Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly mist cake pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour; or line cupcake pans with papers.

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, warm water, and oil in a large mixing bowl.

Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 to 3 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed.

The batter should look thick and well combined.

Fold in the chocolate chips, making sure they are well distributed throughout the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 40-50 minutes.

If baking cupcakes, keep an eye on them; they'll probably cook in less time.

Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.

Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto the rack to cool completely, 20 minutes more, before frosting.