Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

This easy homemade Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake is a favorite, filled with mini chocolate chips and an irresistible white chocolate glaze on top! Make this for your next special occasion, or just whenever you are craving a sweet treat!

Chocolate chip bundt cake topped with glaze and chocolate chips on a white platter.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: bundt cakes are my favorite kind of cake. They’re easy to make, easy to decorate, easy to share, and the flavors are endless! This one in particular is especially simple, yet still so delicious.

We celebrate half-birthdays with half of a bundt cake, and this particular chocolate chip bundt cake has been used on multiple occasions because my kids love it so much!

For a “fancy” look, I love a chocolate glaze (dark, milk, or white chocolate are all equally delicious!) or leave it plain or dust with powdered sugar for an “everyday” occasion. (Who am I kidding? Everyday calls for a glaze!) Mixed in just one bowl, this cake is minimal effort with maximum deliciousness.

Slice of chocolate chip bundt cake on a white speckled plate with whole cake in background.

Easy Chocolate Chip Cake

There is a good reason why this cake features mini chocolate chips. The mini chocolate chips are the perfect size to ensure an even distribution of chocolate with chocolate in each bite! But consider the mini-chocolate chips a jumping-off point: this cake is perfect for mixing in just about anything. Try white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, crushed Oreos, M&M’s, or even sprinkles!

Now, let’s talk bundt cake pans. For this recipe, we’re using a 10-cup capacity metal bundt pan. Metal conducts heat much better than silicone pans, which tend to have hot spots and leave your cake undercooked in some areas but overcooked in others.

When you are getting the cake out of the pan, there are a few tips and tricks that you might need. If it is slightly stuck, use a rubber spatula or a knife to gently release the sides from the pan. If it is seriously stuck, try placing the pan on a cooling rack and draping a damp, warm towel over the top. The heat and steam should help to release the cake and it should release out onto the cooling wrack.

White Chocolate Glaze

To top off the cake, we’re using a homemade white chocolate glaze. You can, of course, make a chocolate glaze – I just love the contrast between a white glaze and all the dark chocolate chips!

Since the ingredients here are just heavy cream and white chocolate, the “glaze” is technically a ganache that is poured over the top while it’s still soft and liquidy.

Just like a darker chocolate ganache, you can use a double boiler to melt the chocolate with the cream, or you can use a microwave to make the process a little easier. One important tip, however, is to use a white chocolate bar or vanilla melting wafers rather than white chocolate chips. Why is this important? It’s time for my favorite subject… kitchen chemistry!

Kitchen Chemistry

Chocolate chips are designed to retain their shape when baking, so they contain additional stablizers and a lower percentage of cocoa butter, which helps makes them resistant to melting. While chocolate chips will eventually melt at high enough temperatures, the melted chocolate has a grittier texture than using chocolate in bar form.

Chocolate chip bundt cake after being baked, sitting on a cooling wrack.

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake Toppings

This recipe uses a white chocolate glaze to really make the chocolate chips pop, but you can use a number of different toppings on this bundt cake! Here are a few of my favorite options.

  • Chocolate Ganache: Combine 1 cup chopped chocolate + 3/4 cup heavy cream, heat in the microwave and whisk until smooth.
  • Powdered Sugar Glaze: Combine 2 cups confectioners’ sugar + 3 teaspoons heavy cream + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and whisk until smooth.
  • Homemade Whipped Cream: Combine 1 1/2 cups heavy cream + 1/4 cup confectioners sugar + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and whip using a mixer until medium-soft peaks form.
  • Cream Cheese Frosting: Combine 4 ounces cream cheese + 2 cups confectioners’ sugar + 3 tablespoons milk and beat together until smooth.
  • Chocolate Glaze: Combine 1 cup confectioners’ sugar + 1/4 cup cocoa powder + 2 tablespoons heavy cream and whisk together until smooth.

And of course, this cake is also delicious plain or with a simple dusting of powdered sugar!

