Cream cheese and chocolate chips added to a box of German Chocolate cake mix make a super easy chocolate cake dessert!
Rich bursts of cream cheese and melted chocolate chips marbled into a light and fluffy cake make each chocolately bite so delicious!
Chocolate & Cream Cheese Bars From Box Mix
We’ve made this recipe three times in the past week and everyone we give it to loves these chocolate and cream cheese bars. It’s super easy and perfect for potlucks, cookouts or just surviving extended periods of time at home. For a similar but individual dessert check out our Black Bottom Cupcakes.
A friend gave us a Basic Cheesecake Bars from box mix recipe and we loved it. So when my sister-in-law shared this slightly fanicer recipe that begins with a box of German chocolate cake and has some cream cheese, sugar and milk chocolate chips added we knew we had to try it.
My kids and husband enjoy making this recipe because it’s a box mix of cake with a couple simple ingredients swirled in. Just read the directions on the box get creative with swirling and add a few or quite a few extra chocolate chips…unless you eat them all in the preparation process.
Thinking of our amazing Rich & Moist Chocolate Cake and Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake which both favor a rich chocolate base and our Turtle Cake that uses German chocolate cake mix we wanted to test different options.
We tested this recipe using a chocolate fudge cake mix and German chocolate cake mix. We think the chocolate fudge is too rich and has a power struggle in the flavor department with the cream cheese. The German chocolate cake brings a more subdued chocolate flavor that blends with the other flavors in the most complimentary way.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Bars are one of our most popular recipes on Pinterest. So anytime we come across a simple dessert recipe that includes cream cheese we try it every time!
The flavors are more simple than our Buckeye Cheesecake, but this recipe is also much quicker to make. The chocolate chips could easily be substituted for peanut butter chips like in our Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Butter Mess Cake for more of a Buckeye flair!
Tips & Tricks
- Our family loves using more chocolate chips…as long as we can resist eating them while mixing up the batter
- Softened cream cheese must be used to mix well with the sugar and swirl well into the cake batter
- Marbling will not be exact and the recipe never looks exactly the same twice
- Take care to mix cream cheese mixture as close to the edges as possible
- We prefer a 15 x 10 x 1-inch, but a 9 x 13-inch pan can be used
- Bars can be frosted, but just like our Frost Me Not Cupcakes, we prefer to enjoy them without icing
How to Make Marbled Cheesecake Bars
- Mix up the cake batter according to the directions on the box of German chocolate cake mix. Pour into a greased 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan or jelly roll pan. Do NOT bake yet!
- Using an electric mixer beat together 1/2 cup sugar and softened cream cheese. Once this is well mixed gently stir or fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
- Drop tablespoons of cream cheese and chocolate chip mixture as evenly as possible over the top of the batter.
- Use a butter knife to sort of smooth out any pieces of cream cheese that stick up above the batter and then use the knife to swirl the cream cheese into the chocolate cake batter.
- Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over the top.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Can I Use a 9 x 13 Inch Pan?
If a wider and longer 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking sheet isn’t available a 9 x 13 pan can be used, but the cake flavor will be more dominant as the cream cheese pieces will sink to the bottom and the fluffy cake bakes up much higher around the marbled filling.
Our family enjoys shorter pieces from the more shallow pan where the flavors can better mix together in every bite.
Other Easy Recipes from a Box Mix
- Snickers Bar Cake
- Pistachio Pudding Cake
- Best Cake Recipes from a Box Mix
- Heath Bar Cake
- Smores Dessert Cake
- O’ Joy Brownie Bars
Printable Marble Chocolate & Cream Cheese Bars Recipe
Marble Chocolate & Cream Cheese Bars
Ingredients
- 1 package German chocolate cake mix
- 1 cup water
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare cake batter according to package directions and pour into a greased 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan.
- In a small bowl beat cream cheese and sugar. Stir in 1/2 cup chocoalte chips.
- Drop by tablespoonfuls over batter. Use butter knife to swirl the cream cheese mixture into the cake batter.
- Sprinkle remaining chocoalte chips evenly over the top.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
- Our family loves using more chocolate chips…as long as we can resist eating them while mixing up the batter
- Softened cream cheese must be used to mix well with the sugar and swirl well into the cake batter
- Marbling will not be exact and the recipe never looks exactly the same twice
- Take care to mix cream cheese mixture as close to the edges as possible
- We prefer a 15 x 10 x 1-inch, but a 9 x 13-inch pan can be used
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