A moist chocolate chip coffee cake with sour cream, a crumb topping with a touch of cinnamon, and melty chocolate chips.
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This cake has been a favorite with my family and friends. I honestly went a little overboard testing it. I actually made it about 9-10 times. I even had a friend test it out as well.
Why test it out that many times? Well, I bought a house and moved into it over the holidays and noticed that the oven just did not work the way my old oven did. It was a steep learning curve, but I think I've got it now.
I think my friends and family were kind of happy about me baking it so many times, though, because they just loved it. It's a moist cake with a soft texture and loaded with chocolate chips throughout, then topped with a brown-sugar, buttery crumb topping with just a hint of cinnamon.
This cake can be eaten any time you like. It's the type of cake that is perfect for breakfast, a snack, or a dessert.
Why You’ll Love This Cake
- It's super moist thanks to the sour cream
- You get chocolate chips in every bite
- The cinnamon crumb topping really makes this cake with it's brown sugar buttery goodness.
- It's perfect warm with coffee, or just straight from the pan
Pro Tips
- If the top starts getting too brown before the center is done, lay a piece of foil over it for the rest of the bake time to keep it from over browning. I usually do this a little over halfway through baking.
Recipe
Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the crumb topping:
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened (½ stick)
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, reserved for the top of the cake
For the cake:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅔ cup sour cream, room temperature
- ⅓ cup milk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or a neutral oil)
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (can add a bit more if desired)
Instructions
For the crumb topping:
- Add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt to a mixing bowl and whisk well. Pull out any brown sugar chunks. Add the soft butter and mix with a fork, your fingers, or a food processor until the mixture is very crumbly, almost the texture of sand.
- Set aside ½ cup of chocolate chips to sprinkle on the top later.
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease or spray an 8×8 inch pan. (Make sure this pan is at least 2 inch deep.)
- Add the room temperature butter and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed for about 20 seconds after each egg. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl.
- In a small bowl or large measuring cup, add the sour cream, milk, vanilla extract and oil. Whisk well and set aside.
- In another medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder,baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Alternately add in the dry mixture and the liquid mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, starting and ending with the dry mixture as follows:Add in a third of the dry mixture and mix on medium speed only until just combined (about 10-15 seconds only).Add in half of the liquid mixture, mixing on medium speed only until just combined (about 10-15 seconds only).Add in another third of the dry mixture, mixing on medium speed only until just combined (about 10-15 seconds only).Add in the last half of the liquid mixture, mixing on medium speed only until just combined (about 10-15 seconds only).Add the last third of the flour mixture and mix on medium speed only until just combined (about 15 seconds only).
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again on medium speed only for about 10 seconds or feel free to mix by hand at this point just using a large spoon or silicone spatula.
- IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SCRATCH CAKES: Be very careful only to mix until well combined. Once the batter is well combined, stop mixing. The batter does not have to be silky smooth. Mixing scratch cake batter too long and/or at too high of a speed can cause the gluten in the flour to over-develop and that will cause the cake to come out dense, rubbery or it may fall in the middle.
- Add the 1 cup of chocolate chips and fold them into the batter using a spatula or spoon being careful not to mix the batter too much.
- Add the batter into the prepared pan. The batter will be quite thick because of the sour cream, however that's what makes it so moist and the texture so great. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake batter, then sprinkle the reserved ½ cup chocolate chips evenly over the topping.
- Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 50-60 minutes. Ovens vary, so your bake time could be a little less or a little more. Start watching it closely around the 40 minute mark. Expect this cake to take a while to bake since the batter is thick and this cake will bake up flat on the top, without a dome. When the cake is done, the top will be golden brown in the middle and a rich dark brown around the edges. The middle of the cake will not be jiggly and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out either clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- IMPORTANT: About halfway through the baking time, or any time thereafter, if you notice the topping getting very brown, feel free to lay a piece of foil over the cake to keep it from over-browning. I do this a little after halfway through baking.
- Set the baked cake on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. This cake is best served warm or at room-temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
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Steps to make this cake with step-by-step photos
(The detailed printable instructions are in the recipe card above.)
Step 1:
Make the crumb topping first. Add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt to a mixing bowl and whisk well. Add the soft butter and mix with a fork, your fingers, or a food processor until the mixture is very crumbly, almost the texture of sand.
Set aside ½ cup of chocolate chips to sprinkle on the top later.
Step 2:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease or spray an 8×8 inch pan. (Make sure this pan is at least 2 inch deep.)
Step 3:
Add the room temperature butter and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl.
Step 4:
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed for about 20 seconds after each egg. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl.
Step 5:
In a small bowl or large measuring cup, add the sour cream, milk, vanilla extract and oil. Whisk well and set aside.
Step 6:
In another medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Step 7:
Alternately add in the dry mixture and the liquid mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, starting and ending with the dry mixture. Add the 1 cup of chocolate chips and fold them into the batter using a spatula or spoon being careful not to mix the batter too much.
Step 8:
Add the batter into the prepared pan. The batter will be quite thick because of the sour cream. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake batter, then sprinkle the reserved ½ cup chocolate chips evenly over the topping.
Step 9:
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45-55 minutes. Ovens vary, so your bake time could be a little less or a little more. Start watching it closely around the 40 minute mark.
Step 10:
Serve this cake at room temperature or warm.
Tips & FAQs
Sour cream is the big reason. It adds moisture and richness while helping create a soft, tender crumb. A little oil helps too, and mixing the batter just until combined keeps the cake from turning dense or dry.
Sour cream is best in this recipe as it helps make a very moist cake and gives a little flavor. If you don’t have access to it, you can use plain yogurt, but use the full-fat yogurt instead of the low fat or fat free type.
Either will work and I've tested this recipe in both pans. I've found that the glass pan will brown a bit more on the bottom of the cake than the metal pan.
The batter is thick for this cake. It's made with sour cream and so it just takes a bit for the middle to bake all the way through. In my opinion, it's definitely worth the wait.
If you find that the the top is browning a bit too much, just lay a piece of foil over the top to keep it from continuing to brown.
When the cake is done, the top will be golden brown in the middle and a rich dark brown around the edges. The middle of the cake will not be jiggly and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out either clean or with a few moist crumbs.
This cake can be stored covered well at room temperature for several days.
Most cakes are best served close to room temperature especially when made with butter like this one (unless they have perishable toppings or fillings). Butter cakes tend to firm up quite a bit when cold, so they're softer and better at room temperature or warm. If you've stored this cake in the fridge and it's cold, just set it out at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes before serving. This cake is also very good warmed up in the microwave and is my preferred way to eat it.
Tried This?
If you give this recipe a try, I'd love to know what you think!
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