Better Than Sex Cake is a classic poke cake made with a chocolate cake mix infused with sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce, then topped with whipped cream, toffee bits, and chopped chocolate.
This moist, rich cake is ridiculously easy to bake (because it comes from a box!) but hacks a basic mix into the most deliciously decadent, naughty-named dessert.
Best Better Than Sex Cake
This Better Than Sex Cake recipe is easily made by combining a box of cake mix with pudding mix, milk, oil and eggs to form a batter that bakes into a thick chocolate base that’s perfect for poking.
The layer of condensed milk and caramel sauce pool in the poked holes to make it extra moist, and then it’s covered in a fluffy whipped topping, a drizzle of caramel topping, and a sprinkle of toffee and chocolate.
While this may not be a family-friendly name for a treat that tastes better than (fill in the blank), you can also call it Better Than Anything Cake, Better Than You Know What Cake, Robert Redford Cake, to name a few for those who prefer a bit more modesty.
For more shortcut recipes that you can bake from a box, try my Crockpot Chocolate Lava Cake, Cherry Dump Cake, or any of my other Poke Cake recipes.
Why We Love This Better Than Cake
- Quick and easy to make using a box of cake mix.
- Uses simple ingredients to create the ultimate BTS cake.
- What’s better than a chocolate cake soaked with sticky-sweet condensed milk and caramel sauce and covered with fluffy whipped cream and chopped candy?
- Fun for kids to mix, poke holes, and sprinkle on the candy.
- Perfect make-ahead dessert for parties, potlucks, or any celebration.
Better Than Anything Ingredients
- Chocolate fudge cake mix
- Chocolate pudding: Feel free to use a different type of pudding to slightly alter the flavor such as vanilla or white chocolate.
- Whole milk
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Sweetened and condensed milk
- Caramel sauce
- Whipped topping: Feel free to make your own homemade whipped cream using heavy cream and powdered sugar or use my easy go-to, Cool Whip.
- Toffee bits
- Chocolate bar: I used Hershey’s.
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Better then Sex Cake Substitutions and Additions
- Tasty Toppings: You can add almost any of your favorite toppings to this cake! Chop up some Reese’s peanut butter cups, Skor bars, Snickers, Oreos, Heath candy bar toffee bits, or Symphony bars with toffee in it. Or try topping your cake with a Butterfinger bar for a peanut butter crunch, or stick with just chocolate and omit the toffee. There is really no wrong way to top this cake.
- Choose Your Chocolate: I used a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar, but you can substitute the chocolate with your favorite type of chocolate or chocolate chips. Many candy bars, like Heath bars, Reese’s, Butterfingers, or 100 Grand, have similar tastes and textures.
- Mix-Up The Cake Mix: Feel free to swap the Chocolate Fudge cake mix for other cake mixes. Other chocolate options include Devil’s Food cake, German chocolate cake, Perfectly Moist Triple Chocolate cake, Double Chocolate cake, or any cake that has the word chocolate in it. You can also try this with a recipe with spice cake, yellow cake mix, white cake, or your own homemade cake.
- Swap The Sauce: You can replace caramel sauce with caramel ice cream topping, butterscotch sauce or topping, chocolate sauce or topping, or any other type of sweet sauce/topping that you prefer.
BTS Cake Recommended Tools
- 9×13 inch pan or baking dish
- Cooking spray
- Large bowl
- Chopstick or wooden spoon with a thin, circular handle
- Measuring tools
- Mixing tools (whisk, stirring spoon, hand mixer, or stand mixer)
How to make this Better than Sex Dessert Recipe
This Better Than Sex Cake recipe is quick and easy to make because it’s baked from a box of cake mix and then filled and topped with a few of your favorite sweet treats. Whether or not you think it lives up to its name, this cake is a decadent dessert that tastes delicious!
- Bake The Cake: Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, vegetable oil, and eggs to form a batter. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.
- Poke: Use the bottom of a chopstick or a wooden spoon to poke holes throughout the cake.
Pro Tip: Make sure holes don’t go through the bottom of the cake, only about ⅔ of the way down. - Pour: Cool the cake for 20-30 minutes and then pour the condensed milk all over the top, letting it pool in the poked holes. Pour caramel sauce over the condensed milk.
- Top: Spread the whipped topping over the top of the cake and drizzle with caramel sauce. Sprinkle the toffee bits and chopped chocolate evenly on top.
- Serve: Chill, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 1 hour before cutting and plating. Serve cold. Enjoy!
