This chocolate chip pound cake is a decadent, rich and buttery sour cream pound cake filled with chocolate chips. Top with this chocolate chip bundt cake with a deliciously sweet chocolate icing. Enjoy this easy to make chocolate chip cake for breakfast, brunch, as a snack or dessert.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
I absolutely adore a simple, but decadent cake. Pound cakes are endlessly versatile, incredibly delicious and so simple to make. My Buttermilk Pound Cake, Blueberry Pound Cake, Blackberry Pound Cake and Funfetti Vanilla Pound Cake are just a few of my favorite pound cake recipes on the blog. This chocolate chip pound cake is another addition I am so excited to share with you.
- It has the perfect rich, buttery and tender texture. This chocolate chip cake has the perfect pound cake like crumb scented with cozy vanilla and filled with chocolate chips.
- Easy to make with simple ingredients. This butter sour cream pound cake is made with simple ingredients like flour, butter, sugar, eggs, sour cream and chocolate chips. It comes together quickly and easily making it the perfect cake for any occasion.
Ingredients
This sour cream chocolate chip bundt cake requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need:
Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
Wet Ingredients: Gather butter, granulated sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract and chocolate chips.
Chocolate Icing for Pound Cake
Gather butter, chocolate chips, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk.
Substitutions
This chocolate chip pound cake bundt is as easy to make as it is delicious. Here are my recommended ingredient substitutions if you need them.
- All purpose flour: To make this pound cake gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Baking Powder: This acts as leavener in this chocolate chip cake recipe. Substitute with ¼ teaspoon baking soda.
- Unsalted Butter: Feel free to use an equal amount of salted butter in place of the unsalted butter. Just make sure to omit the added salt.
- Granulated Sugar: This sour cream pound cake recipe calls for granulated sugar, but maple sugar would also work well to make this refined sugar free.
- Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Sour Cream: A thick and creamy greek yogurt works well as a replacement in this pound cake recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: This is more for background flavor and nicely enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Chocolate Chips: I like to use semi sweet chocolate chips in my pound cake bundt cake recipe, but feel free to use any chocolate chips you like.
- Chocolate Icing: This chocolate chip pound cake is made truly decadent when topped with this homemade chocolate icing. However, you can enjoy plain or with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Variation
Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake: This recipe for sour cream chocolate chip pound cake can easily be made in a loaf pan. If you would like to follow the recipe as written, divide the pound cake batter into (2) 9 x 5 loaf pans. Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 50 - 65 minutes. To make this as a single chocolate chip pound cake loaf in a 9 x5 loaf pan, follow these measurements:
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 large eggs (US), room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 g) sour cream, room temperature
Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 45 - 65 minutes.
How To Make
Here’s how to make this chocolate iced pound cake with chocolate chips in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F (163 C). Grease a 10- inch (12 cup capacity) bundt pan with nonstick spray. Use a pastry brush to work the nonstick spray into all the grooves of the pan. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until well combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat in the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This takes about 2 - 3 minutes at medium speed. On low beat in the eggs and vanilla extract one at a time, waiting until the previous ingredient is just combined before adding the next. Mix until well combined.
- By hand or on the lowest mixing speed, mix the dry ingredients into the wet alternating with the sour cream until the batter is just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Evenly scoop the pound cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake the pound cake bundt for 55 - 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the moist chocolate chip pound cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool the cake in the loaf pan for 10 minutes. Invert the pan so the top of the bundt cake is now on the bottom or a serving plate or cooling rack. Cool completely before topping with the chocolate icing.
- Place the chocolate chips and butter in a mixing bowl. Melt in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring in between until fully melted. Mix into powdered sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir until smooth and fully combined. If needed add more milk for a thinner glaze or more powdered sugar for a thicker chocolate icing.
- Pour the chocolate icing over the cooled chocolate chip sour cream cake. Allow 30-45 minutes for the glaze to set, slice and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
Store leftover pound cake: Place the slices in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 - 4 days. Transfer to the fridge for another 1 - 2 days.
