Easy Better-Than-Sex Cake

This is the famous poke cake that earned its over-the-top name in 1970s church-cookbook circles. Bake a German chocolate cake from a box, poke holes all over the warm cake with a pencil or wooden spoon handle, drizzle sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce into the holes, then top with whipped topping and crushed Heath or Skor bars. Refrigerate, slice, watch it disappear.

The poke step is what makes this poke cake. The holes give the condensed milk and caramel a path into the interior, where the cake soaks them up like a sponge. Without the poking, the toppings sit on top and run off the sides into the pan.

Crushed toffee or chocolate-coffee candy bars are the classic topping. Heath, Skor, and Butterfinger all work; even crushed Oreos for a different direction. The crunchy contrast against the moist soft cake and pillowy whipped cream is the whole textural pitch.

Let it stand the full hour for the soak. Rushing this step gives you a regular cake with stuff dribbled on top; patience gives you the molten-caramel-pocket, sweetened-milk-saturated, almost-tres-leches texture this is famous for.

Refrigerate before serving. The whipped topping needs to set, the candy needs to firm, and the soaked cake tightens up just enough to slice cleanly.

Pro Tips

• Poke holes generously, not sparingly. Twenty to thirty holes across a 9×13 pan is the right ballpark; sparse holes mean dry pockets in the finished cake.
• Pour the sweetened condensed milk and caramel slowly so they actually fall into the holes instead of running off the edge.
• Crush the candy bars while still in the wrapper using a rolling pin. Easy crush, easy cleanup, no chocolate fingers.
• Make a day ahead. The flavors meld overnight in the fridge, and the whipped topping firms up.

Variations

• Use a yellow or chocolate cake mix instead of German chocolate. The recipe works with any flavor; German chocolate is just the original choice.
• Sub Heath bar for crushed Oreos, Reese’s cups, or chopped pecans for different topping textures.
• Drizzle hot fudge sauce over the whipped topping before adding the candy for an extra-rich version.