Tips for the Best Better than Sex Cake
- When pouring the sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce, aim directly into the poked holes until they are all filled. That way the sticky liquid will penetrate all of the cake. After they are filled you can pour the remaining liquid evenly on the top.
- Remember not to poke your holes all the way down through the cake or you may end up with liquid pooled at the bottom of the cake instead of soaked into the cake itself.
- Your holes will empty after a bit. This is totally normal as the liquids are absorbed into the cake. Once you add the whipped topping, they will all be covered and your cake will look and taste delicious.
- This cake tastes best if you wait a few hours before eating it. The longer the cake cools and rests in the fridge, the more flavorful it’ll become.
How to store BTS Cake
- To Store: You can store your cake, covered with plastic wrap, in the fridge for up to a week.
- To Freeze: To freeze, individually wrap slices with plastic wrap and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Better than Sex Cake Recipe FAQs
Cover your cake with plastic wrap and place leftovers into the refrigerator. It will be good for up to a week, but don’t let it sit too long or it might dry out or get too soggy.
To freeze, individually wrap slices with plastic wrap and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. The texture of the cake that has been frozen may change.
You can bake the chocolate cake up to 1 week ahead of time. Allow it to cool completely, cover it well, and store it in the fridge for a week, or longer in the freezer. When you are ready to make the cake, thaw it if frozen, poke the holes, and continue following the instructions.
If you don’t have a chopstick, a wooden spoon or plastic spoon will also work. You can also use a smooth handle of a spoon or fork if you are in a pinch.
I used whole milk for my cake, but you can also use 2%. I haven’t used a milk substitute but you shouldn’t have any issues if you prefer a dairy alternative.
This cake is known by numerous other names! It’s also called Better Than Best Cake, Almost Better Than Sex Cake, Better Than Anything Cake or Better Than You Know What Cake. If you’ve heard of Sex in a Pan, this is it…or perhaps you know it as Robert Redford Cake or Better Than Robert Redford Cake.
Other Easy Poke Cake Recipes
- Rainbow Poke Cake
- Strawberry Poke Cake
- Death By Chocolate Poke Cake
- Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake
- Jello Poke Cake {Use ANY Flavor!}
BETTER THAN CAKE
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce box chocolate fudge cake mix
- 3.1 ounce box chocolate pudding
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 14 ounce can sweetened and condensed milk
- ¾ cup caramel sauce divided
- 8 ounce tub whipped topping
- ½ cup toffee bits
- ½ cup chopped chocolate bar (I used Hershey's)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×13 inch cake pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, stir the chocolate fudge cake mix, pudding mix, milk, vegetable oil, and large eggs together until fully combined.
- Pour the prepared cake batter into the 9×13 inch cake pan and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.
- Remove the cake from the oven and use the bottom of a chopstick or a wooden spoon to poke holes throughout the cake, about ⅔ of the way down. Make sure holes don’t go through the bottom of the cake.
- Allow the cake to cool for 20-30 minutes.
- After the cake has cooled, pour the sweetened and condensed milk all over the cake, letting it pool in the poked holes.
- Pour ½ cup of the divided caramel sauce over the condensed milk.
- Gently spread the whipped topping all over the top of the cooled cake into an even layer.
- Drizzle the rest of the divided caramel sauce into simple zig zags across the whipped topping.
- Sprinkle the toffee bits and chopped chocolate evenly on top.
- Place, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 1 hour to cool completely. Cut, plate, and serve cold.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: You can store your cake, covered with plastic wrap, in the fridge for up to a week.
- To Freeze: To freeze, individually wrap slices with plastic wrap and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- When pouring the sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce, aim directly into the poked holes until they are all filled. That way the sticky liquid will penetrate all of the cake. After they are filled you can pour the remaining liquid evenly on the top.
- Remember not to poke your holes all the way down through the cake or you may end up with liquid pooled at the bottom of the cake instead of soaked into the cake itself.
- Your holes will empty after a bit. This is totally normal as the liquids are absorbed into the cake. Once you add the whipped topping, they will all be covered and your cake will look and taste delicious.
- This cake tastes best if you wait a few hours before eating it. The longer the cake rests in the fridge, the more flavorful it’ll become.
I’ve tried many and this one is the best in my opinion. Loved it!
delicious
could u provide recipe in metric at all to convert pls ?
Send me the better than sex cake recipe. Thank you!
I’m just trying to view it now!
Sounds good
Please put this cake recipe on my e- mail so I can print from my desk top computer.Thank you..
Is the pudding instant pudding or the regular kind that you cook on the stove?
Instant