Chocolate and caramel are perfect with crunchy peanuts in this Easy Snickers Bar Cake that starts with a box mix.
When you crave a chocolate cake and a candy bar at the same time this super easy recipe with caramel and sweetened condensed milk is the way to go!
If you like this recipe you may also enjoy our Best Chocolate Cake From A Box or Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds.
Snickers Cake Recipe
Gooey caramel and sweet milk soak into all of the holes in this Snickers Poke Cake recipe make the most amazing base layer. I love that it starts with a box of cake mix!
Top this poke cake with a thick layer of whipped topping, chopped Snickers bars and peanuts for your own super easy homemade Snickers Cake!
This cake was inspired by our Heath Bar Cake which has been very popular in our family and on Pinterest! So we realized we needed to convert that box mix cake to feature the classic caramel, peanut and chocolate flavors of a Snickers Bar.
This cake would also taste delicious using Snickers Almond Bars and substituting the peanuts on top with the almonds.
Our obsession with taking a box mix of cake and making it better includes our Orange Cake with Pineapple Icing and Glazed Rum Bundt Cake. The semi-homemade options are truly endless on how to enhance cake box mixes.
Candy Bar Cake
We have quite the collection of Candy Bar Cakes that began with my all-time favorite Milky Way Cake.
Snickers Candy Bars are so popular we had to give this one a try. And these ingredients are so easy to keep in the pantry.
A couple years ago I made this 3 Musketeers Cake for my husband’s birthday out of his absolute favorite candy bar. More recently we’ve made O’ Joy Brownie Bars with a box mix of brownies.
Ingredients Needed
- Box of Devil’s Food Cake Mix
- Eggs
- Vegetable oil
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Caramel flavored topping
- Snickers candy bars
- Cool Whip
- Peanuts
How to Keep a Snickers Poke Cake Moist
When baking a box mix I always take the lower end of the baking range and knock a few minutes off of that.
When the timer goes off I look at it and give the pan a shake. If it still looks like jello in the center I add 5 – 10 minutes.
I use a toothpick and test the center of the cake if it looks close to being done. If it comes out clean or almost clean I take the cake out of the oven and cover it with foil to hold in all remaining moisture.
Know that you can always add more baking time, but you can’t take it away or undo what’s already been baked.
Adding the caramel syrup and sweetened condensed milk also gives an amazing new dimension to the idea of keeping a cake moist.
Tips For Making Snickers Caramel Cake
- My kids usually poke the holes in this cake – there is no exact rule, just try no to over lap or really enlarge holes
- Devil’s food cake mix can be substituted for any chocolate cake mix if needed
- Caramel sauce can be substituted for melted caramels or most any gooey caramel flavored sauce that is pourable
- The recipe calls for 3-4 chopped full sized Snickers bars, but get more because the pieces seem to disappear during the chopping process or when I leave the room
- Fun-sized bars can be chopped up or Snickers bite could just be sprinkled straight on top
- You can really put any type of candy of top of this cake that you want
- Be sure to defrost 2 – 8-ounce packages of Cool Whip or one larger container – more whipped topping does make the cake better
- Chocolate syrup and caramel sauce can also be sprinkled on top if desired
How To Make A Snickers Bar Cake
Make a box mix of chocolate cake according to directions on the box. We like devil’s food cake mix for this recipe.
Take the round end of a wooden spoon and make several holes in the top of the entire cake.
Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly across the top of the cake allowing the sauce to soak into the holes.
Pour caramel sauce over the top. I like to use mini silicone spatulas to completely clean out the jar.
Refrigerate for 1 – 2 hours until the cake is chilled.
While the cake is chilling is a great time to chop the candy bars if you think they’ll be safe for an hour or so.
Add a nice thick layer of Cool Whip which is one and a half to two regular-sized tubs. Or one larger package of whipped topping.
Sprinkled chopped candy bars and peanuts on top.
This cake tastes best when chilled (so be sure to store in the refrigerator) and should be enjoyed within 1 – 2 days. The base layer can be prepared ahead of time, but wait to add whipped topping until ready to serve.
Other Easy Cakes To Enjoy:
- Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake
- Pina Colada Cake
- Cream Puff Cake
- Church Cake
- Strawberry Banana Split Cake
Printable Easy Snickers Bar Cake Recipe
Easy Snickers Cake
Ingredients
- 15 ounce box devil's food cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 12 ounce jar caramel topping
- 3 – 4 Snicker's Candy Bars crushed
- 12 ounces whipped topping thawed
- 1/4 cup peanuts
Instructions
- Bake cake per directions on the box.
- Once baked allow cake to cool slightly, then poke holes over entire top of cake with the small round handle of a wooden spoon.
- Pour condensed milk evenly over the top of cake and let it soak into the holes. Repeat with the caramel topping.
- Cover and chill cake for 1 – 2 hours.
- Spread whipped topping over the cake making it like frosting. Sprinkle chopped Snickers bars over the top of the cake. Garnish with peanuts if desired
Equipment
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Nutrition
Originally published April 6, 2020 with pictures updated on March 8, 2023.
This looks absolutely heavenly! I’ll have to whip one up this weekend.