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This death by chocolate poke cake is the one I bring when I want to win over every chocolate lover at the table. The Devil’s Food cake bakes up soft, then soaks up a warm chocolate filling until the center turns almost fudgy. It is chocolate stacked on chocolate, and it earns the death-by-chocolate name in every single bite.
What I love about this one is how easy it is for how impressive it looks. It starts with a box of cake mix, but nobody guesses that when they taste it. The cake stays soft and almost fudgy where the filling soaks in, and the whipped cream on top keeps each bite from feeling too heavy.
The filling is what sets mine apart. Instead of a box of prepared pudding, I melt sweetened condensed milk with Hershey bars, and that one change is why mine turns out so moist. It sinks into the cake and adds another layer of real chocolate, and the homemade chocolate whipped cream on top is worth the few extra minutes over a tub of Cool Whip.
If you like this one, I have a whole collection of easy poke cake recipes that all start with a box of cake mix. It is also one of the easy chocolate recipes I reach for most when I am feeding a crowd.
Family Favorite
The Poke Cake I Have Made for Years of Get-Togethers
I started making poke cakes back when my kids were little, when I wanted a dessert that looked like real work but did not take much to pull off. This is the one I reach for when I know it is going to be a chocolate crowd at a birthday or a potluck. A single pan feeds a crowd, and it always comes back to me empty.
Key Ingredients
Sweetened condensed milk and Hershey’s chocolate bars: This is the filling, and the reason the cake turns out so moist. Melt them together and they become a pourable chocolate that sinks straight into the poked holes. I use this instead of a box of prepared pudding because it adds real chocolate, not just sweetness.
Devil’s Food cake mix: I use Betty Crocker Devil’s Food because it bakes up the richest and darkest. Any chocolate cake mix works, but a plain chocolate mix will taste lighter, so reach for Devil’s Food if you want the deepest chocolate base.
Heavy whipping cream: I make the topping from scratch with heavy cream, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar instead of a tub of Cool Whip. It whips into a lighter chocolate topping that balances the rich filling better than another heavy frosting. If you want a version that holds longer, my homemade whipped cream recipe uses a stabilizer.
Cocoa powder: This is what turns plain whipped cream into chocolate whipped cream. Unsweetened cocoa gives the topping real chocolate flavor while the powdered sugar keeps it sweet.
How to Make Death By Chocolate Poke Cake
Step 1: Bake the Cake Mix the Devil’s Food cake mix with the eggs, oil, and water, then bake it in a greased 9×13 pan following the times on the box. Let it bake all the way through before you move on.
Step 2: Poke the Holes The second the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes all over the top while it is still hot. The back of a wooden spoon makes the right size holes, and hot cake lets the filling soak all the way down.
Step 3: Melt the Chocolate Filling Add the sweetened condensed milk and the Hershey bars to a bowl and microwave in short bursts, stirring between each, until it is smooth and pourable. Stir it well so there are no lumps of chocolate left.
Step 4: Fill and Chill the Cake Pour the warm filling over the cake and use a spatula to push it down into the holes and out to the edges. Let it cool on the counter for an hour, then cover and refrigerate so the filling has time to soak in and set.
Step 5: Whip the Chocolate Cream In a chilled bowl, beat the cold heavy cream until it starts to thicken, then add the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla and keep beating to stiff peaks. Stop as soon as it holds so it stays smooth.
Step 6: Top and Finish Spread the chocolate whipped cream over the chilled cake, then drizzle chocolate syrup over the top and scatter on the mini chocolate chips. Keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
How to Store It
This cake needs to stay cold. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, and return the pan to the fridge between servings while you are serving it. The homemade chocolate whipped cream softens at room temperature, so it will not hold up on a counter for long.
More Poke Cakes to Try
Death By Chocolate Poke Cake
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 oz box ) Betty Crocker Devil's Food Chocolate Cake Mix
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup oil
- ½ cup water
- 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 (1.55 ounce) milk chocolate Hershey bars broken into rectangles
Chocolate Whipped Cream
- 2 cups heavy whipped cream chilled
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
Cake Toppings
- Mini Chocolate Chips
- Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine chocolate cake mix, eggs, oil, and water. Stir to combine. Follow directions on the back of the Cake Mix Box and cook accordingly in a greased 9×13 cake pan.1 (15.25 oz box ) Betty Crocker Devil's Food Chocolate Cake Mix, 3 eggs, ½ cup oil, ½ cup water
- When the cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and immediately poke holes all over the top of the cake with the end of a mixing spoon. Set aside.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and two Hershey Chocolate Bars. Microwave for 30 seconds, remove from the microwave and stir. Microwave for an additional 15 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir again. Mix with a spoon until completely combined.1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk, 2 (1.55 ounce) milk chocolate Hershey bars
- Pour sweetened mixture over the top of the holes on the cake. Use a rubber spatula to push sweetened mixture down into the holes and the sides of the cake. Let cool on the counter for one hour, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours to allow sweetened mixture time to soak into the cake.
- While the cake is in the refrigerator, place a large mixing bowl in the freezer and allow to chill until ready to use for the Chocolate Whipped Cream topping.
- In the large mixing bowl that has been in the freezer, add 2 cups of chilled heavy whipping cream. Use a hand mixer on a fast speed to mix until it starts to thicken.2 cups heavy whipped cream
- Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. Continue to mix with the hand mixer until incorporated and stiff peaks form.½ cup powdered sugar, ⅓ cup cocoa powder, 1 tsp vanilla
- Immediately spread the chocolate whipped topping over the entire top of the cake.
- Drizzle chocolate syrup and sprinkle mini chocolate chips on the top of the cake.Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, Mini Chocolate Chips
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Jenn’s Notes
- Use cold heavy cream straight from the fridge and a chilled bowl so the chocolate whipped cream reaches stiff peaks. Stop mixing the moment it holds, or it turns grainy.
- Poke the holes the second the cake comes out of the oven while it is still hot, so the melted chocolate filling soaks all the way down.
- Let the filled cake chill for the full time before you add the whipped cream, so the filling sets into the cake first.
Is there anything I could use to replace the Hershey bars with the sweetened condensed milk bc I don’t have any but I would love to make it still
I haven’t tested it without the Hershey bars, and I wouldn’t recommend simply leaving them out. The melted chocolate and sweetened condensed milk work together to create the rich filling that soaks into the cake, so skipping the chocolate will change both the flavor and texture.
If you have milk chocolate chips or another milk chocolate bar on hand, those should work as a substitute for the Hershey bars. Otherwise, I’d recommend waiting until you have the chocolate for the best results. 😊
Hi, I’m making this cake today & I see that your recipe calls for 1/2 cup water, while the cake box says 1 cup water. When watching you video, it looks like your cake batter is thinner than mine – since I only used 1/2 cup. We’ll see how it bakes up, fingers crossed.
Great question! For this recipe, the reduced water amount is intentional. Since we’re adding other ingredients that add moisture and richness, using the full 1 cup from the box mix would make the cake too thin and affect the final texture.
The batter should be a bit thicker than a traditional boxed cake, so you did it right! It will bake up nice and rich. Fingers crossed you love it!
Looks so yummy and delicious
Thank you! It really is!
any way to do this recipe without the sweetened condensed milk?
You can make this cake without the sweetened condensed milk, but it will change the texture and sweetness. The sweetened condensed milk soaks into the cake and makes it extra moist and rich. If you leave it out, the cake will be drier. A lighter option some readers use is to poke the holes and pour in chocolate syrup or hot fudge sauce instead, but I haven’t tested this swap myself so I can’t say how it will turn out.