Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake: The Breakfast Treat That Actually Lives Up to the Hype

Chocolate chip coffee cake is that rare breakfast item that makes you want to wake up early.

I’m talking about a tender, moist cake studded with melting chocolate chips and crowned with a crunchy cinnamon streusel that’ll have you licking crumbs off your fingers.

No fancy techniques required.
No temperamental ingredients.
Just pure, unapologetic comfort in cake form.

Key Info

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Servings: 12 generous squares
Difficulty level: Easy
Dietary tags: Vegetarian (contains eggs and dairy)

Why This Recipe Works (And Why Others Don’t)

Most coffee cakes are dry, boring slabs that need drowning in coffee to choke down.

This one?
Different beast entirely.

The secret is sour cream.
It creates a crumb so tender and moist, you’ll wonder why anyone bothers with buttermilk.

The chocolate chips throughout the batter, not just on top, means every single bite delivers.

And that streusel topping?
It’s got butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, AND more chocolate chips because we’re not messing around here.

Equipment Needed

• 9×13-inch baking pan (the workhorse of your kitchen)
• Two mixing bowls (medium and large)
• Stand mixer or hand mixer (or strong arms and determination)
• Whisk
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Rubber spatula
• Pastry cutter or fork (for the streusel)
• Toothpick (for testing doneness)

No fancy equipment here.
If you’ve got bowls and a spoon, you can make this work.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2½ cups (315g) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup (75g) packed light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1¼ cups (300ml) sour cream, room temperature
• ⅓ cup (80ml) whole milk
• 1½ cups (255g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the Streusel Topping

• 4 tablespoons (57g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• ⅔ cup (85g) all-purpose flour
• ⅔ cup (145g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• ¾ cup (130g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup (60g) chopped walnuts or pecans (optional, but recommended)

Substitutions that actually work:

• Greek yogurt instead of sour cream (use 1 cup instead of 1¼ cups—it’s thicker)
• Buttermilk for the whole milk
• Dark chocolate chips if you’re fancy
• Skip the nuts if someone in your life has decided to be allergic

Method

Step 1: Get Your Act Together

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).

Grease that 9×13-inch pan like your life depends on it.
Butter, cooking spray, whatever gets the job done.

Pull out your butter, eggs, sour cream, and milk.
Let them sit on the counter for 30 minutes.

Room temperature ingredients aren’t just a suggestion.
They mix better, create more air, and result in a more tender cake.
Cold ingredients create a lumpy, dense disaster.

Step 2: Mix the Dry Stuff

In a medium bowl, whisk together:

• Flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt

Set it aside.
Congratulations, you’ve completed the easiest step.

Step 3: Cream the Butter and Sugar

In your large bowl (or stand mixer), beat the softened butter with both sugars on medium speed.

Keep beating for 2-3 minutes until it’s light, fluffy, and almost white.

This isn’t optional.
This is how you get a tender cake instead of a hockey puck.

You’re incorporating air, and air makes everything better.

Step 4: Add Eggs and Vanilla

Crack in those eggs one at a time.

Beat well after each one.

Pour in the vanilla extract.

The mixture should look smooth and creamy, not broken or curdled.
If it looks weird, keep mixing—it’ll come together.

Step 5: Combine Your Wet Ingredients

In a measuring cup, whisk together the sour cream and milk until smooth.

This takes 10 seconds.
Don’t skip it or you’ll have sour cream lumps in your batter.

Step 6: The Alternating Dance

Turn your mixer to LOW.

This is critical.
High speed = tough cake.

Add half the flour mixture.
Mix until just barely combined.

Pour in the sour cream mixture.
Mix until just barely combined.

Add the remaining flour mixture.
Mix until you can’t see any more dry flour streaks.

Stop immediately.
Overmixing is the enemy of tender cake.
A few small lumps are fine—they’ll bake out.

Step 7: Fold in the Chocolate Chips

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in those 1½ cups of chocolate chips.

Use a folding motion, not a stirring one.

About 10-12 folds should do it.

Step 8: Get It in the Pan

Scrape the batter into your prepared pan.

It’s thick—thicker than you expected—and that’s correct.

Use your spatula to spread it evenly, getting into all the corners.

The surface doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth.
Nobody’s judging.

Step 9: Make the Streusel Topping

In a clean bowl, combine:

• Cold cubed butter
• Flour
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Salt

Using a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients.

Keep going until it looks like wet sand with pea-sized butter chunks.

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