Loaded with mini chocolate chips and smothered with a whipped chocolate buttercream, this easy-to-make Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake is the perfect treat any time of the day, especially with a cool glass of milk! Simple, buttery and moist, this chocolate chip loaf cake will be a welcome addition to your recipe collection.
Lou’s recipe overview
SKILL: Beginner
TASTE: Rich and buttery with hints of chocolate
PROS: The perfect everyday treat
CONS: You can’t stop eating it!
When you’re looking for an easy bake that looks as good as it tastes then this chocolate chip loaf cake is the one recipe you know you can rely on – that chocolate hit, the buttery sponge and all that smooth and creamy buttercream!
I love making this loaf cake for ‘just because’ moments; because in my book you should never actually need an excuse for cake. But if you really do need an excuse to make this cake, stick a couple of candles in the top and turn it into a birthday cake, add some sprinkles, get everyone together and have a party!
Now I know you will love this loaf cake just as much as me, especially when I tell you about the…
- Absolutely no-fuss and no special skills required recipe – just bake, cool and ice, it really is that easy
- Light and fluffy butter cake sponge that melts in your mouth
- Smooth and creamy, whipped chocolate buttercream – how can you resist not eating it with a spoon
- Easy to adapt for any celebration or occasion and perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up
- Decorate with anything you fancy – sprinkles, sweeties, chocolate and more
So if you’re looking for an easy weekend bake, why not try it out!
Ingredients and substitutions
Check out my shopping list for ingredients and equipment
This choc chip loaf cake is made with simple ingredients and I’m certain that if you’re a keen baker you’ll have all of these in your pantry. So when you’re ready go and grab…
- Chocolate Chips – I have recently discovered Guittard Baking Chips and absolutely love them for baking inside of cakes, cookies etc as they are nice and stable and do not melt giving you lovely pockets of chocolate in your bakes. If I can’t get Guittard then I also love Callebaut chocolate chips
- Plain Flour or All-Purpose Flour – You can also use self-raising flour, just leave out the baking powder
- Unsalted Butter – Unsalted gives you more control of how much salt you have in your recipe, just add a pinch of fine sea salt. You can also use slightly salted butter if you prefer
- Eggs – Remember if you keep your eggs in the fridge, let them come up to room temperature before using them. Take them out of the fridge about 15-30 minutes before you’re ready to start baking
- Golden Caster Sugar or Superfine Sugar – I like to use a golden caster sugar as it gives a little extra flavour; but a white caster sugar works just as well
- Full-fat Milk or Semi-skimmed Milk – You could swap for the milk for a plant-based milk such as oat milk or unsweetened almond milk
- Baking Powder
- Mini Cookies – These are for decoration; you can either make your own or grab some of the mini cookie bags from the supermarket
- Cocoa Powder – For this recipe, I want a light chocolate buttercream so I use a regular unsweetened cocoa powder, or you can use a hot chocolate powder like Cadburys instead
- Double Cream or Heavy Cream
- Icing Sugar
- Fine Sea Salt
Recommended ingredients
CONVERT TO CUPS: There is a cup conversion option in the recipe card to convert the ingredients. This is automatic and I can’t guarantee the accuracy. For best baking results, I recommend using digital scales and weighing the ingredients.
Equipment you will need
Like the ingredients, you’ve probably got everything you need in your kitchen cupboards. These are the exact tools that I use to make this loaf cake…
- 1lb Loaf Tin – This is the perfect size for this cake – it will give your cake height for the perfect slice. If you don’t have a loaf tin you could use an 8-inch cake pan instead
- Large mixing bowl
- Handheld mixer – This Breville handmixer is my new favourite piece of kit I love the softening function if your butter isn’t quite up to room temperature
- Rubber spatula
- Baking Parchment
- Digital Kitchen Scales
- Piping Bag
- Petal Tip Nozzle – I love using this style nozzle to decorate the top of my loaf cakes with a ribbon of buttercream, but you can use any nozzle you like or just smother it on with an angled palette knife
How to make chocolate chip loaf cake
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the recipe card
I know I’ve said that this loaf cake couldn’t be any easier to make. So you might be wondering why you need to read the full details. Well, while it’s simple, there are a few hints and tips to make sure it turns out perfectly, so take a few minutes to go through the recipe.
Here’s everything you have to do…
The choc-chip cake
- In a large bowl add the butter and caster sugar and beat together until you have a pale and fluffy consistency; this should take about 3-4 minutes
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. You should end up with a runny batter. Don’t worry if it starts to split, add 1 tablespoon of flour to the mixture to bring it back together
- Sieve together the flour, baking powder, and salt if using; fold through the batter until everything is well combined
- Add in the milk and and stir through, the mixture will look thick and wet
- Scatter in the chocolate chips and gently fold through so they are evenly distributed. Save some chocolate chips to scatter over the top of the cake
When your cake batter is ready, pour it into a loaf pan lined with baking parchment and bake for 40-45 minutes until golden, then turn out onto a wire rack to completely cool.
TOP TIP: If you’re in a rush you can use the all-in-one method, but I prefer to use the creaming method as you whip air into the cake batter, helping it rise and giving you a light and fluffy texture
The whipped chocolate buttercream
For the buttercream, I use a half batch of my ultimate chocolate buttercream, and as I want a lighter chocolate flavour I use half the cocoa powder quantity. You can also use hot chocolate powder for a lighter chocolate flavour as well.
