Butterfinger Cake – chocolate cake with caramel peanut butter sauce, topped with whipped cream and crushed butterfinger candy. People go crazy for this easy but decadent cake!
Don’t you just love a simple cake made in a 9×13″ pan? Carrot Cake with orange cream cheese frosting and Reese’s Cake are two more great cake recipes you don’t want to miss.
I am a huge fan of poke cakes because they are always super moist and delicious. My Reese’s peanut butter poke cake is a family favorite, but my son requested that I try one with Butterfingers. Oh boy. If you love Butterfingers, you have got to try this cake!
You start with a cake mix, so it is so easy to whip up. My favorite brand of cake mix is Duncan Hines because they always turn out moist. But since you’re adding so much yummy sauce to the cake, any brand should work fine.
Butterfingers are the star of this cake. Feel free to use any size you like. Fun sized candy bars happened to be on sale when I was shopping, so that’s what I used.
You can use the large ones, or the mini ones. Even the butterfinger baking bits would work in a pinch, but I like the bigger chunks of candy bar myself. And of course you can add more or less depending on your taste.
WHAT MAKES THIS BUTTERFINGER CAKE RECIPE THE BEST
Other recipes I’ve seen just call for caramel or sweetened condensed milk in the sauce. Since Butterfingers are made with peanut butter, I wanted to boost that flavor.
I opted to add some peanut butter to the sauce. It added a richness and depth of flavor, and balanced out the sweetness a bit. Seriously, I could have just eaten a spoonful of the stuff, it is so good!
Every bite of this cake is scrumptious. The decadent cake and sauce, the creamy topping, the crunchy Butterfingers. So many flavors and textures going on. Trust me, this is one spectacular cake!
How to make a Butterfinger Cake
Ingredients:
- chocolate cake mix
- water
- vegetable oil
- eggs
- sweetened condensed milk
- caramel sauce
- creamy peanut butter
- whipping cream (or heavy cream)
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract
- chopped Butterfingers
- Prepare cake as directed on box, let cool completely. Poke holes all over cake with the handle of a wooden spoon. Make a sauce by whisking together the sweetened condensed milk, caramel, and peanut butter. Pour caramel sauce over the cake.
- Whip the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla and spread over the cake. Chill for at least an hour. Sprinkle crushed Butterfingers on top of the cake just before serving.
You will notice that my cake sank in the middle. I forgot to set the timer, so I had to guess when it was done. I pulled it out too early and actually dropped the pan a little. It wasn’t even close to being done, so it fell big time. But it still tasted amazing.
Store any leftover cake in the refrigerator. It will last for 3-4 days.
Variations on Butterfinger Cake
- I used a chocolate cake mix, but you can use a yellow cake mix if you prefer.
- For this recipe, you sprinkle all the Butterfingers on top of the cake. You can sprinkle half of them on top of the caramel peanut butter sauce, and the other half on top of the cake.
- We love the cake with my homemade caramel sauce, but you can substitute your own recipe or use store bought caramel ice cream topping.
- I used creamy peanut butter in the sauce, but if you want some extra crunch, you could substitute crunchy peanut butter.
- I highly recommend using fresh whipped cream for the topping on the cake. Not only does it taste better, you can control the amount of sugar you add. You can substitute Cool Whip (whipped topping) if you like, but the cake will be much more sweet.
MORE AMAZING CAKE RECIPES:
- Easy Coconut Cake
- Banana Pudding Cake
- Yellow Sheet Cake
- German Chocolate Poke Cake
- Easy Pound Cake
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Lemon Pound Cake
OTHER TASTY RECIPES USING CANDY BARS:
Chocolate Butterfinger Cake Recipe
Chocolate Butterfinger Poke Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 15.25 ounce box Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
Topping
- 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup caramel sauce
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 8 .65 ounce fun sized Butterfinger candy bars, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare cake in a 9x13" pan according to directions on the box. Place pan on a wire rack and cool cake completely.
- Poke holes about an inch apart all over cake with the handle of a wooden spoon.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, caramel sauce, and peanut butter. Pour sauce over the cake, trying to fill as many holes as possible.
- Whip the cream with a hand mixer till soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar, and vanilla extract and beat till smooth. Spread evenly over the cake.
- Cover cake with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.
- Sprinkle crushed Butterfingers on top of the cake just before serving.
Nutrition
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I have made this cake several times. My daughter request it every time I give her a chance. It really is so good.
It’s so easy to make.
Your daughter must think like me, I try to make it as often as I can as well. It really is so, so good! Glad she loves it! 🙂
Can you use cool whip or whipping cream?
It calls for whipping cream, but in the post I do mention that you can use Cool Whip instead. It will just be sweeter.
Do you store the cake in the fridge? I’m going to make it for a party tomorrow and not sure if I should make it tonight or tomorrow??
Yes, you should definitely store it in the refrigerator because of the cream topping. It’s fine to make it ahead!
I made this for my husband who always wants a chocolate & p.b cake for his birthday. I didnt have the caramel sauce I thought I did. Which ended up better without it, or possibly half the amount of each caramel & pb. But it turned out a huge hit. Everyone loved it!!
So glad it was a hit even without the caramel sauce! I know it’s one of my favorites. 🙂
I just made this. I am wondering if it is best to cool the cake before pouring on the caramel sauce. It seems like warm would allow better absorption.
Sometimes if the cake is too hot, it melts the caramel sauce and it all sinks to the bottom. It’s a Goldilocks cake, can’t be too hot or too cold. Haha.
Really good! I made this for my youngest son’s 36th birthday, yesterday.
Hope he enjoyed it! My son requests some type of chocolate cake with candy bars for his birthday every year. 🙂
Made it for Family Birthday cake for 15 year old. Awesome!
This dessert is worth every effort. Totally amazing.
My favorite kind of poke cake!
Oh my goodness! This looks so sinful and delicious!
This cake is so dreamy! Love the butterfingers in it!