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
Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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
Hi! Can’t wait to try this recipe..one quick question..Can this recipe be halved to make a smaller cake?
We don’t see why not!
Trinia, thanks for your response.. appreciate it. I tried it and it turned out amazing. Just perfect
I made this yesterday. It is very rich and I may have slightly under baked it. I think I personally could cut back the butter a little. I used milk chocolate, white and butterscotch chips and a few mini simi-sweet chips I had leftover. I skipped the topping and think it would be too much for me and I have a real sweet tooth.
This loaf cake was kind of hard to slice and kind of fell apart on the edges.
I will try it again with a little less butter.
Update:
I made the cake (and I’m eating it now :))
Its deeelicious! Soft, moist and chocolatey…
1. I only had cake flour so that’s what I used and I’m happy to report that my loaf didn’t lose structure and came out beautifully. Maybe different brands?
2. I only had 140g of chocolate chips so filled in the rest with chopped chocolate. I don’t think 40g less would’ve made much difference though. I didn’t have mini choc chips so I coated the chocolate chips and chopped chocolate in 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture. That did the trick.
3. I used my 8×4 loaf pan and baked it for either 67/72 minutes – can’t remember which. About 25 mins into baking, I had to cover it with foil as it was already brown. The edges got harder than I’d like, but no big deal.
All in all, a fantastic recipe and definitely recommended.
A delicious loaf cake! I used finely chopped chocolate (they had no chips at the store) and yogurt instead of sour cream and it came out wonderfully! I sliced it warm and I’m having a bite right now; I love it.
Thank you for your recipes Sally, they work out for me all the time and I really appreciate that you put the ingredients in grams next to the cups and teaspoons 🙂
Hi! Can this be frozen after it is made and if you have tried it how to you recommend wrapping it and how long do you recommend freezing it?
Hi Melissa, absolutely. Topped or plain cake freezes well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or serve cold. To wrap, we recommend following the method from our how to freeze cakes post.
Second time I made this, 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!
Hello, I live in Taiwan,I made this cake yesterday, also the yummy topping, it’s very delicious,, we love it very much ,thank you for the recipe!
My loaf pans are slightly smaller than 9×5. I think they are a 8×4 or maybe 8½x4½.
I noticed, with bread, even the slightly smaller loaf pans made a difference. Therefore, I’m uncertain as to how to adjust for cakes?
Hi Al, You shouldn’t need to adjust the recipe. However your loaf will be slightly taller so it may take an extra few minutes of bake time. If you notice the cake is browning too quickly on top before the center is baked through, loosely tent with aluminum foil as it bakes.
Thanks, Stephanie
Also, where I stay, all-purpose flour is not available. I always use cake flour for all my baking, but I see here it is said not to use Cale flour. Any help?
Hello Sally
Thank you so much for your awesome recipes.
Regarding the chocolate chip loaf cake, can I replace the sour cream by a yogurt?
Beast regards
Patricia
Hi Patricia, sure can! Use a plain yogurt, same amount.
Delicious and rich- Have a glass of milk ready!
Can we use grated or chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips for the topping?
Hi Sharmila, absolutely — same amount (90g).
Very moist and yummy. The topping is a must! My family really liked it. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
I made this without the optional topping and it was very easy and came together quickly. My fiancé and I cut it up into slices and ate it with coffee during breakfast. I think this would be a very easy dessert to bring to a gathering because it’s very portable, just slice and serve – no worrying about icing falling off/melting, etc. Good recipe!
Very tasty cake, be sure not to over bake. I made 3 mini loaves and baked for 40 minutes. I like milk chocolate chips and they only come in regular size, not mini chips. They sank to the bottom. The next time I made it I coated the chips in a tablespoon of flour and that did the trick. Perfect!
Would it be ok for the topping to use some leftover ganache mixed with the peanut butter?
Absolutely! That sounds divine, Mary! Let us know what you think if you try it.
