Why you’ll love it
Quicker and easier to make than a layer cake or even a sheet cake, this chocolate chip loaf cake just happens to taste amazing too. It’s moist, it’s buttery and it’s loaded with chocolate chips so, even without the icing, each bite tastes like a total treat.
This cake is made in two bowls; one for the dry ingredients and one for the wet ingredients, before all being combined in one. We’re using melted butter here which imparts that same buttery flavour but it means there is no need to cream butter and sugar together, keeping it quick. No stand mixer or electric hand mixer required which saves on washing up too!
Because the butter and sugar aren’t creamed together, this cake has a very tight crumb but it’s not dense. It has the most amazing moist yet soft and light texture and you’re going to love it. If you want to make it extra special, add an easy ganache to the top.
This recipe was loosely adapted from my marble loaf cake recipe.
Never Miss a Recipe!
Get the latest recipes straight to your inbox!
Ingredients you’ll need
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Flour: You just need plain flour here, aka all purpose flour.
- Sugar: White granulated sugar is all you need. You can add a touch of caramelly flavour using half light brown sugar too.
- Baking powder: Baking powder gives us lift and aeration. Don’t confuse it for baking soda as they do act very differently.
- Butter and oil: The fats come in two forms in this chocolate chip loaf cake – unsalted butter and a neutral flavoured oil. The oil keeps it tender and extra moist.
- Eggs: Just a couple of extra-large eggs. Make sure they’re at room temperature before you begin – you can speed this up by sitting them in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is phenomenal in cakes helping the cake to stay tender and moist. Again make sure it’s at room temperature before you start (you can nuke cold buttermilk in the microwave for 15-20 seconds). If you have sour cream and whole milk on hand, a combination of the two 50:50 will work too.
- Pure vanilla extract: For the best flavour use a pure vanilla extract. Vanilla essence is not real vanilla flavour, it’s synthetic so always look out for the word “extract”.
- Chocolate chips: It’s not a chocolate chip cake without the chocolate chips. Use your favourites. I use regular dark chocolate chips and it’s definitely my favourite but you can use milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips or a combination of all of them. You could even use peanut butter chips in their place. Feel free to use mini chocolate chips too.
How to make chocolate chip cake
The simplicity of this chocolate chip loaf makes it a winner. Just two bowls, stir everything together and it’s done.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Dry ingredients: Start by adding flour, baking powder, sugar and salt to a bowl and give it a good whisk. Whisking aerates and softens the mixture and it translates to the baked cake.
- Wet ingredients: Now whisk together your wet ingredients. No need to aerate these; you just want them combined.
- Combine the batter: Now gently whisk the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Be really careful not to overmix at this point as that can cause your cake to become chewy or dry – just mix enough to combine.
- Chocolate chips: Now add the star of the show, the chocolate chips and fold them in very gently with a spatula.
- Transfer and bake: Transfer the batter to your prepared loaf pan and scatter a few more choc chips over the top. Bake until a toothpick comes out with a couple of crumbs attached but no wet batter.
Want to add a topping?
While it doesn’t need anything extra, you can make this chocolate chip cake a little more indulgent but adding a topping.
You could add a chocolate ganache just like my marble loaf cake. It would also be gorgeous with a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce over the top or try it with thick swirls of chantilly cream. Come to think of it, if you’re a coffee lover, this coffee buttercream would be amazing as would this chocolate fudge frosting! The chocolate glaze from my chocolate sprinkle donuts is also lovely.
Tips and Tricks
- Weigh ingredients: I always recommend weighing your ingredients using a kitchen scale. Especially ingredients like flour that can weigh different amounts depending on the method you use to fill a cup. Weighing gives far more accurate results and hey, you don’t need to wash up cup measures. Win win!
- If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff up the flour in the container, then spoon it into your cup measures. Level off the top by scraping with the back of a knife; don’t pat it down.
- Loaf cakes can overbake quickly so keep an eye on it towards the end of the baking time, without opening the oven door too often.
- All ovens vary too so what takes 50 minutes in mine, might only take 45 or up to 55 in yours.
FAQs
They could be but not this one. Any cake made in a loaf pan is a loaf cake. A pound cake is a combination of equal portions (normally 1 pound) of flour, butter, eggs and sugar. A pound cake can be made in a loaf pan but using the full pound quantities you’ll want a larger loaf pan or two smaller ones.
Keeping the chocolate chips suspended throughout the batter rather than falling to the bottom requires the batter to be not so runny that the chocolate chips just sink. This chocolate chip cake does exactly that so you have chocolate chips all the way through and in every bite.
First of all, chocolate chips are generally made to hold their shape which is why they do in cookies. While they still melt given enough heat or long enough baking time, cake batter cooking around them will kind of hold them in place so that it doesn’t just melt through the whole cake.
Storage
If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container in a cool spot (like the pantry; not the fridge) for 3-4 days.
This chocolate chip loaf freezes well too. Slice it up and wrap the individual portions in plastic wrap before freezing. Most often, I’ll place small pieces of parchment paper between the slices and freeze them in a large airtight bag or container. Keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More easy loaf cake recipes
Did you try this easy chocolate chip loaf cake recipe?
Leaving a rating and comment below the recipe is so helpful!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to the newsletter for free recipes straight to your inbox. Also, follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.
Ingredients
- 260 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (2 cups / 9.1oz)
- 1 cup white granulated sugar (200g/7oz)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 113 g unsalted butter, melted & cooled slightly (½ cup / 4oz)
- 2 extra-large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (250ml)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (60ml)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- 8×4 inch loaf pan (or similar)
- Two mixing bowls
- baloon whisk
Instructions
- Make sure to melt your butter (in a medium mixing bowl) in the microwave first until just melted and set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F. Grease then line an 8×4 inch loaf tin, or similar, with baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk well using a balloon whisk, to aerate and disperse.
- To the bowl with the melted butter add the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and whisk well.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to gently combine just until there are no lumps left.
- Reserve a small handful of chocolate chips and add the rest to the batter, gently mixing them in until just combined.
- Tip the mixture into the prepared pan and scatter the reserved choc chips over the top.
- Bake for around 45-55 minutes (notes) or until a toothpick comes out with a sticky crumb or two attached. Watch it carefully towards the end as loaf cakes can have a tendency to over-bake quickly.
- Let the cake cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes, before using the edges of the baking paper on the long sides to lift it out. Finish cooling on a wire rack.
- Let the cake cool completely before slicing. The chocolate chips will take a little longer to set again but they’re lovely when still gooey.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- All ovens vary – always test for doneness 5-7 minutes before the recipe suggests.
- Baking time will also depend on what you bake it in. Glass or ceramic will take longer. My own 8×4 loaf tin takes 52 minutes, while my 8.5×4.5 (only slightly bigger) takes 47 minutes. Check it earlier.
- Loaf cakes retain a lot of heat due to the shape of the tin so don’t let it overbake. It will carry-on bake after you remove it from the oven.
- Cooling the cake: Loaf cakes can take a couple of hours to cool completely. To speed it up, let it cool at room temperature for half an hour, then transfer to the fridge.
- This cake is best eaten at room temperature and can be stored in a cool place like the pantry. You can store in the fridge but make sure to take it out in time to come to room temperature before serving.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission for my referral, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Sugar Salt Magic.
2 Comments on “Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake”
Easy and delicious as it is a very moist cake. thanks Marie
So happy you love it, Kim. Thank you so much.