High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cake
This moist and dense milk and cookies cake is made with brown sugar and coconut milk, and is full of chocolate chips, for a cake that's reminscent of a chocolate chip cookie.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Cake
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 oz unsalted butter (1/4 cup or 4 tbsp), softened to room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups cake flour or all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp baking soda
- 1 ⅓ cups unsweetened, full-fat canned coconut milk (not quite a full can)
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
Buttercream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder (optional)
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 2-4 tbsp milk or cream, if needed for desired consistency
- chocolate chips, for decorating
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar for 5 minutes on medium speed, scraping the bowl occasionally.
- Add the vanilla bean paste, and beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Scrape the bowl down and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the coconut milk, starting and ending with the flour. Mix just until combined, but a few floury streaks remain.
- Add the chocolate chips, and fold in with a spatula, scraping the sides of the bowl to mix in any remaining flour.
- Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake on the center oven rack for approximately 25 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and shortening for 1 minute on medium speed until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, meringue powder, vanilla and salt, mixing to combine. Whip on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, adding the milk if needed for desired consistency, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy.
- Stack, fill and frost the cooled cakes with the buttercream.
- Before the buttercream crusts over, decorate with chocolate chips.
Notes
- Leftover cake should be stored in an airtight container or cake carrier at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- The cake can be baked in advance, the layers individually wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen for 3-6 months. Let the cake thaw at room temperature overnight before frosting.
- The shortening in the buttercream helps with the bright white color, but you can use all butter, as well. An all-butter buttercream will be ivory in color.
- The coconut milk adds a rich, creamy flavor to the cake, but you can't taste the coconut. If you like, you can replace it with half 'n' half, which has a similar creaminess.
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