The Best Chocolate Chip Cake is stuffed with tasty chocolate chips and frosted with a chocolate spiked buttercream. The perfect party, holiday or anytime cake recipe.
If you know me, then you absolutely know that I’m in love with all things cake. This Chocolate Chip Cake is absolutely one of my all-time favorites.
Two moist layers of cake with chocolate chips are covered in a fluffy buttercream frosting that include chocolate shavings.
Did that description perk your tastebuds up? I know it does mine and I can never get enough of this cake anytime I make it.
This is a cake is absolutely perfect for any occasion, the flavors are great year round which makes it a great cake for any and all things.
The flavors work so well together and you are not overwhelmed with chocolate, a nice balance between chocolate, cake and frosting.
This is one of those desserts that you will put on your rotating menu whenever you are in need of a cake recipe.
If you’ve been looking for something sweet to whip up, then you absolutely have to make The Best Chocolate Chip Cake.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Easy pantry staple ingredients help this come together.
- With two delicious layers, this is filling and serves a crowd.
- Kids and adults love this cake.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Baking soda
Fine sea salt
Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Unsalted butter
Granulated sugar
Light brown sugar
Eggs
Vanilla extract
Buttermilk
Powdered sugar
Whole milk
Chocolate shavings, optional
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE, STEP BY STEP:
CAKE:
- Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Lightly spray 2 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray. Place parchment paper in the bottom of the pans then spray the top of the paper with more non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another medium-sized bowl place the chocolate chips and add 1 ½ Tablespoons of the flour mixture and toss with the chocolate chips to make sure they are coated, set aside.
- In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar for 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time until fully mixed in then stir in the vanilla.
- Add in half of the dry ingredients and stir it in until combined.
- Next, add half of the buttermilk, and stir until combined. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Lastly, add the chocolate chips and stir until they are evenly distributed in the batter.
- Divide the batter between the two cake pans. Take a spatula and smooth out the top, this will ensure the cakes bake evenly.
- Place in the oven and bake for 22-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- When cakes are done, remove from the oven and let them cool completely in the pan.
FROSTING/ASSEMBLY:
- While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting.
- In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer add the butter and beat until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing the first batch in completely before adding more, the mixture will be thick.
- Next, add the salt, vanilla, and the milk, mix together until smooth. Once mixed in, turn the speed up to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Gently stir in the chocolate shavings until just mixed in, this helps to ensure they do not bread up.
- To assemble the cake, take the cakes out of the pan and discard the parchment paper.
- Trim the tops of the cake if there is any doming so they are even and flat.
- Place one of the cake layers bottom side down onto your serving dish or cake plate. Add about 1 cup of the frosting and smooth it out to the sides.
- Place the other cake layer, top side down, on to the frosting.
- Take about another cup of frosting and lightly frost the entire cake, making a crumb coat. Place the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight to set.
- Take the remaining frosting and frost the outside of the cake. Add more mini chocolate chips as garnish if desired. Cut and serve.
CAN I USE REGULAR SIZED CHOCOLATE CHIPS?
We have not tested this recipe with regular sized chocolate chips and always have used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.
If you do want to make this cake with regular chocolate chips, I would cut back on the amount of chocolate chips and still make sure that you toss them in the flour.
WHAT IS A CRUMB COAT?
A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting that is first put on the cake to seal the crumbs in.
It is then refrigerated so it can set up and make sure that those crumbs get in and when you finished frosting the cake the crumbs do not get all through the frosting.
If you do not want to do a crumb coat you do not have to, it just helps seal the crumbs in so you have a nice outer look.
CAN I FLAVOR THIS CAKE WITH OTHER EXTRACTS?
If you are looking to flavor this Chocolate Chip Cake with other flavors, go for it! We love experimenting.
This is basic flavoring with vanilla extract, some other great flavors you could use are almond, strawberry, coffee or orange.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO MAKE CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS?
What we like to do is take a vegetable peeler and use that to scrape a chocolate baking bar which will make nice sized chocolate shavings for you to use.
You can use any chocolate flavor that you like for the savings as well.
HOW TO STORE:
This can be stored covered or in a cake saver at room temperature where it will keep for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 1 week.
This can also be frozen, we like to cut our cake into slices and wrap in plastic wrap and place into a freezer container where they will keep for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove cake slices onto countertop until thawed.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Other frostings can be used, chocolate buttercream, regular buttercream, cream cheese, etc.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- We have not tested this with regular sized chocolate chips, if you do see above on our recommendations and also let us know how it turns out.
- The chocolate shavings in the frosting are optional but they add a nice touch of flavor.
- The frosting will not make enough to decorate this cake, if you want to decorate it more then make 1.5x the frosting.
- Other flavors besides vanilla can be added to the cake batter, see above for some ideas.
- The crumb coating is highly recommended but can be skipped if you wish.
- Make sure your cakes are fully cooled before frosting.
Want that cake that is great anytime and anywhere? Then you absolutely must make The Best Chocolate Chip Cake!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
The Best Chocolate Chip Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 10 ounces mini semi-sweet chocolate chips plus more for decoration, optional
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 4 large eggs room temp
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup buttermilk room temp
For the frosting:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons whole milk
- ¼ cup chocolate shavings optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven 350 degrees F. Lightly spray 2 9-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray. Place parchment paper in the bottom of the pans then spray the top of the paper with more non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another medium-sized bowl place the chocolate chips and add 1 ½ Tablespoons of the flour mixture and toss with the chocolate chips to make sure they are coated, set aside.
- In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar for 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time until fully mixed in then stir in the vanilla.
- Add in half of the dry ingredients and stir it in until combined.
- Next, add half of the buttermilk, and stir until combined. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Lastly, add the chocolate chips and stir until they are evenly distributed in the batter.
- Divide the batter between the two cake pans. Take a spatula and smooth out the top, this will ensure the cakes bake evenly.
- Place in the oven and bake for 22-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- When cakes are done, remove from the oven and let them cool completely in the pan.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting.
- In the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer add the butter and beat until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing the first batch in completely before adding more, the mixture will be thick.
- Next, add the salt, vanilla, and the milk, mix together until smooth. Once mixed in, turn the speed up to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Gently stir in the chocolate shavings until just mixed in, this helps to ensure they do not bread up.
- To assemble the cake, take the cakes out of the pan and discard the parchment paper.
- Trim the tops of the cake if there is any doming so they are even and flat.
- Place one of the cake layers bottom side down onto your serving dish or cake plate. Add about 1 cup of the frosting and smooth it out to the sides.
- Place the other cake layer, top side down, on to the frosting.
- Take about another cup of frosting and lightly frost the entire cake, making a crumb coat. Place the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight to set.
- Take the remaining frosting and frost the outside of the cake. Add more mini chocolate chips as garnish if desired. Cut and serve.
Notes
- Other frostings can be used, chocolate buttercream, regular buttercream, cream cheese, etc.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- We have not tested this with regular sized chocolate chips, if you do see above on our recommendations and also let us know how it turns out.
- The chocolate shavings in the frosting are optional but they add a nice touch of flavor.
- The frosting will not make enough to decorate this cake, if you want to decorate it more then make 1.5x the frosting.
- Other flavors besides vanilla can be added to the cake batter, see above for some ideas.
- The crumb coating is highly recommended but can be skipped if you wish.
- Make sure your cakes are fully cooled before frosting.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Leave a Reply