Freeze the buttery chocolate chip cake: Individually wrap each slice of cake in plastic wrap. Place each wrapped slice in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Thaw the sour cream pound cake: Remove your desired number of pieces to sit out at room temperature or in the fridge until fully thawed and enjoy!
M’s Expert Tips
- Use a non-stick spray to prevent the cake from sticking to the bundt pan. If needed, take a pastry brush or even a clean paper towel and work the spray into all the grooves of the pan.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature: This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in moist and perfectly mixed chocolate chip pound cake.
- Don’t overmix the cake batter: Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Cool the cake in the pan for no longer than 10 -15 minutes. If you try to remove the cake before 10 minutes, the cake may still be too hot to remove without falling apart. Removing the cake after 15 minutes may cause the cake to stick to the pan more easily.
- Fully cool the cake before applying the icing. This usually takes about 30 - 45 minutes after the cake has been removed from the pan or about an hour after the cake has been removed from the oven.
FAQs
Any cake can be a bundt cake so long as it’s baked in a bundt pan. Pound cakes are a dense, buttery cake that is traditionally made with a pound each of butter, sugar, flour and eggs.
This can happen as a result of too much flour in relation to the butter and sugar. An easy way to prevent this is to use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients versus using measuring cups. Another possibility is the oven temperature being too high (use an internal oven thermometer) or baking the pound cake for too long (check for doneness at the beginning of the baking tine range).
Store the pound cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 - 5 days.
Other Bundt Cake Recipes to Try
If you try this Chocolate Chip Pound Cake recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! -M
Chocolate Chip Pound Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 1 10 inch (12 cup) capacity bundt pan
Ingredients
Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
- 3 cups (360 g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups (339 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs (US), room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 g) sour cream, room temperature
- 2 cups (340 g) semi sweet chocolate chips
Chocolate Icing
- 2 oz. (60 g) chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter
- 1 - 1½ cups (120 - 180 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 2 - 3 tbsp (30 - 45 ml) milk, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F (163 C). Grease a 10- inch (12 cup) capacity bundt pan with nonstick spray. Work the nonstick spray into all the grooves of the pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until well combined.3 cups (360 g) all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat in the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. This takes about 2 - 3 minutes at medium speed.1½ cups (339 g) unsalted butter, room temperature, 1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- On low beat in the eggs and vanilla extract one at a time, waiting until the previous ingredient is just combined before adding the next. Mix until well combined.5 large eggs (US), room temperature, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract
- By hand or on the lowest mixing speed, mix the dry ingredients into the wet alternating with the sour cream until the batter is just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.1 cup (240 g) sour cream, room temperature, 2 cups (340 g) semi sweet chocolate chips
- Evenly scoop the pound cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake the pound cake bundt for 55 - 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the moist chocolate chip pound cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the cake in the loaf pan for 10 minutes. Place a serving plate or even another cooling rack on top of the bundt pan. Invert the pan so the top of the bundt cake is now on the bottom. Gently tap all around the pan to help loosen any pieces of cake that may be stuck and lift up the pan. Cool completely before topping with the chocolate icing. Cool completely before topping with the chocolate icing.
- Place the chocolate chips and butter in a mixing bowl. Heat the mixture in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring in between until fully melted. Mix the melted chocolate and butter into the powdered sugar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of milk. Stir until smooth and fully combined. If needed add more milk for a thinner glaze or more powdered sugar for a thicker chocolate icing.2 oz. (60 g) chocolate chips, 2 tablespoon (28 g) unsalted butter, 1 - 1½ cups (120 - 180 g) powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract, 2 - 3 tablespoon (30 - 45 ml) milk, room temperature
- Pour the chocolate icing over the cooled chocolate chip sour cream cake. Allow 30-45 minutes for the glaze to set, slice and enjoy.
Holly says
Your loaf pan conversion recipe includes lemon - I’m assuming I should not include this?
Megan says
Hi Holly, thank you for catching that error. There is no lemon in this chocolate chip pound cake. Enjoy!
Sunaina Mannan says
This cake was easy to make. Thanks for the clear instructions with the ingredients IN the instructions which was super helpful. This cake was really nice.
Megan says
Hi Sunaina, thank you so much for the kind review. I am so happy you enjoyed the cake!