Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
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Rich and tender from the addition of sour cream, and jam-packed with chocolate chips, this coffee cake is loved by all.
This old-fashioned coffee cake is rich, tender, and jam-packed with chocolate chips. It’s the kind of cake that appeals to just about everyone, and it’s super-simple to make. I was initially hesitant to share the recipe because it seemed so basic, but in the short time that I was contemplating that idea, half the cake disappeared from my countertop. Michael and the kids practically inhaled it. The cake is wonderful with a cup of coffee morning, noon, or night. It also travels well, so go ahead and pack it up for a picnic or wrap individual slices for the kids’ lunches. The recipe calls for a 10-cup Bundt pan but don’t stress if you don’t have one; you can easily bake the cake in a 12-cup Bundt pan (it’ll just be a little shorter) or a 9-inch square pan.
What you’ll need to make Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
How to make Chocolate chip Coffee cake
To begin, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy (use medium speed for a stand mixer or high speed for a hand-held mixer).
Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Mix in half of the sour cream, followed by another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, until just combined.
Mix in the remaining sour cream, followed by the remaining dry ingredients, scraping down the bowl as necessary and mixing until just combined.
Gently mix in the chocolate chips.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan – it will come about halfway up the sides of the pan.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack and allow to cool completely.
Carefully transfer the cooled cake to a plate; dust with cinnamon first, then Confectioners’ sugar, if desired. To slice the cake, use a serrated knife and sawing motion for best results. Enjoy!
You may also like
- Chocolate Chip Scones
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon-Walnut Swirl
- Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cake
- Kentucky Butter Cake
- Marble Cake
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
Rich and tender from the addition of sour cream, and jam-packed with chocolate chips, this coffee cake is loved by all.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with a knife
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips, best quality such as Ghirardelli
- Cinnamon and Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Generously grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. (A 12-cup Bundt pan will work as well with no adjustments; it'll just make a shorter cake.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy (use medium speed for a stand mixer or high speed for a hand-held mixer). Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Mix in half of the sour cream, followed by another ⅓ of the dry ingredients, until just combined. Mix in the remaining sour cream, followed by the remaining dry ingredients, scraping down the bowl as necessary and mixing until just combined. Gently mix in the chocolate chips.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan – it will come about halfway up the sides of the pan (or a little less than halfway in a 12-cup pan). Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto the rack and allow to cool completely. Carefully transfer the cooled cake to a plate; dust with cinnamon first, then Confectioners’ sugar, if desired. To slice the cake, use a serrated knife and sawing motion for best results. The cake keeps well for several days stored in a cake dome or covered tightly with aluminum foil.
- Note: If using a pan other than a Bundt, baking time may need to be increased.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, double-wrap it securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, or place it in heavy-duty freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (14 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 336
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated fat: 11 g
- Carbohydrates: 44 g
- Sugar: 28 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Sodium: 178 mg
- Cholesterol: 49 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I tried this recipe for the first time yesterday and was surprised that it tasted fairly dense, more like a pound cake than a flaky coffee cake. I used fresh baking powder and baking soda, a 10” silicone tube pan and a stand mixer, but the batter barely rose higher than when it was first put in the pan. Should I have mixed the ingredients longer than just until they were incorporated into the batter?
Hi Phyllis, This cake is actually a bit dense, so I suspect you didn’t do anything wrong. Sorry if it didn’t completely hit the mark for you!
I made this tonight. However I can’t figure what I did wrong. The outside of the cake looks beautiful, but the middle of the cake is still raw and it’s been baking for nearly 50 minutes. I tested the oven temperature and there’s not a problem with that.any suggestions?
Hi David, Sorry you had a problem with this! Did you make any adjustments to the recipe or is there any chance you made a measuring error?
Hi Jenn,
I’ve made this before and it turned out excellent. Would like to redo today but all I have on hand is a touch of sour cream plus some 2% vanilla yogurt. Would that by any chance work?
Thanks !
Hi Malak, I think it should work, but I’d cut the sugar back just a touch as the vanilla yogurt will add a bit of additional sweetness. Please LMK how it turns out!
Can I replace the sour cream with greek yogurt?
Sure – hope you enjoy!
Dear Jenn, instead of chocolate chips can I use Dove bar? Do I have to melt it first with milk or just cut it in very small pieces?
Hi Vassiliki, I think you could get away with chopping the bar into chocolate chip-sized pieces. No need to melt them.
