This moist sour cream chocolate chip cake is incredibly tasty and is perfect for serving at get togethers or as a special family dessert.
Sour cream based cakes are some of my all-time favorites. And this chocolate chip recipe has an amazing texture and a flavor that will knock your socks off!
There are times when life is so hectic I don’t know if it will ever let up. And over the years, I’ve learned those are the times when it’s important to slow down and give myself a little reward.
And this recipe has been one I’ve turned to on numerous occasions over the years. Not only do I find baking cathartic, there’s something about chocolate that just makes everything better!
Make sure to bookmark or pin this recipe so you can make it again and again.
So if you are looking for a moist and wonderfully flavored cake, I’m confident this one will be exactly what you’re looking for.
Related Recipe: Chocolate cake using coffee
How to Make a Chocolate Chip and Sour Cream Cake from Scratch

With all the premade mixed cake options in the store, sometimes we forget how rewarding baking from scratch can be.
Yes, the flavor is absolutely worth the extra effort, but it’s so much more than that. Baking from scratch forces us to slow down, and in this ever hectic life, that has a restorative effect that’s hard to come by.
And when I gather all my ingredients and start baking, I instantly feel at ease. That’s probably what I love most about this recipe.
And even though we will be making our cake from scratch, it’s not difficult and doesn’t take all that much time to do.
Prep time is under ten minutes and bake time comes in at just about one hour. For equipment, you will need a mixing bowl, hand mixer, and a round baking pan similar to an angel food cake pan.
Related: Chocolate ganache recipe
Ingredients

So even though we’re baking our cake from scratch, the ingredients we need are all common. And there’s a decent chance you have what you need on hand already.
And even if you don’t, there’ll all easy to find at any grocery store.
Ingredients List
- Butter (softened)
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Sour Cream
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Butter: Go with unsalted butter if you have it. This will allow you to better control the amount of salt in your cake. If you do go with salted butter, reduce the amount of added salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
Sour Cream: I recommend using whole fat sour cream for this cake. While you can go with a lower fat content version if you wish, I’ve found whole fat sour cream produces the best texture.
Chocolate Chips: While I always use semi-sweet chocolate chips, I’ve heard from a number of readers asking if milk chocolate chips can be used. And while I have not yet tried them myself, there is no reason not to if that’s your preferred type of chocolate chip.
Related Recipe: Chocolate Chip Muffins
Step by Step Recipe Instructions

I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised at how simple this recipe is to prepare. It’s really quite straight forward and simple.
In fact, the only real issue I’ve received from a few readers is that not everyone has an angel food cake style pan available.
While I highly recommend making this recipe with that style of baking pan, you can go with a standard sheet cake or layer cake pan set if that’s all you have on hand. But you need to use caution to not over bake your cake.
You will want to reduce bake time to around 40-50 minutes instead. But, you can also invest in an angel food cake pan, they are great for having on hand and I use mine all the time.
Anyway, on to baking that cake!
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Step 2: Grease your baking pan and set aside
Step 3: In your mixing bowl, cream your butter and sugar
Step 4: Mix in your eggs and vanilla extract
Step 5: Add you baking soda, salt and baking powder
Step 6: While mixing, gradually add your flour and sour cream, alternating between the two until well blended
Step 7: Stir in your chocolate chips
Step 8: Bake in preheated oven for 60-75 minutes. Your cake is done when inserted skewer comes out clean.
Step 9: Cool on a wire rack, serve and enjoy!
Related Recipe: Coconut cream cheese frosting

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake
Equipment
- 1 Hand Mixer
- 1 Mixing Bowl
- 1 Angel Food Cake Pan
Ingredients
- 8 Tbs Butter softened
- 2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 4 Large Eggs
- 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 16 oz Sour Cream
- 12 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Grease your baking pan and set aside
- In your mixing bowl, cream your butter and sugar
- Mix in your eggs and vanilla extract
- Add you baking soda, salt and baking powder
- While mixing, gradually add your flour and sour cream, alternating between the two until well blended
- Stir in your chocolate chips
- Bake in preheated oven for 60-75 minutes. Your cake is done when inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack, serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Recipe Notes
- This cake is wonderful served with coffee or tea
- You can serve it as is or top with a number of great flavors. Dust with powdered sugar for a classic presentation.
- It can also be drizzled in your favorite glaze or chocolate sauce.
- I’ve also found it tastes amazing with cream cheese or even cream cheese frosting
- Store your cake in an airtight container for up to four days at room temperature.