Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake Details
- Texture: This is basically a super moist butter cake scaled down to fit a loaf pan. I loosely adapted the recipe from this raspberry swirl pound cake, but made today’s version much lighter. You’ll notice fewer eggs and butter and the addition of milk to lighten up the batter. Consider this a VERY light-crumbed pound cake. I recommend slicing it while it’s still a little warm so the chocolate chips are extra melty.
- Flavor: If you love butter and chocolate, you’ll enjoy this chocolate chip loaf cake. I recommend using mini chocolate chips so you get dozens of chips in every single bite. You can leave the loaf cake plain, but I certainly didn’t regret garnishing it with a glossy chocolate peanut butter topping. Yes, this loaf cake is nearly perfect.
- Ease: We have a basic butter-based cake on our hands and the great news is that there’s no crazy assembly or complicated decoration required. All of the equipment (mixer, loaf pan) and ingredients are pretty standard for a baking recipe. I always appreciate an easy dessert that delivers big!
- Time: Set aside a few hours to complete this recipe which includes preparing the batter, baking, and cooling.
Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake Batter
I want you to feel confident when it’s your turn to try this loaf cake recipe, so I’m explaining each ingredient. If you keep scrolling, you’ll find the full printable recipe.
- Butter & Sugar: Like many cake recipes, creamed butter & sugar make up the base of this recipe. Make sure you’re using proper room temperature butter. This does not mean very soft butter—rather, room temperature butter is cool to the touch. If it’s melted in the slightest, your cake is doomed from the very beginning. Feel free to borrow our trick to soften butter quickly. And if you need a refresher, here is our video tutorial on how to cream butter and sugar.
- Eggs: 2 eggs add structure and tenderness to this loaf cake.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream works hard in cake recipes, making each crumb moist and tender. Just like in my marble loaf cake, even a little bit (1/4 cup) makes a big difference.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds flavor. If you have homemade vanilla extract on hand, this chocolate chip loaf cake is a great place to use it!
- All-Purpose Flour: We tested the recipe using cake flour, but it proved to be much too light—the cake lost most structure. All-purpose flour is the ideal choice. We haven’t tested any gluten free variations.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder adds lift so this isn’t a super dense loaf cake.
- Salt: Salt offsets the sweetness.
- Milk: Most cake recipes include milk and this is to help thin out the batter so you get a cake-like crumb. For best results, use whole milk. Lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch. If you want to use buttermilk, you absolutely could but we recommend replacing the milk AND sour cream with buttermilk. Use 3/4 cup buttermilk.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: You can use regular chocolate chips, but just like with my chocolate chip scones, I prefer using mini because you enjoy more in each bite. I use semi-sweet, but milk chocolate or dark chocolate work too. I’m sure white chocolate or butterscotch morsels would be tasty.
NOTE: The batter is a little thick and lumpy. During the mixing process, you’ll notice that the wet ingredients don’t emulsify together very smoothly—that’s ok! It’s nothing to worry about because once you add the dry ingredients, everything comes together.
You’ll Love This Chocolate Peanut Butter Topping
Feel free to serve this chocolate chip loaf cake plain, but if there’s an opportunity for chocolate and peanut butter, we should take it. This is the same topping we use on our no bake peanut butter bars. Made with just 2 ingredients, it’s thick, glossy, and eventually sets into a fudge-like consistency.
Other options are chocolate ganache (halve the recipe), salted caramel (halve the recipe or keep leftovers), or serve each slice with fresh whipped cream and berries.
PS: This topping would be excellent on my peanut butter chocolate chip zucchini bread, too.
Enjoy More Chocolate Desserts
- Our Favorite Frosted Brownies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake
- Chocolate Orange Slice & Bake Cookies
Description
This super moist and buttery chocolate chip loaf cake uses basic baking ingredients and tastes unbelievable with a 2 ingredient fudge-like glaze on top.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 cup (180g) mini chocolate chips
Optional Topping
- 1/2 cup (90g) mini chocolate chips
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and generously grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Add the eggs and beat on high speed for 1 minute, then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. The mixture will be very lumpy and appear curdled—that’s ok. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer to low speed and as the mixer runs, slowly pour in the milk. Beat on low speed just until all of the ingredients are combined. Do not over-mix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no large lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour and spread batter evenly into prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for about 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. That time is a guideline—all ovens differ, so keep a close eye on the cake after 55 minutes. If the cake is browning too quickly on top, loosely tent with aluminum foil as it bakes.
