Recipe: Very Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cake

Since we’re talking All About Vanilla in recent posts… I thought it a good time to post this terrific and easy Bundt cake. I grew up with Bundt cakes… my Mother must have made them every two weeks or so… whether just for us or to bring somewhere.. she made lots and lots of Bundt cakes… all kinds.

She gave me her Bundt pan a number of years ago… she decided she had baked enough and it was time to pass the torch or should I say … pass the Bundt pan. I dutifully used it lots, particularly while my son was growing up… in fact.. Warren and I got to talking about that pan… wondering just how many cakes it made over the years… certainly my Mother got her money’s worth.

This recipe is from the folks at McCormick… the makers of all thing spice, seasonings and flavorings… especially vanilla. The recipe caught my eye since it was almost identical to the way my Mother made her Bundt cakes… my Mother always added instant pudding to her batter. They add sour cream, which for a lover of all things sour cream… sounded darn perfect to me.

The recipe uses a yellow cake mix… I know.. the blog snob will faint at that one… she’ll get over it … it works and works well… and why not make things a bit easier for you? While she’s slaving in the kitchen.. you’re enjoying that piece of cake on that sunny patio.

TIPS

The recipe calls for a 12 cup Bundt pan… honestly I’ve been baking with this pan for so many years, I never knew the size… see my post How to Check the Size of a Bundt Pan for a quick and easy way to determine the size of the pan.

I mentioned that my pan is old… almost ancient… but I won’t admit that to anyone… the metal is a lot thinner than those pans you can purchase today… so be careful of your baking times.. your’s may bake quicker or longer depending on the thickness of the pan or if it’s dark or light. Check it after 50 minutes with a toothpick.. and adjust the baking time if need be.

Some cake mixes already have pudding in it.. I didn’t want to overdo or fiddle with the ingredient amounts so I purchased a cake mix that didn’t have pudding in the mix… Dunkin Hines.

IMPORTANT TIP: I rarely bold a tip.. but this one is important… be sure to coat your mini chocolate chips with about a scant tablespoon of dry cake mix so they don’t sink in your batter… if you forget to do that before you add the wet ingredients… just coat them with a scant tablespoon of flour… I say scant .. because you really don’t need a full tablespoon. This is an important step, otherwise the chips will sink to the bottom while baking.

The picture shows the cake with a chocolate glaze… you can do that or simply sprinkle it with powdered sugar. I’m for powdered sugar… Warren is for chocolate glaze… as you can see.. he won out. Use whatever glaze you like.

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy cake!






Recipe: Very Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cake

All you need:

1 pkg (18 ¼ oz.) yellow cake mix
1 pkg (4 serving size) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup water
4 eggs
1 tablespoon McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips

All you need to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan. Set aside.

Add the cake mix to a large mixing bowl.

Put the chocolate chips in a small bowl.

Remove a scant tablespoon of dry cake mix and add it to the chocolate chips. Toss lightly to coat the chips. Set aside.

Add all ingredients except the chocolate chips to the bowl.

Beat at low speed to just moisten.

Then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The toothpick may have melted chocolate chip on it.. that’s okay.. you just want to make sure the batter isn’t on the tooth pick.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Remove cake from the pan and cool completely on a rack.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with a glaze.