Top view of whole chocolate chip bundt cake with white chocolate glaze and chocolate chips on top.
  • Stand Mixer: You can use either a stand mixer or a hand mixer to beat together the butter and sugar – this is stand mixer is the ultimate workhorse in my kitchen.
  • Beater Blade: I always used a Beater Blade with my stand mixer to automatically scrape down the sides of the bowl while mixing.
  • 10 Cup Bundt Pan: Metal bundt pans are best for even baking. Most of the fancy bundt pans are 10-cups, but this is one of my favorite shapes, especially with a glaze.
  • Mixing Bowl: This set of mixing bowls has just the right size to make the glaze, and the glass can is both microwave and dishwasher-safe.
  • Cooling Rack: This three-layer cooling rack is foldable for easy storage but sturdy enough to support cooling a bundt cake still in the pan.
Chocolate chip bundt cake cut into slices on a white platter.

Tips and Tricks for the Best Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

  1. Follow the recipe for best results! This cake is extremely tender and moist thanks to the sour cream and buttermilk. I use both to ensure that the cake has a slightly tangy bite and a super tender crumb. The measurements are just right for the perfect vanilla cake with chocolate chips, so follow the recipe for the best results possible!
  2. Let the cake cool slightly before touching it. The trick is to take the cake out of the oven, then turn it upside down onto a cooling wrack. Let the cake sit like this for 10 minutes. It will gently and slowly pull away from the sides of the pan. After 10 minutes, you can check on it and see if it needs help getting out of the pan.
  3. Make sure you get cake batter in all the crevices of the bundt pan! You can spoon the mixture into the pan to make sure that you fill each and every crevice, or bang the pan on the counter a few times before baking to encourage any air pockets to rise to the surface.
  4. If you don’t have a bundt pan, bake this recipe in two 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pans. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out with a moist crumb.
  5. Looking to perfect your bundt cake baking skills?  Definitely give this post on ESSENTIAL BUNDT CAKE TIPS a quick read — it covers everything from how to make sure your bundt cake doesn’t stick to how to prevent the bottom of the cake from doming! 
Slice of cake on a pink plate with blue polka dots and a silver fork.

More Bundt Cake Recipes to Try

slice of bundt cake filled with chocolate chips on a dessert plate

Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Yield: Serves 14
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Homemade Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake is a family favorite, filled with mini chocolate chips and an irresistible white chocolate glaze! Make this for your next special occasion, or just whenever you are craving a sweet treat!

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups (346.5 grams) granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (113 grams) sour cream, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup (151 grams) buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
  • 1 1/2 cups (177 grams) miniature chocolate chips

For the White Chocolate Glaze:

  • 1 cup (170 grams) chopped white chocolate
  • 1/4 cup (57 grams) heavy cream
  • additional miniature chocolate chips, for decorating

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
  2. Make the cake batter. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla paste or extract and sour cream. Beat until smooth. Add in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and half the flour, continuing to mix. Add in the buttermilk, followed by the rest of the flour. Continue to mix just until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the miniature chocolate chips.
  3. Bake the cake. Generously grease and flour a 10-cup metal bundt cake. Pour in the cake batter. Gently but firmly bang the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert it onto a wire rack and cool completely.
  4. Make the glaze. While the cake cools, make the glaze. Combine the chopped white chocolate and heavy cream in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds and stir; repeat this process until a thick but smooth glaze forms.
  5. Decorate the cake. Allow the glaze to cool slightly, then pour it over the cooled cake. Sprinkle additional miniature chocolate chips over the glaze.

Notes

  1. If you use a decorative bundt cake pan with an intricate design, spoon the batter into the pan or bank the pan on the counter several times before placing in the oven to force air bubbles to the surface of the cake.
  2. This recipe can also be baked in two 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pans. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out with a moist crumb.
  3. For different flavor ideas, replace the mini chocolate chips with peanut buttter chips, crushed Oreos, miniature M&Ms, or sprinkles.
  4. Instead of a white chocolate glaze, try chocolate ganache, whipped cream, cream cheese frosting, or a powdered sugar glaze.

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This easy homemade Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake is a family favorite, filled with mini chocolate chips and an irresistible white chocolate glaze on top! Make this for your next special occasion, or just whenever you are craving a sweet treat!