- Cool cake in the pan set on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before removing from the pan. Feel free to continue cooling it directly on a wire rack or slice and enjoy then. (It will still be slightly warm.) You can drizzle the topping on the cake when the cake is still slightly warm after that 1 hour of cooling or wait until the cake has cooled completely to top it.
- Optional Topping: Stir and melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a small saucepan over medium heat on the stove or in a heatproof bowl using the microwave. We usually use the microwave and melt in 30 second increments, stirring after each until smooth. Drizzle over cake. Topping sets into a fudge-like consistency after several hours.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store cake (with or without topping) at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Topped or plain cake freezes well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or serve cold.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Sour Cream & Milk: Feel free to replace the sour cream with lowfat plain yogurt. For best results, use whole milk. Lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch. If you want to use buttermilk, you absolutely could but we recommend replacing the milk AND sour cream with buttermilk. Use 3/4 cup buttermilk.
- Chocolate Chips: 1 standard 12 ounce bag is enough for this recipe. You can use regular size chocolate chips in both the cake and topping. We prefer using mini because you get more in each bite and for the topping, they melt down easier. We use semi-sweet, but milk chocolate or dark chocolate work too. We’re sure white chocolate or butterscotch morsels would be tasty as well.
- Peanut Butter: For best results, use processed creamy peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy. We do not recommend oily or natural style peanut butter because the topping will separate.
- Topping Options: See blog post for other topping options.
- Cupcakes/Muffins: We haven’t tested this recipe as cupcakes, muffins, or mini muffins, so let us know if you do. We imagine it would work just fine, but aren’t sure of the quantity. We recommend following the same baking instructions (steps 1 and 3) as our banana muffins.
- 1 layer cake: This batter will fit in a 9-inch greased square pan and take about 45 minutes to bake through at 350°F (177°C). The batter will not fit or bake evenly in a 9-inch round cake pan.
- Bundt Cake: We haven’t tested this recipe as a Bundt cake, but we recommend doubling the batter and using a 10-12 cup Bundt cake pan. Bake at 350°F (177°C). We’re unsure of the best bake time. The batter, without doubling, would yield a very short Bundt cake.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together properly. Read here for more information.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hello,
I followed this recipe and it taste great but I have one issue I would like to fix. I used a dark loaf pan and I sprayed it with cooking spray before putting the dough in the pan. Every surface that was touching the pan was very crispy. The top wasn’t that crispy and the inside was a tiny tiny bit undercooked. Would you recommend using a glass loaf pan or parchment paper or lower temperature? Or Anything that could keep the bottom and sides of the cake from getting so crispy?
Thank you!
Hi Jordyn, Thank you for trying this recipe. For next time, if you use the same pan you can try lowering the temperature a bit and moving it away from the heating element. This should help prevent the edges from burning too fast. If you notice that the top is browning before the center is baked through, loosely tent with aluminum foil as it bakes. You can also try your glass pan (the loaf cake may take an extra minute or two to bake in the glass pan).
Made the Chocolate Chip Loaf Bread yesterday and it was really good. The only ingredient I changed was using 2% milk, that is what we use. The mini chocolate chips were throughout the loaf. Checked at 55 minutes as per directions and ended up only baking 60 minutes. A definite keeper for my hubby and I.
I cannot wait to make this. Talk about Entermanns loaf cake this looks soo delicious. How would I make the Entermanns topping for this.
Hi Dawn! Is the topping you’re looking for a crumb topping? You could use the crumb topping from this muffin recipe. Let us know if you try it!
Hi Sally!
Can I use white whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose for this recipe?
Thanks,
Natalie
Hi Natalie, We don’t recommend it. You can try to replace only half of the flour with it, but keep in mind the texture will be dense and heavier.
The loaf cake was delicious! The Whole Wheat flour worked fine, but it was a little dense.
Although I recommend eating it the day you make it, because even though I covered it with Saran wrap, it was a little dry the next day.
I made this in a smaller loaf pan for about 65 minutes and it came out so moist and fluffy. Quick and easy recipe (:
I made this as described, but used larger chips. I did like the crumble…but it was bland somehow. I have made many of your recipes and they are excellent- this one is missing something, I just cant put my finger on it.
