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Chocolate Chip Crumb Pound Cake

This delightful Chocolate Chip Crumb Pound Cake features a sweet topping and swirl flavored with chocolate, cinnamon, and sugar. - Bake or Break

Pound cake isn’t exactly revolutionary. It’s been around for ages. Sure, it’s gotten tweaked here and there over the years with some deviations from the standard pound ratio idea. But, there’s no mistaking the dense, buttery taste of pound cake.

This particular variation features a big boost of flavor with a crumb filling and topping made of chocolate chips, cinnamon, and sugar. I don’t know about you guys, but that combination pretty much always gets me excited about dessert.

This delightful Chocolate Chip Crumb Pound Cake features a sweet topping and swirl flavored with chocolate, cinnamon, and sugar. - Bake or Break

This is the kind of cake that is a well-recieved dessert as well as a wonderful indulgence for a coffee break. The flavors are perfect, a wonderful combination of basic ingredients. It gets a little extra flavor from some cream cheese and just the right amount of almond extract.

You’ll want to share this one. It’s a big, tall cake just perfect for a casual gathering.

Chocolate Chip Crumb Pound Cake

Yield 12 to 16 servings
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Total Time 2 hours

This delightful pound cake features a sweet topping and swirl flavored with chocolate, cinnamon, and sugar.

This delightful Chocolate Chip Crumb Pound Cake features a sweet topping and swirl flavored with chocolate, cinnamon, and sugar. - Bake or Break

Ingredients

For the crumb topping:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For the cake:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 & 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

To make the crumb topping:

  1. Combine the flour, brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon.
  2. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture is moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

To make the cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch fixed bottom tube pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the paper.
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in 3 portions, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and almond extract.
  4. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.
  5. Transfer half of the batter to the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the crumb mixture evenly over the batter. Top with the remaining cake batter. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top of the cake batter and press gently into the batter.
  6. Bake 1 hour 35 minutes, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  7. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack.
  8. Run a knife around the sides of the pan. Invert the cake onto a flat plate or cutting board. Place another plate or cutting board on the bottom of the cake and invert again.

Notes

Recipe slightly adapted from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook.

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    24 Comments on “Chocolate Chip Crumb Pound Cake”

  1. I would absolutely love a big slice of this for breakfast with my coffee — it looks so moist and delicious!

  2. Oooh, that looks good! I love casual cakes because you don’t need an excuse to make them, and this looks like something I might be able to get away with having for breakfast.

  3. With the amount of butter & cream cheese, I am surely going to love this cake. Have always liked the chocolate chip/cinnamon combo.

  4. Coffee cake is a delicious classic! Love the chocolate chip crumbs in the middle.

  5. Can this be made in a 10 cup or larger Bundt pan?

  6. This is probably the best streusel I’ve ever seen! Love that it’s chocolate chip-full.

  7. I love the streusel!And the chocolate chips are perfection 🙂

  8. Looks so good! Does it have to be made in s fixed bottom tube pan or would a two piece work? Thanks!

  9. YUM! Adding it to my list to make ASAP.

  10. oooooh yes! Pound cake isn’t usually my favorite but when you add choc chips and crumb topping??! YES!

  11. Looks delicious! Do you think this would work in two loaf pans instead of the tube pan?

    • Hi, Jason. You should be able to use loaf pans. There was no extra room in my 10-cup tube pan, so I’d recommend using pans that will total the same volume so you don’t end up with a mess.

  12. Jennifer, do you have any tricks for getting a crumb top cake flipped and keep the topping on? I seem to lose a lot of the topping when I have to flip the cake and flip it back. Wondered if you have any good suggestions on doing that and retaining most of the topping. Thanks for another great recipe!!

    • Linda, it helps to press the crumb gently into the batter before baking. I inevitably lose a little bit, but not enough to matter.

      • Thanks, Jennifer! I did see you did a plate for the flip and thought that might help. I have some serious pound cake addicts and I’m baking them one a week for the rest of the year. LOL. I think this one is #38 for this coming week. HA!

  13. Thanks Jennifer…all of your replies are so helpful. Hope mine turns out as nicely as yours did!

  14. I love this, it looks like a coffee cake.. love crumb topping of any kind

  15. Made this one last night. I might have pressed the crumb in a bit much so it was a little flat looking instead of crumbly but I lost little when I inverted it and rotated it again as you indicated. I have to say it was HARD not removing it from the pan until it was totally cooled. I SO wanted to turn it out sooner but I trusted you on it and I have to say it turned out beautiful and plopped out easy as pie (or cake!). It’s a big one so use a big pan. HA I am envisioning my favorite gardeners going to the coffee bar this morning and seeing that beauty waiting for them to cut into it (and they will not hesitate longer than it takes to find a knife!) LOL

    Definitely a keeper recipe! Thanks, Jennifer.

  16. This cake was a hit with my kids. Definitely a keeper! Moist, tender and delicate. I think the lower cooking temperature helps prevent the cake from getting dry. Thanks for sharing!

  17. I would like to print this recipe but don’t see where the print button is.

  18. so good .. My 12 year old daughter was home today so we decide it to try the recipe . i made her bake ,,it gives her some time off the internet lol.. i must say the cake is so tasty and amazing so easy too … thanks for sharing your lovely recipe

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