Butterfinger Poke Cake is the ultimate easy dessert! A moist cake mix base is loaded with caramel, sweetened condensed milk, whipped topping, and plenty of crushed Butterfingers. Perfect for any gathering!

Slice of Butterfinger Cake topped with whipped cream and candy crumbles on a white plate.
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What is Butterfinger Cake?

Just as its name suggests, Butterfinger Cake captures the essence of the candy bar, but with a twist. While this poke cake recipe doesn’t replicate the exact crunch of the classic candy bar, it’s infused with its signature caramel sweetness. The caramel condensed milk mixture and moist cake deliver a flavor reminiscent of the candy bar but with a softer, more decadent texture.

What Is A Poke Cake?

A poke cake is a freshly baked cake, either from a box or from scratch, poked with holes and filled with a liquid or creamy filling to infuse flavor. Popular fillings include condensed milk, pureed fruit or preserves, pudding, chocolate cream, caramel or chocolate sauce, or jello.

Ingredients You Need for Butterfinger Poke Cake

 butterfinger cake ingredients.
  • Yellow cake mix plus the ingredients listed on box
  • Sweetened condensed milk
  • Caramel ice cream topping: Feel free to try my homemade salted caramel sauce if you have the time!
  • Whipped Topping: You can use Cool Whip or a homemade whipped cream for this recipe. If you make your own, be sure to whip the heavy whipping cream into stiff peaks so it holds its shape on top the cake.
  • Butterfinger candy

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Slice of Butterfinger cake with whipped topping and candy pieces.

How to Make Butterfinger Cake: Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Bake The Cake: Prepare the cake batter according to the box instructions and bake as directed for a 9×13 glass pan.
  2. Poke: Poke holes with a fork or wooden spoon handle over the baked cake.
  3. Make The Caramel Mixture: Mix together the sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce. Pour the mixture over the warm cake and let it soak into the holes.
  4. Cool And Cover: Cool in the fridge for an hour and then spread the container of Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle with crushed candy bar pieces.
  5. Serve: Store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Enjoy!
A baked cake with holes poked into it, caramel and sweetened condensed milk poured over the top, spread with Cool Whip, and finished with crushed Butterfinger candy bars.

Tips for the Best Butterfinger Cake

  • Cool The Cake: Let cake cool just a few minutes when removing from the oven. If you poke holes in the cake hot out of the oven it will tear it more than make holes like you want. 
  • Dessert Is Done: You will know your cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted comes away clean and the top bounces back when gently tapped. Every oven cooks differently, so begin checking the cake at the 22 to 23-minute mark.
  • Prepare Your Pokes: Evenly distribute your pokes. The handle of a wooden spoon works well, but wipe the end clean between pokes to avoid making them too big. Don’t poke all of the way to the bottom of the cake, and avoid overly large holes, which can make the liquid run out of the bottom.
  • Thicken The Topping: I often mix my whipped topping with powdered sugar to thicken it a bit, which makes it easier to spread. It also holds up longer in the heat, which is nice if you’re bringing the cake to a picnic or BBQ.
butterfinger poke cake

Variations of Butterfinger Poke Cake to Try

  • Make With A Different Mix: Feel free to use your favorite flavored cake mix for this poke cake recipe. For chocolate fans, you can use a chocolate cake mix or devil’s food cake mix. You can also try a marble or vanilla cake mix. Gluten-free mixes will taste delicious too! Feel free to make Butterfinger poke cake from scratch if you have a recipe you love.
  • Other Frosting Flavors: While a tub of cool whipped topping is convenient, a cream cheese frosting, peanut butter frosting, or chocolate frosting will also taste delicious.
  • Customize Your Cake: Get creative with the way you cover your cake! Add a drizzle of hot fudge sauce, caramel topping, chocolate syrup, or a combination of them all. Sprinkle on some chopped peanuts, cookie crumbles, or your favorite kinds of crushed candy.

How to Store Butterfinger Cake

You should store your poke cake in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it, and keep it refrigerated in between servings. If there are leftovers, cover the cake and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. It’s best when served in the first couple of days so that it stays nice and moist.

You can also freeze the cake without the whipped topping and candy bar pieces for best results. Store the cake in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Can You Make Butterfinger Cake Ahead of Time?

This is the perfect cake recipe to make in advance, especially because the cake needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. It tastes even better as it sits, giving the filling more time to infuse and moisten the cake. Make sure to cover and refrigerate the cake, and do not add the chopped candy until right before you serve, or they will lose their crunch.

Butterfinger Cake topped with whipped cream and crushed candy in a baking dish.

Love Poke Cakes! Try These:

If you tried this Butterfinger Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!

4.76 from 33 votes
Butterfinger cake slice topped with candy and caramel drizzle.

Butterfinger Cake Recipe

Serves — 12
This Butterfinger Cake is filled with the iconic candy bar flavor, prepared in poke cake form! The perfect combination of moist cake, caramel filling, whipped topping, and crunchy candy in every poked piece.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 yellow cake mix and ingredients listed on the box to make cake
  • 7 oz (½ can) sweetened condensed milk
  • 6 oz (½ jar) caramel ice cream topping
  • 8 oz Cool Whip
  • 4 Butterfinger candy bars chopped

Instructions
 

  • Make and bake cake per box instructions for a 9×13 glass dish.
    1 yellow cake mix
  • Let cake cool just a few minutes when removing from the oven.Then take a fork or wooden skewer and poke holes all in the top of the cake.(If you poke holes in the cake hot out of the oven it will tear it more than make holes like you want).
  • In a medium bowl mix together the sweetened condensed milk and the jar of caramel sauce.
    7 oz (½ can) sweetened condensed milk, 6 oz (½ jar) caramel ice cream topping
  • Pour over the warm cake and let it soak down into the cake.
  • Cool the cake in the fridge for an hour and then spread the container of Cool Whip over the top of the cake.
    8 oz Cool Whip
  • Sprinkle the crushed candy bars over the top of the Cool Whip.
    4 Butterfinger candy bars
  • Keep cake refrigerated.

Jenn’s Notes

Storage:
You should store your Butterfinger cake in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it, and also keep it refrigerated in between servings! If there are leftovers, make sure to cover the cake and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. It’s best when served in the first couple of days so that it stays nice and moist.

Nutrition Info

Calories: 367kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 444mg | Potassium: 158mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 90IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 173mg | Iron: 1mg

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4.76 from 33 votes (29 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Easy recipe to follow, made it for some friends and they enjoyed it and asking for another one. So I will be remaking this and am going to try the Fireball one for some girls that will be having a get together!

  2. 1 star
    Way too much liquid. The cake was so soggy it was gross. I made it for a cookout yesterday and was totally disappointed. Half the caramel and condensed milk combination and it probably would have been amazing.

    1. 1 star
      Did you refrigerate the cake before serving? I’m going to make this with my grandson’s, just trying to see if I should cut back on the liquid.