Butterfinger Cake Recipe
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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
Love, love, love this recipe.
My grandma always called it, “Knock Me Naked Cake.” Let me tell you, the first time I brought it to a church potluck, I secretly loved all the little ladies asking me the name of my recipe. Big eyes all around but they ate it up, anyway.
Thanks for the reminder!
I have a recipe similar to this the only difference is it calls for skor bars or heath bars and it is called better that sex cake. My husband loves it I hadnt thought of using butterfinger but will next time I make it, it will be even better. Thanks .
Well, I thought I had my mind all made up to make a Blueberry Pound Cake with Lemon Sauce for a fish fry this weekend…but then I saw The Butterfinger Cake! Oh my Lord, it looks so good!! Gotta have it 🙂
Thank you Christy!
And as for ‘Anonymous’ posting about the Pizza Rolls, why on God’s green Earth would someone go on a cooking blog named “Southern Plate” anyway?? We are Southerners…we eat GOOD food…not lettuce wraps…LOL..
Anonymous needs to go back to her little corner, and munch on some shredded cardboard.
Love your site!! Thanks again.
Rose,
I have to say that I COMPLETELY agree with you on the pizza rolls posting! My dr. told me today that I need to quit making my homemade fried chicken and bake it instead. I asked him what was the point in that? I’m from TN, I LOVE fried chicken!
now, as for Christy’s Butterfinger Cake….Well, words just CANNOT describe it! My hubby made it once before and he’s making it again tomorrow. He doesn’t like sweets, but he will fight you over this cake. Christy, I can’t wait to see more recipies from you! If you are interested, I have possibly the best fried chicken recipe in 3 states (lol) and bunches of other ones too!
You are making me hungry for fried chicken followed by butterfinger cake!
Christy, that looks scrumptious! I would like to point out a teeny tiny little bitty ol’ “proofreading error” I caught, if you don’t mind, ma’am. The recipe at the bottom doesn’t mention the part about sprinkling 3/4 of the crushed Butterfinger Bar over the cake before “frosting” with Cool Whip, then adding the remaining 1/4 as a garnish. I know you accidentally overlooked that step and it IS contained in the tutorial above it. I frequently “copy and paste” your recipes into a document that I save in my “Recipes” folder. I just noticed the omission when I went to do just that. That is not a criticism but is, rather, just a little helpful piece of information. You are sweeter than that Butterfinger Cake, so I hope you don’t think I’m being a grouch, a sourpuss or a Negative Nelly! LOL! 😀
I’ve never had a sweeter error correction, Thank you so much!! I know it took twice as long typing to make it so kind and gentle and You are an angel for doing that!!!
Gratefully,
Christy
I just made this cake and your father’s day menu for our camping trip this weekend! It looks so good! I am telling the kids it is called first day of summer cake! There are 10 of us camping together this weekend and I think the cake will be the hit! You are my go to girl for cooking!
I made this cake yesterday. It’s so yummy! I love the caramel gooeyness that seeped down into the cake. Maybe I didn’t do a fantastic job poking it with the fork, but there are parts of it that seem like normal cake, and parts that have lots of caramely stuff. This is a GOOD thing though and makes it even nicer! The only thing I would change is to add more Butterfinger bars next time because I love them. Thanks for the great recipe, Christy!
I love this cake! But…when I make mine, I use German Chocolate cake mix. Never had it with devils food. And instead of dirtying up another dish, just pour the caramel and sweetened condensed milk straight out of the jar and can!