Nestlé Toll House Chocolate Chip Cake: A Bundt Cake That Tastes Like the Cookie

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This article is part of our guide to easy delicious desserts. Go there for the full collection.

Introduction

The first time I baked this cake, I was trying to rescue a party. I had promised my niece a big batch of Toll House cookies, and the oven gave out halfway through the second tray. With a full bag of Nestlé semi-sweet morsels still on the counter, I borrowed my neighbor’s oven and turned the whole thing into one large bundt cake. It disappeared before the cookies did, and I’ve been making it ever since.

That was close to ten years ago. Since then I’ve tested this Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip cake more times than I can count, so I know what makes it work and what makes it sink. It tastes like a classic chocolate chip cookie, with brown sugar, vanilla and melty chocolate, but it has a soft, tender cake crumb. Bakers have been sharing versions of the classic Toll House cake for decades. Mine adds sour cream so the cake stays moist for days.

Essential Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon for the chips
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 cups (one 12 oz bag) Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Morsels
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

For the chocolate glaze:

• 1/2 cup Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Morsels
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup (for shine)

Room-temperature ingredients matter more here than in most cakes. Cold eggs and sour cream can make the butter seize and the batter curdle. If you want the science, Sally’s Baking Addiction has a clear explanation of why room temperature ingredients make a difference.

Alternative Ingredients

If you don’t have sour cream, plain full-fat Greek yogurt works and gives the cake a slightly tangier flavor. For a cheaper option, swap the Toll House morsels for a store-brand chocolate chip. The cake will still be good, though name-brand chips hold their shape better in the oven. Mini chips sink less, so they’re a smart pick if your chips keep falling to the bottom. Pecans can replace walnuts, which is what I do in the fall. To make it gluten-free, use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour with xanthan gum already in it. Expect a slightly denser crumb.

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Prep the pan. Heat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 10 to 12 cup bundt pan well. I use a Nordic Ware bundt pan with baking spray that contains flour, like Baker’s Joy, and I brush it into every groove with a pastry brush. Don’t skip this step. A bundt cake that sticks to the pan is a bundt cake that breaks.

2. Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Measure your flour by weight if you can. A digital kitchen scale costs less than a nice dinner out and solves most dense-cake problems. If you’re using cups, King Arthur Baking’s guide on how to measure flour correctly shows the spoon-and-level method.

3. Cream the butter and sugars. Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium-high for a full 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is pale and fluffy. My KitchenAid stand mixer does this easily, but a hand mixer works fine too. It just takes a bit longer.

4. Add the eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each. Mix in the vanilla.

5. Alternate wet and dry. On low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream and milk. Start and finish with flour. Stop as soon as you no longer see dry streaks.

6. Fold in the chips. Toss the 2 cups of morsels (and the walnuts, if using) with 1 tablespoon of flour, then fold them into the batter with a spatula.

7. Bake. Spread the batter in the pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a skewer comes out with a few moist crumbs. A melted chip can look like wet batter, so test in more than one spot.

8. Cool and release. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack. If you flip it too early it can tear, and if you wait too long it can stick.

9. Glaze. Heat the cream until it just simmers, pour it over the 1/2 cup of morsels and corn syrup, wait 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Pro Tips

Here’s a mistake I used to make: I didn’t trust my oven. My cakes kept doming and cracking, and an inexpensive oven thermometer showed my “350°F” oven was actually running at 375°F. Now I keep one hanging in there permanently.

A second tip is to stop overmixing once the flour goes in. More mixing builds gluten, and gluten makes a tough cake. To store the cake, keep it covered at room temperature for up to 4 days. A cake carrier or a large airtight food storage container keeps it soft much better than plastic wrap. You can also freeze individual slices, wrapped tightly, for up to 3 months.

Your mileage may vary with bake times. Dark nonstick bakeware browns faster than light aluminum, so start checking at 50 minutes if your pan is dark.

FAQs

Can I make this in a 9×13 pan? Yes. Bake it for 35 to 40 minutes. It’s great for potlucks.

Why did my chocolate chips sink? Usually the batter was too thin or the chips weren’t coated in flour. Mini chips also help.

Can I use a cake mix? You can stir 1 cup of morsels into a doctored yellow cake mix, but the from-scratch version has a much richer brown sugar flavor.

Do I have to refrigerate it? No. Only refrigerate it if your kitchen is very warm or you use a cream cheese frosting.

Recipe Info

Detail	Info
Prep Time	20 minutes
Cook Time	55 to 65 minutes
Cooling Time	1 hour
Total Time	About 2 hours 25 minutes
Servings	16 slices
Yield	One 10 to 12 cup bundt cake

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It tastes like a giant Toll House cookie but slices like a cake, so you can serve a crowd without standing at the oven tray after tray. It uses pantry staples, stays moist for days, and looks impressive with very little decorating effort. Kids love it. Honestly, so do the adults who pretend they don’t.

What Makes This Recipe Unique

Most chocolate chip cakes taste like plain vanilla cake with some chocolate added. Using more brown sugar than white sugar gives this one the caramel, cookie-dough flavor that people expect from Toll House. The sour cream keeps the crumb soft, and the light ganache glaze adds richness without making the cake too sweet.

Key Features

• From-scratch batter with real Nestlé Toll House morsels
• Moist, tender crumb thanks to sour cream
• Easy, glossy two-ingredient chocolate glaze (plus corn syrup for shine)
• Freezer-friendly and great for making ahead
• Works in a bundt pan or a 9×13 pan

Nutrition Facts (per slice, approximate)

Nutrient	Amount
Calories	470
Total Fat	24 g
Saturated Fat	14 g
Carbohydrates	56 g
Sugar	34 g
Protein	6 g
Sodium	210 mg
Fiber	2 g

These numbers are estimates and will change with the brands you use and whether you add nuts.

You’ll Also Love

If chocolate is your thing, try my ultra moist chocolate cake, which uses the same sour-cream trick. If this cake made you want the original cookie, my brown butter chocolate chip cookies are the next thing to bake.

Conclusion

This Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip cake started as a backup plan in a borrowed oven, and it has become one of my most-requested recipes. It’s simple and comforting, and every slice has plenty of chocolate. Bake it once and you’ll understand why I always keep an extra bag of morsels in my pantry. If you make it, leave a comment and tell me how it turned out. I’d especially love to hear if you tried a mix-in I haven’t.

Happy baking,
Linda