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Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake is a soft, buttery breakfast cake loaded with melty chocolate chips and buried under a cinnamon chocolate crumble, and the pan I baked on a *lazy Sunday morning* was half gone before the coffee finished brewing, Lizzie kept sneaking back for crumble. If you love our lemon blueberry coffee cake, this is the chocolate lover”s answer to it.
It is the cake that makes weekend guests think you fussed, when really it is one bowl and a crumble.
Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 40 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour
- 🍽️ Serving: 9 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 560kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Buttery vanilla cake with melty chocolate and cinnamon cocoa crumble
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, no yeast and simpler than our strawberry scones
Quick Answer
Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs, vanilla, sour cream, and vanilla coffee creamer, then mix in flour, baking powder, and baking soda and fold in chocolate chips. Spread the batter in a 9×9 pan, top with a crumble of butter, flour, cocoa, brown sugar, cinnamon, and more chips, and bake the Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Jump to:
- Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake FAQs
- Other Recommended Breakfast Baking Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Sour cream plus creamer. The acidity in sour cream tenderizes the crumb while vanilla coffee creamer adds sweet dairy richness, a double moisture insurance policy.
- Creamed butter base. Creaming the butter and sugar builds tiny air pockets that give the cake its soft, fluffy lift without any yeast.
- A cocoa crumble. Adding cocoa powder and cinnamon to the streusel deepens it into a brownie like topping that will not taste like plain sweet flour.
- Chips in both layers. Folding chips into the batter and the crumble guarantees melty chocolate from the first bite to the last.
- A 9×9 pan. The smaller pan bakes the cake tall and keeps the center moist while the crumble crisps on top.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It is breakfast and dessert at the same time, and nobody complains either way.
- That thick chocolate cinnamon crumble outdoes any bakery version, just like the topping on our cranberry coffee cake.
- One 9×9 pan feeds a weekend crowd and reheats beautifully all week.
Key Ingredients
Here is a quick look at what goes into the buttery cake layer and that over the top chocolate cinnamon crumble.
- Salted Butter: Room temperature butter creams into the sugar for a soft, rich cake and cuts into the crumble for those bakery style clusters.
- Sour Cream: Full fat sour cream keeps the crumb moist and tender for days.
- Vanilla Coffee Creamer: The sneaky ingredient, it adds sweet vanilla richness that plain milk cannot match.
- Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips: A generous amount goes in the batter and the crumble, so there is chocolate in every single bite.
- Cocoa Powder and Cinnamon: They turn the classic streusel into a chocolate cinnamon crumble, the same warm spice angle as our cranberry coffee cake.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake plays well with swaps. Here are the ones we make most.
- No coffee creamer: Use whole milk plus an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract in its place.
- Different chips: Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or a mix with peanut butter chips all shine here.
- Add nuts: Stir chopped pecans or walnuts into the crumble for crunch.
- Mocha version: Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the crumble to deepen the chocolate.
- More chocolate for breakfast: If that is your love language, our double chocolate muffins are calling.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×9 inch pan with parchment. Cream the sugar and butter in a stand mixer until combined.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until creamy, then add the sour cream and coffee creamer and mix until very well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda and beat until the batter is smooth and fluffy.
- Pour in the chocolate chips and fold them through with a rubber spatula.
- Smooth the batter into the prepared baking pan and set it aside while you make the topping.
- Mix the butter, flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, and cinnamon with a pastry cutter or fork until crumbly with bigger and smaller pieces.
- Add the chocolate chips to the crumble and mix until just combined.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cake and bake for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use room temperature everything. Soft butter, room temp eggs, and sour cream blend into a smoother batter that bakes evenly.
- Leave the crumble chunky. Big and small pieces together give the best bakery style topping, do not work it into sand.
- Check at 40 minutes. Test between crumble clusters with a toothpick, melted chocolate streaks are fine, wet batter is not.
- Let it rest 15 minutes. The cake finishes setting as it cools, cutting immediately makes gummy slices.
- Toss chips in flour. A light dusting keeps the batter chips from sinking to the bottom of the pan.
- Serve it warm. Ten seconds in the microwave brings back that melty chip, fresh from the oven magic.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake was made for slow weekend mornings, serve squares slightly warm with hot coffee and watch the pan empty itself.
For a full brunch spread, set it out with our fresh strawberry scones and a batch of baked oats so there is something for everyone.
Bringing breakfast to a crowd? Pair the pan with our baked chocolate chip cake donuts and a fruit platter, done.
Store leftovers covered at room temperature for 3 days or refrigerate up to a week, rewarming slices before serving. It also freezes well cut into squares, the same trick we use with our chocolate chip muffins.
Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake FAQs
Coffee cake is named for what you drink with it, not what goes in it. This Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake is a buttery crumb topped breakfast cake meant to be served alongside a hot cup of coffee, and the vanilla coffee creamer in the batter is a fun nod to the name.
Yes. Bake it the night before, cool it completely, and cover the pan, it stays moist thanks to the sour cream. Rewarm squares for about 10 seconds in the microwave before serving so the chocolate chips go melty again.
Swap the vanilla coffee creamer for an equal amount of whole milk or half and half plus an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract. The cake loses a touch of sweetness, so you can also add an extra tablespoon of sugar to the batter.
Cover the cooled Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake and keep it at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. For longer storage, freeze individual squares wrapped tightly for up to 3 months and thaw overnight.
Yes, multiply the cake and crumble ingredients by 1.5 for a 9×13 pan and start checking for doneness at 45 minutes. The center takes longer in the bigger pan, so tent the top with foil if the crumble darkens before the middle is set.
The batter was likely a little thin or the chips went in unfloured. Toss the chips with a teaspoon of flour before folding them in, and make sure the butter is creamed, not melted, so the batter stays thick enough to hold them in place.
Want more brunch bakes? Our lemon blueberry coffee cake is the bright, fruity counterpart to this one.
For your next coffee companion, try a slice of oreo banana bread.
Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream full-fat
- ½ cup vanilla coffee creamer
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Chocolate Crumble Topping:
- 4 tablespoons salted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Directions for Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Add the sugar and butter to the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and cream until combined.¾ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup salted butter
- Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until creamy.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the sour cream and coffee creamer and mix until very well combined.½ cup sour cream, ½ cup vanilla coffee creamer
- Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda and beat until smooth and fluffy.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Pour in the chocolate chips and fold them in with a rubber spatula.¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Smooth the batter into the prepared baking pan and set aside while preparing the topping.
Directions for Topping:
- Add all ingredients except chocolate chips to a small mixing bowl and mix with a pastry cutter, fork, or hand until the butter is fully incorporated and the topping is crumbly with bigger and smaller pieces.4 tablespoons salted butter, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ cup dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Add the chocolate chips and mix until just combined.½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the cake.
- Place the cake in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Serve warm.
Notes
- Always make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature to ensure a smooth batter.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips gently to avoid deflating the batter.
- Don’t overmix the batter; just stir until the ingredients are combined.
- Check the cake five minutes before the recommended bake time to prevent overbaking.
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack to keep the bottom from getting soggy.
- For a perfect slice, use a serrated knife to cut through the crumb topping cleanly.
Nutrition
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