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Looking for an easy and portable sweet snack? These mini chocolate chip loaf cakes are soft and fluffy, flavored with vanilla, and loaded with dark chocolate chips! Plus, they require simple ingredients and can be ready in just about 30 minutes!
I have been on a nostalgia kick lately, recreating my favorite childhood cakes, from madeleines to homemade Oreo, marble cake, and Cookie Crisp cereal. Another one of my favorite snacks as a kid was a sponge cake called “Captain Choc.” It was basically mini chocolate chip loaf cakes, individually wrapped and sold in a packet of five. You could compare them to Hostess Mini Muffins or Entenmann’s Little Bites in the US.
They were super popular among kids, and I could eat a whole packet in one sitting while watching cartoons on the weekends.
This version is completely vegan and tastes even better. It’s made in one bowl and yields cute mini cakes that are soft, infused with vanilla, and packed with plenty of chocolate chips!
😍 What Makes Them So Irresistible
- The perfect portable snack. Finding good vegan sweets that you can sneak into a backpack isn’t always easy. Personally, every box of snack cakes I’ve checked at the supermarket contains either eggs or milk powder. That’s why I believe this recipe is a must-have. These cakes make a quick breakfast, a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, or an after-school snack.
- One bowl and simple ingredients. No complicated step or ingredient here. The batter comes together in one bowl with just a handful of pantry staples. Even kids can make it!
- LOADED with chocolate chips! Have you ever complained about how few chocolate chips there are in store-bought snack cakes? Me too. These are packed with chocolate chips in every bite. Trust me, you won’t have to dig deep to encounter a chocolate chip.
🍫 About the Ingredients
This recipe requires just 11 ingredients. Here is what you will need:
- Flour – Use the good old all-purpose flour. A 1:1 gluten-free flour blend might work, but I haven’t tried it yet.
- Sugar – To sweeten the cakes, you will need granulated sugar. You can use coconut sugar if you’re after a refined-sugar-free alternative, but it will yield a slightly different flavor and a darker color.
- Milk – Any unsweetened plant-based milk works.
- Oil – To add richness, I rely on both oil and butter. Oil keeps the cakes soft and moist, while butter mostly adds flavor.
- Butter – Use store-bought or homemade vegan butter. If you don’t have butter, you can replace it with 2 extra tablespoons of oil. Just keep in mind that your loaf cakes will be missing that buttery flavor, but they will still taste great!
- Baking powder and baking soda – To help the cakes rise and to achieve a fluffy texture.
- Vanilla extract – Because no cake is complete without a good amount of vanilla extract. Use a high-quality brand or check out my homemade vanilla extract here (it’s alcohol-free!).
- Chocolate chips – I went with regular-size dark chocolate chips, but feel free to use mini ones if you prefer! You can even use small chocolate chunks.
🥣 How It’s Done
- Mix the dry ingredients. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a mixing bowl.
- Whisk. Whisk until well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients. Then, pour in the milk, oil, melted butter, vanilla extract, and vinegar.
- Mix. Use a whisk to combine the wet and dry ingredients. The batter should be smooth with no lumps remaining.
- Add in the chocolate chips. Add the chocolate chips to the batter.
- Stir. Then, using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir until the chocolate chips are evenly incorporated.
- Pour into a pan. Transfer the batter to a greased pan.
- Top with more chocolate chips. For decoration, sprinkle more chocolate chips over the batter.
Make your cakes crack in the middle
I have a small trick to make the cakes crack exactly in the middle as they bake. Dip a spatula in oil or melted butter, then draw a straight line, approximately 1/4 inch (6 mm) deep, lengthwise along the center of the batter in each cavity. You should do that after pouring the batter into the pan and before sprinkling with more chocolate chips.
- Bake. Finally, bake the loaf cakes for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown.
📔 Tips
Grease your pan with butter. I’ve tested greasing the pan with oil and butter. While both work, I have noticed that greasing with butter is the superior option. Once the cakes are cool, you just have to lift them with a small wooden toothpick (don’t use metal utensils or you will scratch your pan), and they come out super easily.
Let the butter cool. After melting the butter, let it sit for a few minutes. If it’s too hot when added to the batter, the baking powder will activate too early, making the cake denser.
Metal vs. silicone pan. If you have both options, I suggest using the metal pan. It results in more evenly golden brown cakes.
🍫 Tweak Them
There are many ways you can customize these mini cakes! You can, for example, incorporate orange or lemon zest in the batter for a citrusy aroma, or spices like ground cinnamon for warmth. And if you’re not a fan of chocolate chips, how about using raisins or nuts?!
❄️ Storing and Freezing
- To store: Wrap each cake individually in plastic wrap and store them at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- To freeze: You can freeze these cakes for up to 2 months. Thaw for a few hours on the counter.
💬 FAQs
The batter should have the consistency of a thick pancake batter. It should be pourable.
I recommend using an 8-cavity mini loaf metal pan. The pan I used had cavities measuring 4.3 x 2.1 inches and 1.2 inches deep (11 x 5.5 cm and 3 cm deep). If your pan has slightly different measurements, simply fill the cavities half full.
Yes! I’ve tried, and a muffin pan works great too. Bake for about the same time.
These mini loaf cakes have a soft, buttery crumb, are packed with gooey chocolate chips, and make the perfect snack cake to toss into your kids’ backpacks. Or, make them just for yourself, I won’t judge!
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Vegan Mini Chocolate Chip Loaf Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup (130 g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) oil
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) melted vegan butter (not hot)
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (5 ml) white vinegar
- 2/3 cup (105 g) dark chocolate chips (plus more for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to
350 °F (175°C) and grease an 8-cavity mini loaf pan with butter. Set aside. - Mix the dry ingredients. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined.
- Add the wet ingredients. Then, pour in the milk, oil, melted butter, vanilla extract, and vinegar. Whisk until the batter is smooth, and no lumps remain.
- Stir in the chocolate chips. Add the chocolate chips and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until they are evenly incorporated.
- Pour into a pan. Fill each cavity halfway with the batter. Optional: At this point, you can dip a spatula in oil or melted butter, then draw a straight line, approximately 1/4 inch (6 mm) deep, lengthwise along the center of the batter in each cavity. This will allow your cakes to crack exactly in the middle.
- Top with more chocolate chips. For decoration, you can sprinkle more chocolate chips over the batter.
- Bake. Bake the loaf cakes for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Allow them to cool for at least 30 minutes before carefully removing them from the pan. The cakes will appear very soft right after baking, but will firm up a bit once completely cool.
- To store: Wrap each cake individually in plastic wrap and store them at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
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