Snickers Poke Cake is full of rich chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, and nuts! The chopped Snickers on top make this dessert irresistible!
Snickers Poke Cake is an out-of-this-world dessert that is bursting with all of the delicious flavors of a Snickers bar, like chocolate, caramel, and nuts! This simple cake is made with a box cake mix, whipped cream, caramel, chocolate syrup, and roasted peanuts for a dessert the whole family will go crazy for!
Sweet Snickers Treat
Every part of a Snickers Poke Cake is incredibly easy to fall in love with. Even if you “forget” the chopped Snickers topping- it only happened once because I “accidentally” ate them- the poke cake has all of the delicious Snickers flavors we love. Each layer is a snap to make, and my kids love helping with each step, from mixing to pouring the sweet caramel sauce, spreading the whipped cream, and drizzling the chocolate sauce. They are also way more trustworthy around the chopped Snickers!
Treat everyone to more amazing Snickers desserts like decadent Snickers Cheesecake Bars or sweet and creamy layered Snickers Chocolate Parfait!
Other Recipes to Serve with Snickers Poke Cake
- Dive into all of your favorite candy with Ultimate Candy Cookie Bars! These bars are fun to make and so fun to share!
- Make other bite-sized treats that are so mouth-watering, like Salted Pretzel & Caramel Fudge!
Ingredients
Cake Mix: Purchase a box of chocolate cake mix plus the ingredients listed on the back of the box. Choose your favorite option of chocolate cake, from rich Devil’s Food to regular chocolate cake mix, or a lighter German chocolate mix.
Dry Ingredients: For this cake, you will also need brown sugar, roasted peanuts, and chopped Snickers candy bars.
Wet Ingredients: Pick up sweetened condensed milk, heavy whipping cream, butter, Cool Whip, and chocolate sauce. You can also make a wonderful Homemade Cool Whip that is beyond delicious on this cake!
How to Make Snickers Poke Cake
STEP ONE: Follow the directions on the back of the cake mix box and mix up the batter. Pour the batter into a greased 9-inch x 13-inch cake pan and bake according to the package directions.
STEP TWO: While the cake is in the oven, start making the caramel sauce by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the brown sugar and heavy whipping cream. Stir often, and once the caramel sauce reaches a boil, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool a little.
STEP THREE: Pour the caramel sauce into a medium bowl and stir in the sweetened condensed milk.
STEP FOUR: When the cake has finished baking, remove it from the oven and poke holes into it using a skewer or the end of a wooden spoon.
STEP FIVE: Pour the caramel sauce evenly over the cake, followed by a sprinkle of peanuts, and refrigerate the cake for 1 hour to set.
STEP SIX: Once the cake is chilled, top it with Cool Whip, spread it into an even layer, drizzle with chocolate syrup, and top the cake with chopped Snickers bars. Cut the cake into slices, and enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Snickers Poke Cake is super rich so you can leave the chopped candy bars off and you will still have an amazing Snickers-tasting cake!
- You can make this poke cake a day or two ahead of time. Once you’ve poured the caramel sauce over the cake, cover it and keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to serve. When you’re ready, layer on the whipped cream and chocolate sauce.
- You can use store-bought caramel sauce, such as Hershey’s or Smuckers, rather than making your own. You will still need to stir sweetened condensed milk into the store-bought caramel sauce.
What’s the best way to poke holes in a poke cake?
While it may seem random to poke a bunch of holes in a cake, I can assure you that there is a reason for those holes, and a little technique is involved! First, it wouldn’t be a poke cake without a few holes being poked, and those holes are perfect for creating little pockets where filling can sit and soak into the cake.
Most recipes will instruct you to use a skewer or the end of a wooden spoon, but anything that will make smallish holes big enough to hold a little filling will work. Space these holes out about 1/2-1-inch so there are not too many holes. Lastly, one of the best ways to poke holes in a cake is to do it while the cake is warm so that you create those perfect wells, rather than waiting until the cake has cooled and making crumbly holes instead.
Can I use a homemade chocolate cake recipe?
Snickers Poke Cake is great to make with any chocolate cake you like. If you have a homemade chocolate cake recipe you love, you can absolutely use that and then follow the rest of the recipe as written for the filling and toppings. This chocolate poke cake is wonderful. It has a variety of chocolate cakes, from dark Devil’s Food Cake to light German chocolate, so try out a few versions to find the one you love!
More Crowd Pleasing Poke Cake to Love!
- Strawberries and Cream Poke Cake
- Oreo Poke Cake
- Toasted Coconut Poke Cake
- RumChata Poke Cake
- Lemon Poke Cake
*This post originally posted on 02/11/2016.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce chocolate cake mix (1 box) plus ingredients to prepare
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup roasted peanuts chopped
- 4 cups Cool Whip thawed
- ¼ cup chocolate syrup
- 2-3 Snickers bars chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the chocolate cake mix according to the directions on the box.
- Pour the cake batter into a greased 9-inch x 13-inch cake pan. Bake according to the time listed on the box.
- While the cake is baking, place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt butter in the saucepan and then add the brown sugar and heavy whipping cream. Bring to a boil then remove from heat. Let the caramel sauce cool slightly.
- Pour the caramel sauce into a medium mixing bowl and stir in sweetened condensed milk until evenly combined.
- Remove the cake from the oven. While the cake is still warm, poke holes in the cake using the handle of a wooden spoon or a skewer.
- Pour the caramel mixture over the top of the cake and spread it around evenly. Sprinkle the peanuts over the top of the cake.
- Chill the cake in the fridge to cool for 1 hour.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, remove the cake from the fridge and spread the Cool Whip over the top of the cake in an even layer. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and top with chopped Snickers pieces before cutting into 12 slices.
Aranda Gonzales says
Do you have a recipe for your homeade cool whip? I would love to try this out & try the homeade cool whip with it.
Real Housemoms JK says
Hello Aranda! Here is my recipe for homemade cool whip. Enjoy! https://realhousemoms.com/homemade-cool-whip/
Alexandra Sanchez says
if I use store bought caramel sauce do i still need to mix it with the condensed milk? just want to make sure cake turns out correct. thanks
Michelle says
Quick question I was wondering how you think the cake would do if you made it a day before you actually need it – do you think the cake would get to soggy? or could you make just the cake and then add the caramel sauce to it the day you are going to serve it
Eddie Martin Jr says
Would love to get recipes!
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Hi Eddie! You can sign up to have our recipe delivered to your email every day here > http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=RealHousemoms
Kim says
Trying to make this as easy as possible for my kids to make (sort of) on their own.
Could we use a “good quality” 🙂 store bought caramel sauce. If so, approximately how much?
Thanks!
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Hi Kim! You could totally use a store bought caramel sauce! I like Hershey’s caramel topping – it’s thicker than the squeeze bottle stuff. You’ll want a 12 ounce to 14 ounce jar or caramel and use the whole thing. 🙂
Alexandra Sanchez says
If I use store bought caramel sauce, do i need to mix it with the condensed milk? just double checking…
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Yes. You would still combine the caramel sauce with the sweetened condensed milk.
Paula McCorkle says
So I assume you add the caramel/condensed milk mixture into the brown sugar/butter mixture?? Poor directions.
Julie @Real Housemoms says
So sorry about that Paula. The butter/brown sugar/cream mixture becomes the caramel sauce. Then you add the sweetened condensed milk to the caramel sauce. We’ve updated the recipe to identify this. Thank you for letting us know.