Better-Than-Anything Chocolate Cake

I’m sure you’ve heard of this cake. It’s been around since the 1970s and goes by another name.

I’m refraining from the full name so the recipe doesn’t end up in spam folders or mis-categorized by Google.

It’s an amazing tasting cake, worthy of its alter-ego name, and one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever had. The first three chocolate cakes in the Related Recipes below are my other top picks.

It’s so easy. I had the cake made, baked, and assembled in about 30 minutes.

Start by making a chocolate cake (I used a boxed mix but you can double this scratch recipe if you’re so inclined) and after the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes with the blunt end of a wooden spoon over the surface.

Those holes absorb a mixture of sweetened condensed milk and caramel sundae topping that’s poured over the cake before finishing it with whipped topping and diced Twix and Crunch candy bar pieces. Because the sauce seeps into the holes, this is one of the moistest cakes you’ll ever eat.

The candy topping choices are where I deviated from the classic recipe because I couldn’t find the more traditional Heath Bar bits at my usual grocery store and thought Twix and Crunch Bars would work beautifully and they did. The caramel in the Twix and the crispness of the shortbread coupled with the crunchiness of the Crunch is the perfect complement to the tender, luscious, soft cake. You could use M&Ms, peanut butter cups, sprinkles, or most any diced candy bar.

This is an automatic hit kind of cake. I made it for a party and it was the star recipe of the evening and people kept coming by to ‘straighten the rows’ and take another nibble.

Print

Yield: one 9x13-inch cake

Better-Than-Anything Chocolate Cake

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

This is an amazing cake, worthy of its alter-ego name, one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever had, and so easy. I had the cake made, baked, and assembled in about 30 minutes. Start by making a chocolate cake, then poke holes with the blunt end of a wooden spoon over the surface, and those holes absorb a mixture of sweetened condensed milk and caramel sundae that’s poured over the cake before finishing it with whipped topping and diced Twix and Crunch candy bar pieces. You could use M&Ms, peanut butter cups, sprinkles, or most any diced candy bar.

Ingredients

• one 15.25-ounce box devil’s food chocolate cake mix (I used Duncan Hines but you can double this scratch cake recipe
• one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• one 12-ounce jar caramel sundae topping
• one 8-ounce container whipped topping, thawed (I used fat-free)
• about 1 cup Crunch candy bars, diced into small pieces
• about 1 cup Twix candy bars, diced into small pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×13-inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
2. Make cake according to package directions (likely adding 3 eggs, water, and oil) and bake as directed.
3. While the cake bakes add the sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping to a medium bowl and stir to combine; set aside.
4. Remove cake from the oven when it’s done (probably about 25 to 30 minutes) and using the blunt end of a wooden spoon, poke holes over the surface of the cake. I didn’t count but I estimate I poked about 60 holes, evenly spaced over the surface.
5. Slowly pour the sweetened condensed milk and caramel mixture over the holes, taking your time to evenly distribute it so that all the holes receive some. Place cake in the fridge for about 10 minutes to cool slightly before adding the whipped topping so it doesn’t melt.
6. Remove cake from the fridge, evenly spread the whipped topping over the surface, and evenly sprinkle the Crunch and Twix bars. Cover cake and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (overnight is best) before slicing and serving. Cake will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

15

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 382Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 170mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 1gSugar: 40gProtein: 6g

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