Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Bundt Cake

  This cake is a keeper. It is super simple, stays moist, and feeds a crowd. How great it that? On a not-long-ago Friday night, my youngest informed me that he had invited all the guys from work over to shoot the following morning. "And," he said sheepishly, giving me his hound dog eyes, "I told them that if they were nice my moma might make them some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch." Yeah, right. He knows I would never have folks over without cooking for them! Thankfully we butcher our own beef so I always have a freezer full of meat. That is the main element of feeding menfolk! I threw two roasts in the crockpot with onions, taters, and carrots. Then I started the dough for my favorite Overnight Artisan Bread and went to bed.

Next morning the pack arrived. The guys (boys) converged on the shooting mound, and I baked off the loaf of bread. Then I started this cake. It was all simple and unhurried and done in perfect time for lunch. Oh, and I cooked up about 4 cans of corn to go with it all. I am a firm believer in a well-stocked pantry. You never know when the Mongolian Hoard might descend and expect you to feed them ;)

So here is the recipe!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your Bundt pan. 
Cream together-
1 cup butter, grated
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
Add to bowl and mix well-
4 eggs 
In a separate bowl mix-
2 and 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Alternate between adding flour mixture and 1 cup buttermilk to the batter, until gone. Stir in 1 bag Mini Chocolate chips (or regular). Pour the pan and bake approximately 50 minutes (I turn my cakes halfway through), until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. Don't overcook or it will be dry! Cool 10 minutes and turn out on a rack.

*Buttermilk really makes this cake, giving it a tangy sweet taste and a moist crumb. If you don't have any, you can put 1 Tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice in a one cup measure and fill it the rest of the way with milk. Allow to sit while you make the rest of the batter.

Below is a sampling of the pack of males that filled my yard, working up a mighty appetite...

And I didn't even get a picture of the cake before it was over half devoured! The cake was still warm when I served it, which is divine. But if I am going to make it ahead and then serve it, I melt some chocolate chips with about a tsp of oil. Then I drizzle it in fat stripes over the cake. It gives it a more special look. Now ask me if I have ever gotten a picture of it like that before it was gone...

I love the mini chips because they scatter out so well in the batter and don't all drop to the bottom.

Do you see how moist the cake is when sliced? It keeps it's lushness if put in a bag or covered with a cake cover. I've never had it last more than two days, so I can't vouch for the keeping quality. This would be a great item for a bake sale, a church Fellowship Dinner, or when you know you'll have a crowd and want to be doing things other than fiddle over dessert. Trust me, you won't even get a good picture before they leap right in!