Butter Brickle Poke Cake

Butter Brickle Poke Cake was inspired by my husband Lee because one of his favorite flavors of ice cream is butter brickle. We love the flavor combination this poke cake recipe offers. And, I am happy to say that this is now one of Lee’s favorite desserts. Not sure about you but one of the reasons I love cooking and baking is to make people happy. It is very satisfying when someone raves over food I make for them.

For this delicious cake I made a butter recipe yellow cake mix and put some Heath toffee bits into the cake batter before I baked it. When it came out of the oven I poked holes in the warm cake, then added a layer of vanilla pudding, and then a layer of Cool Whip. And I didn’t stop there, I decided it needed a drizzle of caramel sauce and little pieces of Heath bars. It is a decadent and delicious easy dessert.

We didn’t quite follow the package directions when making our cake. We opted for melted butter instead of softened butter. Bon Appetit has an interesting article about using melted butter in baked goods. I also made this easy peasy by not even using a hand mixer, I just whisked everything together.

This cake is similar to the Better Than Sex Cake but we use yellow cake instead of chocolate cake. We use vanilla pudding instead of sweetened condensed milk.

Ingredients:

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Ingredient Notes:

Boxed Cake Mix – we use our favorite brand of yellow cake.

Butter – I like real unsalted butter for this.

Eggs – we use Eggland’s Best large eggs.

Vanilla Pudding – store bought instant pudding works perfectly for this.

Milk – we like whole milk.

Toffee Bits – these are found on the aisle with the chocolate chips.

Cool Whip – I prefer this because it holds up well.

Caramel Sauce – store bought or homemade.

Heath Bits – these come already chopped up and ready to go, also on the aisle with the chocolate chips.

How to Make Butter Brickle Poke Cake:

1. Melt butter and allow to cool slightly.
2. Preheat oven to 350° and spray a 13 X 9 pan with cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl mix cake mix, butter, water, eggs and toffee pieces with a whisk until well combined.
4. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 32 – 35 minutes. See notes below on how to tell if a cake is done.
5. When cake is done remove it from the oven and poke holes in it with the handle end of a wooden spoon.
6. In a medium bowl mix the pudding mix with cold milk and let sit for a couple of minutes to thicken a little bit. Pour over the top of the cake and spread evenly so the pudding gets down into the holes. Top with whipped topping. Drizzle top of cake with caramel sauce and then sprinkle with chopped up Heath candy. We allow the cake to set up in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before cutting. You can totally cut it an eat it right away of you want!

 

What Kind of Cake Pan Should You Use:

Basically you can use whatever type you have. I use a stoneware casserole dish. There was a time that the only kind of pan this size I owned was metal. You can use metal, glass, ceramic or stoneware. Just remember if you are using a nonstick or dark pan to lower the oven temp to 325° and start checking it a little earlier.

 

How to Tell When Cake is Done:

Your oven and even the type of pan you bake the cake in all play a part in how long a particular cake takes to bake. There are a few tell-tale signs a cake is done. I have underbaked cake before and while it was still edible it didn’t look as good because the center of the cake was sort of sunken down.

Some of these methods work better on some cakes than others. You can’t tell if a chocolate cakes edges are brown, and inserting a toothpick into a cake that has fruit or chocolate chips in it might not come out clean. Taking all of these things into account will help determine if your specific cake is completely baked.

Here are the best ways to tell that your cake is ready to be taken out of the oven:

• The edges start to brown.
• Lightly touch the top of the cake and if it springs back and no indentation remains then it is done.
• The edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan.
• A toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.

Tips & Tricks:

Make sure your butter isn’t hot.

Let the eggs come to room temperature.

Put small dollops of Cool Whip on top of the pudding and spread in one direction so you have a layer of pudding, then a layer of whipped topping. Spreading it in a back-and-forth motion will result in the two being mixed together. You can refrigerate the cake after you add the pudding so it will set up a bit to make it a little easier if you want.

Variations:

The possibilities are nearly endless on the ways to change this up a bit.

• Use a different flavor pudding. Chocolate or butterscotch would taste great on this.
• Use a different flavor cake mix.
• Add a drizzle of hot fudge, chocolate sauce or butterscotch topping.
• You can use homemade cake, pudding, or whipped cream. I wanted this recipe to be quick and easy, but if you have time then I think this dessert might be even tastier. I can’t even imagine!

More poke cake dessert ideas:

Tornado Cake

Twix Cake

Black Forest

Peppermint Mocha

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