Sorry!
Hello sally , can I use full fat plain yogurt instead of sour cream?
Hi Amira, definitely, that will work in a pinch!
I would like to make this cake but instead of chocolate chips, replacing them with dried cranberries, adding a bit of orange zest and perhaps 1/4 tsp. Of cardamom. Would like your thoughts on whether or not you think this would work. Thank you
Hi Sharon! Yes, that should work just fine. You may also love the cranberry orange bread recipe 🙂
Thank you — the cranberry orange bread recipe looks amazing . I will definately try it.
I was so excited about this recipe and wanted to love it, but it was not loved by me or either of my sons (ages 16 and 20) We all love chocolate chip cake and cookies and there is another chocolate chip cake recipe I frequently make, but this one just falls short for some reason and we can’t figure it out. It just doesn’t have that traditional chocolate chip cake taste. I went back over the recipe again and again to see if I did anything wrong, but I don’t
🙁
Hi Sally.
I have baked this in a loaf pan n it turnout nice.
However this time I doubled the recipe and baked in sheet pan, The taste was perfect but the textured turn out crumbly. Please advise what was my mistake.
Hi Kulsum, how did you measure your flour? Be sure to spoon and level to ensure there is not too much flour packed into the recipe, which can dry it out. Over baking (even by just a minute or two!) can also dry out cakes. For next time, we recommend following this recipe for vanilla sheet cake and adding mini chocolate chips to that batter instead. Hope this helps!
hi Sally, thanks for sharing your recipe!
I am planning to bake this loaf cake. But I usually do not have sour cream/yogurt or even buttermilk at home. Then is it possible to omit this ingredient?
Or do you have other loaf cake recipe that do not require sour cream? thanks!
Hi Teresa! We don’t recommend omitting the sour cream/yogurt. You could try replacing it with milk, though the crumb may not be as tender.
Sally, thanks for the recipe.
I just tried making it and my batter is salty like – uneatable salty. I am in 2 minds if I should bake the batter or just let go.
Even the triple chocolate cake, I make from your recipe is more salty than ok. Does it have anything to do with what we get for salt in India vs what you get in USA?
Hi Adway, without trying the salt you’re using, we’re unsure if that’s the culprit. However, feel free to slightly cut back on the salt in recipes if you find it to be too salty. Don’t omit it completely, but you can try by slightly reducing and then tweaking further for future batches.
Beautifully moist. The peanut butter chocolate drizzle is just great. Don’t understand why it cannot be baked in a 9 inch round tin though. Round cakes are really pretty
Hi,
I’m planning to bake this tomorrow, wondering if it’s possible to make the “wet ingredients” part ahead of time and do the dry ingredients part tomorrow before baking as it has active ingredients. Any help would be appreciated!
Hi Kinjak, we don’t recommend making the wet ingredients ahead of time. You could mix the dry ingredients if you want, as the baking powder won’t be activated until mixed with the wet ingredients.
I made this yesterday for the family, and WOW. Best easy afterschool loaf I have ever tasted. It tastes like it came from a professional bakery, and made with tons of shortening and oil, but its not! Another tired and true recipe from SBA.
Can I use 2% milk for this recipe?
Hi Yasmin, For best results, use whole milk. Lower fat or nondairy milks work in a pinch.
Chocolate chip cake is an old family favorite, paying homage to Hesh’s, a standout Philly bakery that for over 50 years was our source for birthday, bar and bat mitzvah, sweet 16, and wedding cake. When the bakery closed a few years ago I cannot even explain the grief felt by many thousands of people. Hesh’s chocolate chip cake was the gold standard. This cake is so special that my mom bought one to the hospital for me the day I delivered my daughter. Something must’ve carried over when I nursed my daughter because this is her favorite cake, and the cake she asks for every birthday.
I’ve tried a few recipes, and even bakeries, in search of the taste, texture, smell, and appearance that made every celebration special. This cake is the closest yet. It was a little odd to bake a birthday loaf, but it was delicious AND easy, and I’ll play with the proportions next family birthday with a Bundt pan. Any conversion recommendations, Sally, is appreciated with love!
