Favourite Chocolate Cake

I originally found the recipe for this cake on the Wilton website, and it has easily become one of my absolute favourite cakes, and by far my favourite chocolate cake. It stays really moist and tastes great with butter cream icing (vanilla or chocolate). A word of warning though, the chocolate chips can cause the cake to stick to the bottom of the pan. This can be avoided by putting the chocolate chips in a few minutes after the cake has been in the oven so that they don't sink right to the bottom.

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided into 1 cup portions
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare your pans by flouring them, lining them with parchment, or spraying them with a non-stick spray.
In a microwave safe bowl, or on the stove in a double boiler, melt 1 cup of chocolate chips with the butter until completely melted. Pour chocolate into a larger bowl and add the sugar, beating at a low speed until the sugar is well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Once everything is well combined, add 1/2 cup flour, the baking soda, and salt. Mix well, and then continue to add the remaining 2 cups of flour and the water. I find at this stage that its helpful to alternate between the two in small amounts as it reduces the flour that flies everywhere. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips and pour the batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 35-40 minutes (depending on your oven, and the size of the pans used). When a tooth pick comes out clean, the cake is ready. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, before removing and allowing it to cool completely on a rack.