Toll House Bundt Cake

This bundt cake takes the iconic Toll House chocolate chip cookie and transforms it into a tall, sliceable cake with bakery-counter presence. The brown-sugar-and-butter base gives it a rich, almost caramel-like depth, and a full bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips folded in at the end means melted chocolate in every slice.

The genius detail is the topping. Before the batter goes in, you spoon a buttery sugar-and-nut mixture into the bottom of the bundt pan. As the cake bakes, that mixture caramelizes against the metal and forms a sticky, candy-like crust. Invert the cake onto a rack and that crust becomes the top, no glaze or icing required.

A tablespoon of vinegar plus regular milk makes a quick buttermilk substitute that activates the baking soda for serious lift in such a heavy batter.

Pro Tips

• Grease the bundt pan generously and dust with flour, getting into every crevice. Bundts are notorious for sticking, and the nut topping makes it worse.
• Cream the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla for the full 3 to 5 minutes (the recipe is specific). Underwhipped butter gives you a dense, heavy cake instead of a light pound cake crumb.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well between additions. Adding all four at once breaks the emulsion and the batter curdles.
• Invert the cake immediately after baking. Wait too long and the nut topping welds itself to the pan.
• Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Hot cake collapses under the weight of the chocolate chips.

Variations

• Use pecans or walnuts in the topping; both pair beautifully with the brown sugar caramel.
• Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients for a warmly spiced version.
• Drizzle with melted dark chocolate and a sprinkle of flaky salt over the cooled cake for a glamorous finish.