Chocolate Chunk Snack Cake

This chocolate chunk snack cake is basically chocolate chip cookie meets tender sour cream cake. It gets bonus points for being and easy, quick bake!

Is anyone else all about those easy, quick bakes these days? Maybe it’s the dreary rain that has me feeling too lethargic to want to do something elaborate like stack cake layers or laminate dough with butter. Or it’s living my day in two hour increments between feeding/changing babies that make quick bakes so appealing.

Whatever it is, this chocolate snack cake is the first thing I baked after the twins were born. I was originally inspired by this recipe from Dough Eyed Blog. And it was delicious, and a balm for my baking deprived soul. Funny thing about that though…converting from high altitude to low altitude doesn’t always work. While we definitely enjoyed that cake it was a bit dense, and not in a good way. More in a baking-is-science-and-I-screwed-it-up way.

So I decided to try it with a base recipe I knew worked and that I love–my Lemon Raspberry Crumb Cake. I just changed the mix-ins to chocolate (never a bad idea) and replaced the crumb topping with a good layer of sugar (definitely works in this situation). The crumb is sturdy and moist, tender but dense (this time in a good way).

In fact, there’s nothing to not like about this situation. So I’m pretty sure it’ll be happening regularly in my kitchen.

How to Make Chocolate Chunk Snack Cake

This is a two bowls, by hand sort of cake. Easy peasy.

• Start by greasing and 8″ or 9″ square cake tin at least 2″ deep and preheat the oven to 350F. Make sure the rack is set in the center of the oven.
• Chop the chocolate into various sized pieces and set aside.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk the sour cream or yogurt, oil, egg, and vanilla together.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt until it’s well combined, then toss the chocolate in a couple of tablespoons of the flour mixture. This helps it not all sink to the bottom of your cake.
• To mix the cake, create a well in the dry ingredients by pushing them up around the sides. Pour the wet ingredients into the center, then stir them together until they’re combined–it will be fairly thick. But don’t overmix! This can activate the gluten and make your cake tough.
• After the batter is mixed, stir in the chopped chocolate until evenly dispersed throughout.
• Spread the batter in the greased pan and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar over the top in an even layer.
• Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs on it. Make sure you’re not hitting chocolate and actually testing the cake so that it doesn’t get over baked.
• Remove the cake from the oven, allow it to cool, and then serve and enjoy!
• This cake is great on it’s own–just grab a piece and go for it! But it’s also delicious with whipped cream or ice cream on the side. It’s best eaten in the forst 3-4 days. Store it in a pantry or on the counter (just not in the refrigerator) in an airtight container. It also freezes very well.

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