Butterfinger Cake Recipe
This Butterfinger cake is the easiest poke cake you’ll ever make. Featuring a chocolate cake base and topped with caramel topping, Butterfinger candy, and Cool Whip, it’s the definition of a deliciously decadent dessert.
It’s true, everyone I know loves this Butterfinger cake recipe. Grown men swoon for it, and children polish their halos and change their vocabulary to “mother dear” for it. No cake I have ever had in a restaurant holds a candle to this indulgent poke cake.
This is the ultimate in decadence and guess what else? EASE! This is the easiest cake on earth to make. Never have you stopped a show with so little effort. All you have to do is bake the boxed cake mix according to the instructions, smear your cake with a sweet and addictive condensed milk and caramel topping combination, then add a thick layer of whipped cream and crushed Butterfinger crumbs. Just like that, you’re ready to enjoy a slice of your deliciously moist Butterfinger cake.
In case you didn’t know, I’m a big fan of poke cakes because they’re easy to make and mouthwateringly delicious. Here are some more of my favorite poke cake recipes: s’mores poke cake, Jell-O poke cake, pineapple poke cake, and Candy Corn poke cake.
Recipe Ingredients
- Devil’s Food Cake Mix (the cheaper the better, we want a good old coarse cake).
- Can of sweetened condensed milk
- Caramel topping
- Cool Whip
- Butterfinger candy bar
How To Make Butterfinger Cake Step by Step
Prepare cake mix and according to the package directions.
When it comes out, poke holes all in it with a fork or the handle of a wooden spoon, just like we did on the pineapple poke cake. Don’t stop until it looks like a swarm of four toothed mosquitoes attacked!
Pour the entire can of sweetened condensed milk into a bowl, add the caramel topping, and stir to combine.
How to Make it a Poke Cake
While the cake is still hot, pour the caramel/condensed milk all over the top and spread it around evenly. Then let it soak in. Oh my good lord almighty, this is gonna be good.
Sprinkle 3/4 of the chopped Butterfinger crumbs over the cake. Now let it cool a bit. I stick mine in the fridge at this point.
Once it is cooled, top with the whole thing of whipped cream and remaining Butterfinger bits. Refrigerate.
Now, you can eat this now but it really and truly should get good and cold before you do.
Alright so go ahead and eat a bit now if you have to, but just promise me you’ll have another slice once it cools. You may even need to have two or three slices once it is good and cold so you can make sure you are tasting it fully as it would be quite rude to serve something to others which you have not adequately tasted – for their own good, of course.
Storage
- Because of the whipped topping, you must store any cake leftovers covered in the fridge. They’ll last for up to 3 days.
- If you want to store leftovers in the freezer, I recommend freezing the cake without the whipped topping and candy crumbs for best results. Store the cake in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
- Instead of the chocolate cake mix, you could use a yellow cake mix or fudge marble cake mix instead.
- Alternatively, substitute the Butterfinger candy bar for your favorite, whether that’s Snickers, KitKat, or Twix. You could even use a combination of your favorites. Just chop them up and sprinkle them on top!
- If you want to add an extra indulgence to your cake, drizzle it with peanut butter, extra , or some chocolate syrup.
- The Canadian and UK version of a Butterfinger bar is a Wunderbar.
Recipe FAQs
What is a poke cake?
A poke cake is a cake that is poked full of holes to allow icing, Jell-o, pudding, or in this case, sweetened condensed milk and caramel, to slide on through. By “poking” the top of the freshly baked cake the syrup or cream runs down into those holes, settles in there real good, and enhances the taste of the cake. Poke cakes gained popularity around the 70s when cake mixes were introduced.
What is the difference between Butterfinger cake and Better Than Anything cake?
The main difference between these two cakes is that Better Than Anything cake uses Heath bars rather than Butterfinger candy bars. But the rest of the recipe is basically the same.
Can I make this poke cake in advance?
Yes, if you want to assemble the entire Butterfinger cake recipe ahead of time, you can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, the Butterfinger crumbs will lose their crunch after a day or so. Another option is to make the cake ahead of time and then add the toppings before serving.
Here are more delightfully easy cake recipes to bake:
Easy Birthday Cake Recipe From Scratch
Super Easy King Cake Recipe (WOW GOOD!)
An Easy Cheesecake Recipe With Cheesecake Topping Options
Peach Dump Cake Recipe (3 Ingredients Only)
Ingredients
- 1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix
- 1 bottle caramel topping
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 large tub Cool Whip
- 1 Butterfinger bar
Instructions
- Prepare the cake according to package directions. Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, poke several holes all over the top with a fork.1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix
- Mix sweetened condensed milk and caramel together and pour it over the hot cake. Make sure to spread it over the entire cake. Chill well.1 bottle caramel topping, 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- After the cake has chilled completely, spread the Cool Whip over the top and sprinkle the crushed Butterfinger bar on top of the whipped topping.1 large tub Cool Whip, 1 Butterfinger bar
Nutrition
“You know, it just kills me when folks come to my blog and expect to find health food.”
There is just something so wrong</strong about reading the words “health food” and “Southern cooking” on the same page. Unsettling, really.
This looks like a GREAT cake especially since I love Butterfinger bars.
Hi Christy! I just wanted to pop back in & let you know that I made it to the store and got my butterfinger bars. I made the butterfinger cake and was in no way dissappointed, it is to die for! My 20 yr old son , his girlfriend & her sister all had big slices and said it was a keeper and made me promise to make it often. My two youngest ages 8 and 11 said it is the best cake ever and made me promise to thank you for telling me how to make it.So all of us are sending you a big THANK YOU!!!
I was getting really bored with cooking and fixing the same old things over & over. You have put the fun and excitement back into cooking for me. I love going through all your recipes and finding different and wonderful new foods to fix for my family that are so easy as well as cheap to put together.
You have a great site and we all luv ya loads.
Hi, Christy,
I have been on your site for a couple of hours now! Just love it! Please keep it up. 🙂
I have been making this cake for a long time, 15-17 years! Mine is a little different – I use chocolate syrup, caramel syrup AND sweetened condensed milk – and I don’t mix them…I just pour each one straight from the can onto the cake! Oh, and I use the handle end of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the cake!
My son-in-law has loved me ever since I made it for him, when he and my daughter were first dating! 🙂
OHhhhh this cake sounds so heavenly!! I’m heading to the store in the morning to get butterfinger bars so I can make this. Can’t wait to put this on the table for my brood, lol.
Christy, much appreciation and many thanks for all the fantastic, easy recipes and all the good humor you add with each of them. Sure am glad I stumbled my way in here.
thanks from Va.
Greetings from Kentucky Angie! I just happened to stumble on your site and oh my word…..I am in love!!!!!! Hubby is on his way to Wal-Mart now to get the ingredients for this wonderful cake! Thanks so much! 🙂
oops! The recipe had me so giddy…Christy not Angie. Angie is my best friend that I am calling about this recipe. LOL
Man oh man, this recipe would make a puppy pull a freight train! Now I’ve got to go back to the store and get the ingredients. I just went yesterday but this one is worth a second trip. Thanks from F;orida. 🙂
I have been making this for my daughters birthday for the last 8 years or more just a tad bit of difference,her favorite flavor cake is devils food, candybar is heath bar, she dosent care for icing but loves cool whip, I found a recipe somewhat like this one just use the chocolate ice cream topping instead. She ask for no other wants no other, Her exact words “Mom this is the best cake I think I have ever tasted, From now on this is the only birthday cake I want. so I make her one each year, If none of you havent tried it do you will not be sorry, It will become a favorite, and thats a fact. Happy Cookin all