Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Sometimes, you just want a chocolate chip muffin. It’s soft, moist, full of nostalgia and warmth, what’s not to love? But what if you don’t own a muffin tin? Sure, they’re considered a standard piece of kitchen equipment, but many people don’t own one. Which I say is fair, it’s a fairly niche piece of equipment at the end of the day. The muffin tin is a one trick pony, after all. So what are you supposed to do if you fall into that category and don’t have one?

Four words: chocolate chip pound cake. Much like its muffin counterpart, this pound cake is also soft, moist, delicious, and very easy to throw together. No specialty equipment, including a mixer, necessary. The perfect thing to bake with your young children, or after a long day’s work to decompress when you just need that sweet treat. Eat it for breakfast on a lazy Sunday, bring a slice on a picnic, share it with a friend.

FAQs and Science

Why do the eggs and milk need to be at room temperature?

Baking is science, at the end of the day. Delicious, delicious chemistry. To make the emulsification of the batter easier to both form and hold together, the ingredients should all be around the same temperature. Warmth makes that even easier, as it relaxes the proteins in the eggs.

How do I quickly bring the eggs up to room temperature?

Place the eggs into a bowl at the very beginning of the recipe. Cover them with the hottest water that comes out of your sink. By the time it’s egg time, they should be at the perfect temperature! But if something happens and the water has gone cold when you go to use them, you can always just refresh that hot water and wait a few extra minutes.

Could I substitute the semisweet chocolate with milk chocolate?

Technically, you can. It’s your pound cake, after all. But would I recommend it? Not necessarily. It’ll bring a lot more sweetness to the party, and eliminate that slight bitter element. In other words, the cake will have less dimension if you make that swap.

Are you sure that isn’t too much salt?

I’m positive. Many dessert recipes don’t use nearly enough salt, and that’s why they turn out bland. Salt is your baking friend just as much as sugar is.

What You’ll Need

• 9×5 inch loaf pan
• Parchment paper
• Large mixing bowl
• Medium mixing bowl, heat safe
• Dry measuring cups
• Liquid measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Sieve or sifter
• Cooling rack

The Process

To start, get the oven and the pan ready. Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 350F, on the convection setting if you can. Line the bottom and up the two long sides of a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease the two short unlined sides with either butter or a nonstick baking spray. Set the pan aside.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, 1 ½ cups of the chocolate chips together inside of a large mixing bowl. The other ½ cup of chocolate chips should be set aside until right before the cake is baked, when they’ll be sprinkled on top of it.

Take the rubber spatula or a measuring cup and dig out a well in the center of the flour mixture. This well allows easier access to the bottom of the dry goods for the liquid mixture you’ll make. That access reduces the chances of accidentally missing some flour when you stir them together to form the batter.

In a medium, heat-safe mixing bowl, heat the butter until it’s just melted in the microwave. Heat the milk in the measuring cup in the microwave as well, stirring after 30 second increments until it’s warm but not hot to the touch. If the microwave isn’t an option for some reason, they can be heated in a pan on the stove top then transferred to the mixing bowl.

Pour the warmed milk, eggs, and vanilla into the melted butter. Whisk them together until they’re one homogeneous mixture.

Grab the bowl of dry goods and pour all of the liquid mixture into the well you made. Scrape the sides of the bowl, to get as much of it in as you can. Stir them together until the batter comes together, leaving no streaks of flour behind.

Pour the batter into the lined, greased loaf pan, scraping as much in using the rubber spatula as you can. Spread it out evenly throughout the pan.

Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of chocolate chips over the top of the batter. Now, technically this step is optional, but why miss out on more chocolate? My recipes are for the soul, after all.

Place the pan onto the center rack of the heated oven. Bake the cake for 75-80 minutes, flipping it around halfway through baking. The top should be golden brown and a toothpick poked into the center of the cake should come out with a few crumbs and a streak of chocolate stuck to it.

After letting the cake rest for a few minutes in the pan, transfer it over to a cooling rack to finish coming down to room temperature. I use the flaps of parchment to make this process easier.

When it’s completely cooled, dust over the top of the cake with powdered sugar. Technically, this step is also optional, it just makes the cake a bit prettier!

Slice it into 10 servings, or however many your desired amount is, and enjoy! Store any leftover pound cake in an airtight container on the counter for up to one day.

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Bake Time: 350F for 75-80 minutes
Servings: 10 slices
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F, on the convection setting if possible, making sure the rack is positioned in the center of the oven. Line the bottom and up two sides of a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper, and spray the two uncovered sides with a nonstick baking spray. Set this pan aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and 1 ½ cups of the chocolate chips. Using either a rubber spatula or measuring cup, make a well in the center of the dry goods, as shown above. Set them aside.
3. Heat the butter in a medium, heat-safe mixing bowl in the microwave until it’s just melted. Warm the milk in the microwave. Pour in the milk, eggs, and vanilla, and whisk them all together until well combined.
4. Grab the dry goods and pour the liquid mixture directly into the well you’ve made, using the spatula to scrape as much of the liquid in as you can. Stir the two together until it becomes one batter, leaving no streaks of flour behind.
5. Take the lined loaf pan and pour the finished batter into it, scraping as much in as can be. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of chocolate chips over the top of the loaf and place it in the center rack of the hot oven. Bake it for 75-80 minutes, flipping the quick bread halfway through baking.
6. Allow the bread to rest in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer it over to a cooling rack. Once it’s cooled completely to room temperature, dust it with powdered sugar and slice it. Serve at room temperature and save any leftover bread in an airtight container for up to one day.

Tips

• Fully baked and cooled chocolate chip pound cake can be frozen. Follow the recipe as written, then after portioning it out, place the slices into a freezer safe bag. Freeze the cake for up to 3 months.
• Place the loaf pan onto a baking sheet while it bakes to make moving it in and out of the oven much easier.