It turned out great,adding the peanut butter to chocolate ganache! So good. If you don’t already have a recipe for peanut butter chocolate ganache, I think we just scored. Play with it and let me know what you think. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes and solid directions. So helpful.
Hi Sally!
Does this recipe work with gluten-free flour?
Thanks,
Lori
Hi Lori! We haven’t tested a gluten free version of this cake, but if you give it a try, we’d love to know how it turns out for you.
Would you be better off baking this in a dark metal loaf pan or glass?
Thank you!! Can’t wait to try it
Hi Megan! Either pan will work. The loaf cake may take an extra minute or two to bake in the glass pan, and may bake a little faster in the dark metal pan – so keep an eye on it in the oven either way. Let us know how it goes!
Absolutely divine recipe as written- a new family keeper!
Sally,
The comments about the recipe being dry (I haven’t made it, yet) can be because of the newer, darker pans needing less baking time AND/OR a lower oven temperature. Something to consider.
SUE*
I tried this recipe for my first time baking, my dad had the cake hidden so nobody else could eat it!
Hello Sally
I need to make this x3 times at once…..is that feasible…I know it may come out as more of a sheet typecakebut that is what I am after. Would it work to just triple everything?
Hi Anndrea! We recommend following this recipe for vanilla sheet cake and adding mini chocolate chips to that batter instead. Hope you love it!
Thanks Trina but that recipe is for 12 people. I need to feed 30. Do i just triple this recipe?
Outstanding! I baked my batter into 12 muffins and I baked them at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. I didn’t follow the directions for baking your banana muffins. My oven is old and doesn’t do temperature change well. I read the comments while they were baking and was concerned they might be dry. They are moist and light and definitely taste like a quick bread /muffin, not overly sweet. I love the topping and will use that recipe again. Thanks for your recipes.
I made this last week and it was delish! I used chocolate ganache to top
It – fabulous!
Sally, your recipes are so thorough it’s a pleasure to follow!
Looking forward to your next creation!
Made this last night! Was very easy. I actually doubled it and made two and froze one. Definitely make the chocolate PB icing. It was delicious. Thank you for all the explanations. I made sure everything was room temp and when I mixed it was happy to read that it would look slightly curdled. I am making the Boston Cream Pie on Friday for my hubbies Birthday. I love to bake and this website is my go-to!!! Everything always comes out amazing. Thank you Sally ❤️ Because of you I can bake!
I bake treats for my friend and her co workers at the local hospital. They always give me great feedback. This wasn’t a winner, feedback was it was too dry. Possibly over mixing? I took out of oven when it tested clean with no crumbs. I’ll try again and be careful about mixing time.
Hi Patti, thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! Dry cakes are usually the result of slightly over baking. For next time, you can try testing with a toothpick a minute or two earlier. Also be sure to properly measure your flour using the spoon and level or weight methods to ensure that there is not too much flour drying out your batter. Hopefully these tips are helpful for next time!
Absolutely lovely! I kept it for 62 mins in the oven and tented it at 50 mins. I used regular chocolate chips as I didn’t have the mini ones and I put some flour on them and they are well distributed throughout the loaf. Thank you for a lovely recipe.
I’m not much of a baker but this recipe was simple enough for me to make it was delicious.
I used greek yoghurt instead of plain.
These are simple and fast to prepare and everyone enjoyed them!
I was bored this afternoon and also needed something new to serve the kids at snack time. Luckily I stumbled across this super simple recipe. I made this in a mini loaf pan so I can freeze it a pull out a mini loaf as needed. It made 5 of them. I decided not to add the topping. The cake was very light and moist. It reminded me of Tim Hortons chocolate chip muffin only better! Will be making it again!
I’ve made this twice and everyone loves it! I also changed the recipe up a little the last time, and replaced the chocolate chips with blueberries. I switched the chocolate topping for the streusel topping from your blueberry muffin recipe, putting it on top with about 20 minutes left baking. It turned out great!
Wonderful recipe! Looks so appetising in the photo too!
Can I substitute milk for almond milk or oat milk?
Hi Kat, either of those will work in a pinch. Enjoy!