- Whisk the butter and the salt, if adding, until very pale and fluffy in a large bowl; this should take about 4-5 minutes
- Add half the icing sugar and mix well; the buttercream should be smooth and creamy
- Add half the cocoa powder and mix well
- Add half the double cream and the vanilla extract and keep mixing keeping the buttercream soft and smooth
- Add the remaining icing sugar, cocoa powder and double cream mixing well until you reach a smooth and spreadable consistency.
TOP TIP: Check out my guide to the best chocolate buttercream to find out all my top tips and hints
Tips for success
If you follow the recipe the I trust you, you can’t go wrong with this chocolate chip loaf cake. But here a few of my top baking tips that will help you absolutely nail this cake every time…
- Weigh your ingredients – If you’re looking for the perfect bake whatever you are making, invest in a set digital kitchen scales and change your bakes forever! You’ll find all my recipes are in weights rather than volume, as volume can be so hit and miss. Did you know that 1 cup of flour can give you 150% of the correct amount required – and that will have a huge effect on your results, so always weigh!
- Use room temperature eggs – Using cold eggs straight from the fridge can cause your batter to curdle. Ensuring you take your eggs out of the fridge 10-15 minutes before you start baking makes them easier to whisk and gives them lots of volume, helping keep your cake light and fluffy
- Use room temperature butter – Starting with nice and soft butter is the key to the perfectly light and fluffy cake. It will make it easier to cream the butter and sugar together and helps incorporate air into the batter. Taking your butter out of the fridge the night before should make sure it’s just right. You want to be able to make a dent with your finger, but not go right through.
FAQs about chocolate chip loaf cake
I prefer to use a 1lb loaf tin for this recipe to get the perfect depth for your cake. If you only have a 2lb loaf tin, you can use this but the cake will not be as deep. Alternatively you can split the batter into a mini loaf tin pan and make individual servings.
The recipe will make 10-12 slices, depending on how thick you slice them!
The cake is best stored in an air-tight container; either whole or as individual slices.
The cake will keep for 3-4 days if stored correctly in an air-tight container.
The loaf cake can be frozen, either as individual slices or as a whole loaf. If freezing as soon as you have made the cake, freeze without the buttercream and make this when you are ready to serve. If you are freezing leftovers, these can be frozen with the buttercream on.
Make sure when freezing that you wrap the cake well in clingfilm. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months and defrost thoroughly before eating.
If you have any leftover buttercream – freeze it! It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure to keep it in a freezer-proof air-tight container to prevent ice crystals forming. When ready to use, fully defrost the frosting in the fridge then bring it up to room temperature and mix well before using.
More easy cake recipes to try
If you liked this chocolate chip loaf cake recipe here are some other recipes that I think you’d enjoy…
Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 125 g Unsalted Butter
- 150 g Golden Caster Sugar or Superfine Sugar
- 2 Eggs Medium
- 100 ml Full-fat Milk or Semi-skimmed Milk
- 225 g Plain Flour or All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 120 g Chocolate Chips
- ¼ tsp Fine Sea Salt Optional
For the buttercream and decoration
- 125 g Unsalted Butter
- 225 g Icing Sugar or Powdered Sugar
- 25 g Cocoa Powder or Hot Chocolate Powder
- 30 ml Double Cream or Heavy Cream
- ¼ tsp Fine Sea Salt Optional
- 25 g Mini Cookies
Instructions
To make the cake
- Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F and line a 1lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
- in a large mixing bowl, add the butter and caster sugar and using a handheld mixer whisk everything together until well combined and you have a pale and fluffy consistency. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Alternatively you can just a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.125 g Unsalted Butter, 150 g Golden Caster Sugar
- Add the eggs, one at a time, to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat well between adding each egg until the batter is pale in colour. If the mixture starts to split, don't panic, just fold in a tablespoon of the flour.2 Eggs
- Sieve together the plain flour, baking powder and fine sea salt, then gently fold into the cake mixture, until you get a silky smooth cake batter.1 tsp Baking Powder, 1/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt, 225 g Plain Flour
- Add the milk to the cake batter and and stir through, the mixture will look thick and wet.100 ml Full-fat Milk
- Scatter in the chocolate chips into the cake batter; saving a handful for scattering on top later. Gently fold the chocolate chips through the batter so they are evenly distributed.120 g Chocolate Chips
- Pour the cake batter into the lined loaf tin and scatter over the remaining chocolate chips. Place the filled loaf tin on a baking tray.
- Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes until golden on top. Test the cake with a skewer, if it comes out clean the cake is ready; if not bake for a further 5 minutes and test again.
- When the cake is baked, remove from the oven and using the baking parchment lift the loaf cake out of the pan straight away. Place on a wire rack to cool.
To make the buttercream
- In a large bowl or stand mixer with the whisk or paddle attachment, add the butter and salt and mix together for 3-4 minutes until soft, pale and fluffy.125 g Unsalted Butter, 1/4 tsp Fine Sea Salt
- Add half of the icing sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing into the butter between each addition until well combined and smooth.225 g Icing Sugar
- Add half the cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing into the butter mixture between each addition until well combined and smooth.25 g Cocoa Powder
- Add half the double cream and mix again. The mixture should be thick and smooth.30 ml Double Cream
- Repeat, adding the icing sugar, cocoa powder and double cream, mixing everything together until well combined and smooth. You may not need to use all the double cream. If the buttercream frosting is too stiff, add another tablespoon of double cream and mix through.
To decorate
- When the cake has cooled, pipe the buttercream over the top of the cake using a piping bag and nozzle; I prefer to use a petal tip for big ribbons of buttercream. Top with mini cookies and any leftover chocolate chips.25 g Mini Cookies
- When you're ready, slice the loaf cake to serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
DISCLAIMER
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