I made a vanilla buttercream icing and this cake was loved by everyone. Thank you, Sally!! ❤️
I am looking for a recipe as close to Hesh’s as possible. I want to make this for my friend’s special birthday. Can this be made in an 8” round pan. Did you use shaved chocolate? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Hash’s chocolate chip cake was our favorite too! It was our wedding cake, our daughters’ Bat Mitzvah cakes and many other occasions.
I’d like to double the recipe and make it in a 9×13 pan. I’m hoping that will work.
Hi Sally and team! Am going to try this out but was wondering if you could please give me the link for your stand mixer? My current one broke and am looking for a good quality one, and knew that yours probably would be. Thanks!
Hi there, we all love our KitchenAid 5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixers! You can find them on Amazon or often wherever baking tools and appliances are sold.
Hi! I checked out Amazon for it but it didn’t come up! Can I try to find it by price, colour or material? Thanks!
If it’s unavailable on Amazon, you can purchase them from many different retailers or from the KitchenAid website directly. A quick Google search for the 5 quart artisan stand mixer with tilt head by KitchenAid should bring up some options for you. Hope this helps!
Hello, Sally and team all the way from Manila, Philippines! ❤️ I made this with just buttermilk bec I didn’t have sour cream. It turned out to be moist and delicious. Will do try it with sour cream next time to see the difference.
This was the first time I baked a cake using sour cream and OMG what a game changer! So delicious, moist & the right level of sweetness. I’ll be trying this same recipe without the chocolate chips next just to see if it makes a mean straight-up butter cake. Thanks for sharing!!
I made two loa as and it’s amazing! Both of my loaves fell apart when I cut them (completely cool). Wondering if anyone else has experienced this?
I made this cake without the icing and used only about 90 grams of sugar. It turned out really tasty, a great recipe!
This loaf was delicious! My partner and daughter loved it.
Only problem I ran into was all my chocolate chips sunk to the bottom 🙁 how do you prevent this?
Hi Summer, you can try lightly tossing the chocolate chips in flour next time to help with any sinking. Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Oh my! The texture of the crumb is glorious. Even the batter was gorgeously silky. I made 1 smallish loaf and 6 muffins. Thank you for another great recipe.
So good !! We all loved it , finished it in a day
Hi Sally
I have baked this cake today and though it tastes yummy, it is a tad dry than the usual cakes.
Also, I want to check, during the creaming, is the sugar supposed to melt? I’m using granular sugar and beat for about 3 minutes in a stand mixer. The mixture looks nice and fluffy but the sugar crystals are all in tact, I don’t get the texture shown in the pictures. Am I doing something wrong? Should I be using smaller granules sugar, like Caster sugar?
Hi Sharmila! Happy to help. As for the dryness, make sure you are 1) spooning and leveling your flour and 2) not over baking, both of which can contribute to a drier baked good. When creaming butter and sugar, the sugar granules should “dissolve” into the butter, with the butter + sugar mixture becoming very light and fluffy looking. If it doesn’t look like the photos, try mixing it for a few minutes longer, and also make sure that your butter is at room temperature and not too cold, which can make it difficult to cream.
Hi Sally! Can this be used in mini loaf pans? How many loaf pans do you think could be used/what would baking time look like?
Thank you!
Hi Julia, you can certainly use mini loaf pans. The baking time and yield will depend on the size of the mini loaves. Fill them about half way — the bake time will be shorter.
I made this cake for Father’s Day. I followed the recipe exactly but increased by 1/2 to add to a small bundt pan. It was delicious and very buttery. My husband loved it as did everyone else. My husband doesn’t care for icing so we skipped it. Not a problem at all because the cake is so yummy by itself. Thanks for sharing. This one is a keeper for sure!
I want to make this as a 2 layer cake for a birthday . Can i double the recipe and bake it in a 9 inch round cake pan? What would you suggest?
Hi Jisha, unfortunately, this batter will not fit or bake evenly in a 9-inch round cake pan. It should, however, work in a square 9-inch pan — you could make two separate batches for two square 9 inch layers. Hope this helps!
Loved the cake.. just a small observation.. I think coating the chocolate chips with flour could have prevented my chips from sinking to the bottom.. mine looked a bit plain on the top.. however ur pic looks perfect with the chips distributed so well
I made it gluten free and it came out great! Everyone loved it!