This is the ultimate Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Pound Cake. Super moist, buttery, and tender with the perfect amount of chocolate chips. Perfect for breakfast or dessert!
If you love making sweet bread, check out my Carrot Cake Loaf and my Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread. They are both perfect every time!
I’ve always been a huge fan of pound cake and when you add in mini chocolate chips I love it even more! This Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Pound Cake is soft and moist with just a hint of vanilla.
I tried different variations of this pound cake. I found that fewer eggs and sour cream made the best pound cake. It was light, airy, and buttery. Too many eggs made the cake spongy and dense.
One of the biggest tips I have for making a great pound cake is to bring all of your cold ingredients to room temperature. This creates a smoother batter resulting in a lighter tender cake.
This pound cake is perfect for breakfast or dessert!
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Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
- Butter: Nothing beats a rich & butter cake! Butter also adds tons of moisture.
- Sugar: Sugar is added for sweetness. Also, when it is creamed together with the butter it produces air pockets resulting in a lighter crumb.
- Eggs: Eggs bing everything together and add a little height.
- Sour Cream: This brings more moisture and a little tanginess to the chocolate chip pound cake.
- Baking powder & baking soda: These two key ingredients help the pound cake to rise, making it less dense.
- Chocolate chips: I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips, however, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or bittersweet are great substitutions.
How to make Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
- Cream butter and sugar: In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream butter until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add in sugar and mix for an additional minute. Note: This is super important! The cake will fall if the sugar is not creamed for 2-3 minutes. Creaming the butter and sugar produces air pockets which help the cake to rise. I know it’s such a simple step but this is the difference between the cake rising or not! (My guide on How to Cream Butter and Sugar has some great tips!)
- Add in eggs, sour cream & vanilla: One at a time add in eggs and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Next, add sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. On low speed add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix just until combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Bake: Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and the top is set.
- Cool: Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store: This Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Pound Cake freezes really well. Store it in an airtight freezer bag for up to 2 months!
Tips for making The Best Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
- Don’t over mix the batter. This will lead to a tougher bread.
- Make sure the bread is fully cooked before taking it out of the oven. If the bread is undercooked it will sink in the middle. You can do this by inserting a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready!
- Resist the urge to slice into it right away. Let it cool completely before slicing it.
- Make sure to fully cream the butter for 2-3 minutes and the sugar for 1 minute. This helps to create air pockets and helps the loaf to rise. I tested this cake with only creaming the butter and sugar for a minute versus creaming for 3 minutes and it made a world of difference. The first cake fell and the second cake rose!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between pound cake and regular cake?
It’s all in the name! Originally pound cake was made by adding a pound each of flour, sugar, eggs, and butter, plus some baking soda and baking powder. Regular cake, on the other hand, has various quantities of these ingredients, depending on the recipe.
What is the secret to good pound cake?
My top tip for making the best chocolate chip pound cake is creaming the butter and sugar together for 3 minutes. They become light and fluffy and add air pockets to the loaf helping it to become light and less dense.
How do I make my pound cake more moist?
By adding an ingredient like yogurt, cream cheese, buttermilk, or sour cream (as I did in this recipe) your pound cake will lock in a ton of moisture while it’s cooking.
Here are more sweet bread recipes to enjoy!
- Lemon Blueberry Bread
- Cranberry Orange Bread
- The BEST Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Bread
- Marble Chocolate Banana Bread
Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream butter until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. (This is an important step make sure to cream the butter for a full 2-3 minutes or the cake will fall)Add in sugar and mix for an additional minute.
- Add in eggs one at a time and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Next add in sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.On low speed add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix just until combined. Do not over mix.
- Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour. If the top is getting too brown cover with foil.
- Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Did You Make This?
I’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a review and make sure to share your pictures on social media! Don’t forget to follow @thechefsavvy.
ann
Just about to make this but 2 cups of chocolate chips? A tad too many I’d think 🙂
Kelley Simmons
Feel free to add less!
Cecilia Foster
Easy to make, delicious.
Tammy Richardson
Can I substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream? Also, if the yogurt is vanilla flavors do I still need to add vanilla?
Kelley Simmons
Hi Tammy!
I would use full fat greek yogurt for best results. I would maybe add about half of the vanilla extract in if you yogurt is flavored.
Thanks and enjoy!
Kelley
Tom West..
I followed directions and after 45 minutes too way too soft, not even spongy. Left in at 350 another 15 minutes. Top still way soft but didn’t want to overtake. After cooking tried to slice it and compliment and undone in middle. Baked another 30 minutes and still not done in middle. Oven temp was accurate.
Joanna
Amazing recipe! My family love it. I baked the lift for 40 minutes at 350F and then reduce temperature to 300F for another 30 minutes. Great results. I wish I can add a photo. Thumbs up for this recipe. ♥️😋😋
Kelley Simmons
So happy to hear you and your family enjoyed this recipe Joanna! Thanks so much for sharing!
Epcur
This looks so visually appealing with the little chocolate pieces on top! My dad really loved these.
Glenna Bowie
Add it exactly like the recipe and it tasted great. Used 9 x 5 pan
Andrew A.
Similar to everyone else’s comments, mine collapsed also. Correct pan size, allowed to cool in the pan the 15 minutes. Unsure where I went wrong. Sad!
Kelley Simmons
Hi Andrew,
I am sorry to hear this sunk for you! Did the cake look under baked in the center after you cut into it? Sometimes when the cake is taken out too early and still raw on the inside it will collapse on itself when it cools. I would also double check the oven temperature because that can cause issues as well.
Hope this helps!
Kelley
Emma
I love sweet things. Thanks for the recipe.