This chocolate chip cake is baked from scratch and full of chocolate chips, vanilla, and our secret ingredient of oatmeal! This cake is tender, moist, and perfect for a sweet treat to serve after dinner for dessert or sneak as a great breakfast treat.

If you love chocolate chips, try our other favorite recipes – monster chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chip dessert cheese ball, gooey s'mores bars, The Best Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie. Chocolate chips make everything taste good!

I was looking for a quick easy dessert to serve after dinner and this chocolate chip cake was a perfect choice. Full of brown sugar, vanilla, chocolate chips, and the surprise ingredient oatmeal, this cake bakes up to a dense, soft deliciousness that is fit for any dessert plate.

This was not on the family's favorite recipe list…but it is now!

Easy dessert recipes are my favorite and this cake is recipe is perfect.

Ingredients needed for Chocolate Chip Cake

Oatmeal- If you have quick oats, this works best for this recipe.
Shortening- vegetable shortening is preferable. I used Crisco, but you can also use this culinary version from Amazon.
Brown sugar- It doesn't matter if you use light or dark brown sugar.
Sugar- Definitely use granulated sugar for this recipe!
Eggs- Large eggs are perfect for chocolate chip cake, but if you have medium, that is ok too.
Flour- all-purpose flour is what I used in this recipe and it was perfect for a soft, yet dense crumb.
Cocoa- Hershey's cocoa is always in my pantry, but if you have another brand that you like, use it!
Baking soda- Helps to give your cake and other baked goods the rise needed.
Salt- I've been using Kosher salt and it has been really great in all my recipes.
Chocolate chips- You can use your favorite brand chips, but I've been using Enjoy Life Brand for a while now. They bake really nicely and taste wonderful!
Vanilla- I love adding vanilla to all my baking recipes because it just adds extra flavor!

How to make chocolate chip cake from scratch

To start, you will want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare an 8×8 baking pan by greasing with butter.

Pour boiling water over the oatmeal. Let the oatmeal mixture stand for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, cream sugars and shortening together.

Add your vanilla and eggs and mix until smooth.

Now your oatmeal mixture should be ready, so add this to your bowl with creamed sugar and shortening and mix well.

In a separate bowl, add together your flour, baking soda, salt & cocoa, and mix until combined.

Add flour mixture and beat for 1 minute.

Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips to batter and combine completely.

Pour batter into prepared greased pan.

You can now sprinkle on top additional 1/4 cup chocolate chips if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until toothpick tests done.

Baking Tips

How to keep chocolate chips from sinking in cake

To stop chocolate chips from sinking in cake batter or any baking batter, simply toss chips in a Tablespoon of flour before adding to the mix. This will help suspend the chips in the batter so they don't sink to the bottom.

How can you add chocolate chips to cake

Adding chocolate chips to cake is easy. I find adding the mini chips are easier and still give the chocolatey flavor you are looking for!

Can nuts be to my cake batter

Absolutely! If you like nuts, like chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds, feel free to sprinkle on top before baking for an added crunch and flavor.

If you loved making this chocolate chip cake recipe, please let us know! Share in the comments or share on Facebook or Pinterest! Want a great cookie recipe? Then check out this delicious Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookie!

Yield: 10

Chocolate Chip Cake

Name: Chocolate Chip Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups boiling water; 1 cup quick oats oatmeal ( I used Quaker Oats- Quick Oats); 1 Cup Brown Sugar; 1 Cup sugar; 1/2 cup shortening ( I use Crisco); 2 eggs; 1 1/2 Cup Flour; 1 tsp. baking soda; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1 Tbsp. cocoa ( I used Hershey's); 1 Cup chocolate chips (I use Nestle Toll House); 1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

This chocolate chip cake is baked from scratch and full of chocolate chips, vanilla, and our secret ingredient of oatmeal! This cake is tender, moist, and perfect for a sweet treat to serve after dinner.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes