I’m a big believer in simple recipes. If I were to guess, I’d say that the majority of you are believers, too. Dessert doesn’t have to be complicated to be good. Who’s with me?
I made this cake with a couple of my favorite ingredients, chocolate and pecans. The cake itself is packed with brown sugar and a touch of cinnamon for a little something extra.
The frosting, if we can dare call it that, is the very simplest kind imaginable. Placing chocolate chips on the warm cake will yield a rich, sweet topping. If you want to simplify even further, the cake is good enough on its own to make the frosting optional.
This little cake is a great example of baking simplicity. It’s quick to mix and easy to love. You can feel comfortable serving this as anything from an after-school snack to a post-dinner dessert to a late-night snack. Just serve it right out of the baking pan.
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softenend
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup + 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
Bet butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Mix in vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Stir in sour cream. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips and pecans.
Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake 28-32 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Set cake on wire rack. Sprinkle 3/4 cup chocolate chips on top of warm cake. Wait 5 minutes. Then, using an offset spatula, spread chocolate to cover top of cake. Allow cake to cool completely.
Notes
Use any kind of chocolate chips you'd like. If you're going to frost the cake, I recommend semisweet chips in the cake and for the frosting. Without the frosting, milk chocolate chips work well in the cake.
September 4th, 2012 at 7:43 am
One more reason to be excited about fall! I tend to stop baking in the summer (Billy’s Bakery picked up my slack) but this will definitely go on my list for when I start up again. Hope your packing/move prep is going well!
September 4th, 2012 at 8:01 am
This sounds super delicious! Gotta love a quick cake like this one
September 4th, 2012 at 11:44 am
i love snack cake.
let’s have snack cake for a snack? lol
i’ve lost my baking mojo. Have you seen it?
September 4th, 2012 at 12:04 pm
making this today for back to school afternoon snack! Thanks
September 4th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
My husband adores chocolate chip cookies! I imagine he would be very happy with a huge slice of the Chocolate Chip Snack Cake. Perhaps served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream just because! A scrumptious post!
September 4th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Looks wonderful Jen I’ll have to make this probably modify it poking holes in it with a wooden chopstick then pouring over the top with some melted dark chocolate. (Yum Yum cake) Don’t know if you’ve seen this but I got me one of these chocolate Melting Pots awhile back at Walmart for ~$20 to do truffles (see below) much easier to melt chocolate. I just throw any good quality chocolate mixture in it for a few minutes and away you go.
http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Chocolate-Pro-Electric-Melting/dp/B000H849V6
September 4th, 2012 at 5:54 pm
I just love everything you make! This is definitely next on my list!
September 4th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
If i didnt want to add pecans should i add more chocolate chips?
September 4th, 2012 at 6:29 pm
Blast from the past! I swear we used to have this when I was growing up in the 70s, though I think from a mix. I made it without nuts & frosting (as I remember it back then) and can’t wait to dig in. Thanks!
September 4th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Stephanie, you can add more chocolate chips or just omit the pecans and not replace them.
September 5th, 2012 at 1:51 am
this cake looks perfect! what a great thing to pack for work to go with your morning coffee
September 7th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
This looks like a perfect rainy day treat. At least in my house, chocolate chips make a rainy day better. Yum!
September 8th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
This looks amazing. In fact, I am making it right now. Hopefully it will last until tomorrow’s Bears football party!
September 9th, 2012 at 2:26 pm
It’s like an Easy Bake Oven Cake for grown-ups!!
September 19th, 2012 at 7:00 am
I made this last week and it was perfect–just the right size, easy to put together and everyone wanted more!
October 9th, 2012 at 9:15 am
That looks delicious, I’ve been looking for a recipe with these, I must try it! Pecans, cinnamon and chocolate are my favourite ingredients. I’ll keep you posted.
October 13th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
Looks great! How do you think it’ll taste without the nuts? Thanks!!!!
October 14th, 2012 at 8:26 am
Naomi, it should work fine. You can add a few more chocolate chips if you’d like!
November 1st, 2012 at 11:56 am
This recipe looks amazing! I am defiantly going to make this soon! Great pictures as well! Good luck with your blog.
February 1st, 2013 at 11:09 am
Hi. This sounds like a great recipe. Just wondering, can I replace butter with oil? Thanks. Im so going to do make this.
February 2nd, 2013 at 4:53 am
I just baked it with butter anyway. Everyone loves it! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
February 2nd, 2013 at 10:46 am
Hi, Lay! I’m sorry I couldn’t respond sooner. Substituting oil for butter in cakes will work, at least sometimes. It’s not a straight substitution. I’d try using about 3/4 of the amount of butter listed in the recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed the cake! If you should try baking it with oil, please let me know how it works.
April 6th, 2013 at 2:36 am
Hey! I’ve tried with both oil and butter. The oil version is a slightly drier but feels healthier. The butter is more moist and feels buttery (? as it is supposed to). Both versions have its own fans I should say.
I’ve even tried to add cocoa powder to half of the mix so I can swirl it. This is such a no fail recipe, thanks!