Hello Jenn..I made this for a brunch with my gal pals..turned out amazingly beautiful and tasty..my guests loved it.thanks for sharing the recipe..
My bundt pan is very old and beat up. is there a nonstick coating that would work best for this cake and can I use self-rising flour in place of AP?
Hi Gina, Cooking spray with flour like the kind by Baker’s Joy works well but if your bundt pan is really beaten up the non-stick coating may not be at its best and the cake may stick regardless of what you use. If you want to purchase a new bundt pan, I really like Nordic Ware’s. And for the best, most predictable results, I always think it’s a good idea to use the type of flour called for in the recipe because that’s how the recipe was developed and tested, so I’d stick with all-purpose. Hope that helps! 🙂
I agree that Nordic Ware makes the best bundt pans, but Everbake Food Release spray is unbelievably great for bundt pans! It is not cheap, but lasts a long time and is fool proof. King Arthur sells it.
This one didn’t work for me, all of the chocolate chips sank to the bottom and when I turned it out it fell apart – what did I do wrong?!
Oh no, I’m so sorry you had trouble with this, Ainsley! I’m happy to help troubleshoot — did you by chance make any substitutions?
I used regular milk chocolate chips as I couldn’t find the ones you use (maybe not available in the UK), perhaps they melted too easily?
That’s a bit of a head scratcher as milk chocolate shouldn’t make a difference. Not surprised though that because the chocolate chips sunk to the bottom that they stuck to the pan and contributed to the cake falling apart. If you try this again, maybe try it with mini chocolate chips instead – that should keep them from sinking.
I made this today for the second time and gave it as a gift. I heard back from one of the recipients that it was delicious. I’ve also made the sour cream coffee cake which was a success. I was wondering if the chocolate chip coffee cake cake could be adapted to mini loaf pans. I have made the chai banana cake dividing it into three mini loaves, ( 3” by 5” pans) which I enjoy giving as gifts. Can most of your batter type cakes be adapted to mini loaves with decreasing the baking time. At this time of the year, I enjoy making assortments of smaller sized cakes. Happy holidays to you!
Glad your recipients have liked this! I do think you could bake this in smaller loaf pans successfully. Happy holidays! 🙂
Hi Jenn,
How much cinnamon and sugar do you dust the top with? Rough estimate on the cinnamon would be great. Not as worried about the sugar. Thank you!
HD
Hi HD, I’ve never measured it as I just sprinkle it but if I had to guess, I’d say it would be about 1/4 tsp. Hope you enjoy the cake if you make it!
I love love this recipe and everyone who eats it LOVES LOVES this coffee cake! I’ve made this more than 5 times and this is my favourite coffee cake recipe. Oh my, I’ve been adding way more than 1/4 tsp of cinnamom and icing sugar, I think I’ve been adding 1 tsp of each, should I cut down to 1/4 tsp each or is it 1/4 tsp for both. Thanks again so much for sharing this amazing recipe!
Glad you like this cake, Trish! And no worries about adding more cinnamon and sugar – – if you like the way it tastes and get good reviews, I wouldn’t make any changes! 🙂
Love your recipes! Especially the Rum cake which is now my signature cake. For this cake, should the sour cream be room temperature?
Glad you like the recipes! 🙂 No, it’s not necessary for the sour cream to be at room temp. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Thanks for the answer! I have made this cake twice so far and received raves both times. I did cut back on the chocolate chips the 2nd time and I found I liked it better. Still, it’s an excellent recipe and I will be making it again and again!
I made this after the Cinnamon Swirl coffee cake which was fabulous. However next time I make this cake I think I’ll half the chocolate chips. Still delicious though.
Also, Jenn I coat my cake pans with a recipe of “Magic Cake Pan Release” that I found on the internet and my cakes come out of the pans intact and easily. I make a batch of it and keep it in the refrigerator: the ingredients- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or GF flour); 1/2 shortening and 1/2 vegetable oil. Whisk ingredients thoroughly until combined. Store in airtight container Coat any baking pan with a thin layer. Easy, Peasy and better than spray.
Glad you liked it (and thanks for sharing your recipe for the pan release coating)!
I’ve made this several times; it’s both easy and delicious! I reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup because I find it too sweet otherwise. If I make it for our family, I cut it into thirds and freeze two of the thirds for later, and it defrosts beautifully in the fridge!