Ingredients
- 1 box Devil’s Food chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients listed on the cake box (usually eggs, oil, and water)
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 16 ounces caramel sauce
- 8 ounces Cool Whip, thawed
- 4 Heath bars, chopped
These ingredients match classic “Better Than Sex” / “Better Than Anything” cakes that use Devil’s Food cake, sweetened condensed milk, caramel sauce, whipped topping, and toffee or Heath bits.
Ingredient notes
Devil’s Food cake mix
Devil’s Food cake is traditionally used because it has a deep chocolate flavor and moist crumb that holds up to the poke-and-soak method. Any brand of Devil’s Food or rich chocolate cake mix that bakes in a 9×13 pan will work.
Sweetened condensed milk
This is the key to the ultra-moist, almost fudgy texture. The thick, sweet milk sinks into the holes and soaks the cake from the inside out. Be sure you’re using sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated milk—the cans look similar but behave very differently.
Caramel sauce
Jarred caramel sauce (often ice-cream topping style) adds buttery, toffee-like sweetness and blends with the condensed milk inside the cake. Thinner sauces soak in quickly; thicker ones can be warmed briefly to make them easier to spread and pour.
Cool Whip
Frozen whipped topping is classic here because it spreads easily, holds up well in the fridge, and doesn’t weep as quickly as fresh whipped cream. Use it fully thawed so it spreads smoothly over the chilled cake.
Heath bars
Chopped Heath bars add crunch and a toffee-chocolate flavor that ties in perfectly with the caramel and chocolate cake. Many variations use toffee bits, but full bars chopped by hand give more texture and those great little chocolate-toffee shards.
Step-by-step instructions
Bake the cake
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Prepare the Devil’s Food cake mix according to the package directions for a 9×13 cake, using the eggs, oil, and water amounts specified on the box.
- Pour the batter into the prepared dish and bake as directed until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- When the cake is done, place the pan on a cooling rack and let it cool just a bit—still warm, but not scalding.
Poke-cake recipes consistently recommend working while the cake is still slightly warm because the top crust is softer and less likely to crumble when poked.
Poke the cake
- Using the round handle of a wooden spoon (or a similar utensil), poke holes all over the cake, going nearly to the bottom but not all the way through. Space them every 1–2 cm or so across the entire surface.
Many poke-cake guides emphasize consistent, closely spaced holes so the fillings can sink in evenly rather than pooling in just a few spots.
Soak with condensed milk and caramel
- Slowly pour the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the warm cake, aiming to fill the holes as much as possible. Use a spatula to gently spread it so it runs into all the poked channels.
- Next, pour the caramel sauce over the cake and spread it out evenly as well, letting it seep into the same holes and across the top.
Tapping the pan lightly on the counter helps release trapped air and encourages the liquids to settle deeper into the cake, a tip frequently mentioned in poke-cake instructions.
- Once both sauces are on, let the cake cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the cake can fully absorb the fillings and chill. Overnight chilling is often recommended for the best flavor and texture.
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