Chocolate Snack Cake
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This old-fashioned chocolate snack cake recipe is straight from Grandmama’s recipe files. It’s a quick and easy homemade recipe full of chocolate flavor.
A slice of double chocolate snack cake is the perfect companion to a glass of milk or a cup of coffee.
Those of us who are able to remember the 70s and 80s might recall a beloved line of Betty Crocker Snackin’ Cake mixes. They were these fun little mixes that allowed you to mix up the cake in the pan you bake it in and turn out a yummy, not too sweet, snack cake that didn’t need frosting.
My Grandmama just loved them. When she passed away and I inherited her cookbook, I came across this recipe for a good, from scratch, chocolate snackin’ cake. While you can dress up this cake if you like for special occasions, I prefer it to just make its way to my plate as shown above. This chocolate cake recipe is like an old friend to me, especially when it’s served warm in the afternoon, around about the time I used to come in from school.
This homemade chocolate cake is soft, moist, and full of delicious chocolate flavor thanks to the chocolate syrup and chocolate chips. Oh yes, chocolate lovers will just adore this cake recipe! Let’s get baking, shall we?
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Self-rising flour
- Chocolate syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Chocolate chips
How to Make an Old-Fashioned Chocolate Snack Cake
Back when we used mixes, you could mix it up in the pan it was baked in. This from-scratch version just needs one bowl, so it’s still pretty simple.
Lightly coat an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. You can also line it with foil or parchment paper and spray that for quicker cleanup if you’d like.
Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes).
Add eggs and beat again, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed until incorporated (about 2 minutes).
Add flour, syrup, and vanilla extract. Beat again for 1-2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 until the center springs back when lightly pressed (40-45 minutes).
I allow the cake to cool slightly before serving but I love it when it’s still a little bit warm. Of course, you can always reheat a piece later in the microwave for a few seconds as well.
This snacking cake is a wonderful treat to surprise your family with!
Storage
Store leftovers, covered in , at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Just double-wrap individual slices to avoid freezer burn and thaw at room temperature before serving.
Recipe Notes
- The batter will puff up as it bakes but will lower again once you remove the cake from the oven.
- Serve a slice of chocolate snacking cake with whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or an extra drizzle of chocolate syrup (because why not?).
- Another serving suggestion is to dust the cooled cake with confectioner’s sugar. If you want to top it with frosting, check out my recipe for creamy chocolate frosting. It would go perfectly with this double chocolate snack cake.
- If you like, add 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans when you fold in the chocolate chips.
- You can use any kind of , including , , or even white for something different.
- Many snacking recipes call for but rest assured that syrup is the perfect substitution.
You may also enjoy these delicious chocolate cake recipes:
Chocolate Depression Cake (No Milk or Eggs)
Chocolate Pound Cake with Fudge Glaze
Triple Chocolate Cake (a.k.a Chocoholic Cake)
Chocolate Velvet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter at room temp or 1 stick
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- 1.5 cups chocolate syrup such as Hershey's
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Lightly coat an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes).1/2 cup butter at room temp, 1 cup sugar
- Add eggs and beat again, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed until incorporated (about 2 minutes).4 large eggs
- Add flour, syrup, and vanilla. Beat again for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips.1 cup self-rising flour, 1.5 cups chocolate syrup, 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 until the center springs back when lightly pressed (40-45 minutes).
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi, just wondering what the calories,fat and carb count would be per serving. Just like you’d see on the side of a box if it was store bought? I’m diabetic, but by allowing the up to “60”carbs per meal, I could eat this as a dessert or a snack. For those that don’t know what I mean by the “60”carbs, “one serving of carbs” equals 15 carbs and per meal, I’d be allowed 60. So 4oz. of chocolate ice cream I had last night was “17”, so basically one serving. And the 8oz. Cup of green beans was only “4” carbs. Thanks, I’d really appreciate if you could let me know.
Hey Melissa! I used to eat under 30 a day so we’re really familiar with counting carbs here :). For liability and accuracy purposes, I do not offer nutritional values on my site. However, I use myfitnesspal.com whenever I want to calculate them for myself. It’s free and you can just type in a recipe, decide how many servings you want it to me, and it will give you all you need to know. It’s also nice to be able to tweak serving size to get those carbs down where you want them. Hope this helps! There are lots of low carb recipes on the site as well if you care to look: https://www.southernplate.com/category/lowcarb/
My granddaughters like to make these cakes 🙂
When I first saw the picture for this recipe, it brought to my mind the cakes I grew up eating. I grew up in the ’50’s when everything was made from scratch. No such thing as bottled dressings, envelopes of seasonings, or so many of the quick fix things we have today. My Mom made cakes, pies and puddings from scratch. We loved it when she made her basic chocolate cake, cooked it in an iron skillet and turned the one layer out on a plate, sliced it and we enjoyed it at the end of our meal. For a family of 5, we usually ate the whole thing. The crust was the best part. No icing necessary.
What a wonderful era to have grown up in. In my mind food from then just tasted so much better due to everything being homemade and very little preservatives in anything!!
Made this today and it was great. Just the right size for the two of us.
I love how in times past people understood moderation and got to enjoy all the good stuff without it being put on a no-no list. These look so yummy but not too indulgent! I never experienced the Betty Crocker snack mixes, but are the Duncan Hines Perfect Size cake mixes I see at the store similar?
Yum. I would love to give that a try.
OH boy brings back memories! I remember being in the kitchen watching a coconut cake being made. 1 coconut was cracked open with a hammer.and the coconut milk was poured over the 4 cake layers before as they were stacked and frosted. A cooked marshmallow frosting was added. everything was done while the layers were hot . then coconut was sprinkled all over the finished cake. Absolutely delicious. I wish I have that recipe today.