Better Than Sex Cake: An Ultra Moist Poke Cake Recipe

This is the original BTS or Poke Cake Recipe (as I know it) — yes, friends, we’re talking about the one and only better than sex cake. I know, I know, it’s an old joke of a name, but once you taste this thing, you’ll understand exactly why people call it that. There are a lot of different recipes out there, but this is the classic one for me. Chocolate cake, poked to death, soaked in sweetened condensed milk, and topped with copious amounts of Cool Whip, Heath Toffee Bits, and caramel sauce. Pure, gooey, tender-crumb heaven in every single bite.

I’ve also included a few of my favorite variations at the bottom of the post, so stick around, recipe friends — there’s a little something for every sweet tooth down there!

This is the original recipe that began my ongoing love affair with poke cakes and their many, many recipe variations. Honestly, this one little bundt pan-worthy (well, okay, it’s really a 9×13 inch pan situation, but you get the idea) dessert changed everything for me.

Poke Cake is something my Grandma makes every once in a while for family affairs (although usually in trifle form), and I’m always sure to snag a piece. It’s been a family tradition for as long as I can remember — the kind of dessert that shows up at every family reunion and disappears within minutes. But the funny thing is, other than those occasional run-ins with this cake, I never really gave it much thought. I mean, I’ve always loved it. It’s always been delicious, and lovely, and I could never get enough.

But it never once crossed my mind in all of my years of poke-cake-eating that it could be done differently.

Until last fall.

October-November was sort of a turning point for me in my recipe development methods. Up until then, I had simply been trying to come up with the most creative recipes I could concoct. But around that time, I was slowly shifting towards more traditional recipes with subtle variations and twists. Honestly, it was kind of a bit of a surprise even to me — I didn’t expect to fall this hard for a dessert my grandma had been making my whole life.

And I thought… how could I change this recipe?

The obvious place to start was to exchange cake flavors. And because it was Fall time, and because pumpkin paired nicely with the Heath and caramel already in the recipe, I made a Pumpkin Poke Cake. The only difference between that cake and the original was the exchange of pumpkin cake for the chocolate cake. Easy. Just grab your cake pans, dump in the batter, and bake as directed.

And then that cake went crazy viral on Pinterest, Stumble, and Facebook. So I thought… I guess I’d better make another!

Why I Keep Coming Back To This Better Than Sex Cake

With Christmas just around the corner, I decided to make a Chocolate Peppermint Poke Cake. This time I played around with the sweetened condensed milk filling by blending it with a little bit of peppermint creamer. It made the cake a little more moister than the original, but I loved it. In fact, I prefer it that way! I made it while blasting christmas music on repeat — a little Diana Krall holiday album, obviously, because nothing says “baking season” quite like her voice drifting through the kitchen.

That Christmas cake was also the first time I experimented with adding a layer of hot fudge sauce, Oreo pieces, and new toppings — my first real use of cookies as a mix-in, and let me tell you, it was a great recipe discovery. Hands down one of my favorite variations. LOVE IT. If you’re hosting people the day after the holiday (you know, December 26th, aka Boxing Day, when everyone’s just picking at leftovers anyway), this is the dessert that gets devoured first.

As the months have passed, I’ve continued to experiment with new flavors for different holidays (see Valentine’s Red Velvet, Easter Carrot Cake, and Summer Lemon Cake). Last year I even tried swirling in a jar of caramel ice cream topping straight from the pantry when I ran out of homemade sauce, and nobody even noticed the swap!

I had a lot of fun creating a rainbow-colored cake for St. Patrick’s day. And I’ve even made a skinny version for all my Weight Watchers friends who still want in on the fun without blowing their whole day’s points!

There are sooooo many ways you can play with this little ol’ recipe. It’s really such a fun one to change up! If chocolate cake feels too run-of-the-mill for your birthday cake plans, swap in a dark sour cream chocolate cake mix for extra richness — it’s a total game changer and gives you that fudgy, tender crumb every single time.

And, it seems, the more Poke Cakes I make, the more questions I get about them. I’ve been shocked at how many people know so little about this cake! So in the spirit of sharing and hoping to make everyone as addicted to this recipe as I am, I thought I’d answer a few of the questions I regularly get asked.

A Little Announcement (And Why This Cake Got Me Through It)

Okay, I have to share a little announcement while we’re here: I wrote a chunk of this update during the second trimester of our second pregnancy, and friends, this cake was basically medicine. Something about a chocolate cake soaked in sweetened condensed milk and buried under whipped cream just hits different when you’re growing a human. I’m not saying it cured anything, but it sure made the whole days of nausea feel a little more survivable.

My sister actually made this for me in her kitchen — yes, my sister’s kitchen smelled like a bakery for an entire afternoon — because she knows better than anyone that when I’m craving something, I mean business. It’s become sort of a family tradition now, whipping this up whenever one of us needs a pick-me-up, whether that’s a rough week at work or, you know, growing a tiny human. This is one of those great recipe moments that reminds you food really can be love.

If you’re looking for other crowd-pleasing desserts for your own family gatherings, I’d also recommend checking out this banana pudding cake or this candy bar cheesecake cake — both live in that same kinky middle ground between “classic” and “oh my gosh I can’t stop eating this,” which is really the best place for a dessert to live, if you ask me.

Poke Cake FAQ

Tips For The Best Better Than Sex Cake (Straight From My Kitchen)

A few quick notes before you dive in, because over the past month alone I’ve gotten about a hundred messages from curious foreigners and longtime readers alike asking for clarification on this old joke of a recipe name. First — grab a large bowl for mixing your cake batter, and always bring your eggs and any dairy to room temperature before you start. It really does make a difference in how evenly everything bakes up.

When you bake the cake, whether you’re using cake pans for a layered version or a simple 9×13 inch pan, always test for doneness with a cake tester inserted into the center — it should come out clean, no gooey batter clinging to it. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack before you even think about poking holes, otherwise that sweetened condensed milk (or pudding mix, if that’s your route) will just run right off instead of soaking in like it’s supposed to.

And please, for the last step, don’t skip whipping your own cream if you have the time! Real whipping cream with a touch of vanilla extract and powdered sugar beats anything from a tub, though of course Cool Whip is the classic move here and totally fine too. Whichever route you pick, that’s the final flourish that makes this dessert feel like the great recipe it truly is.

BTS Cake or Poke Cake

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Ingredients

• 1 9x13 chocolate cake, prepared and cooled, still in pan
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 16 oz cool whip
• 1 cup Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits
• 1/2 cup caramel sundae sauce

Instructions

1. Once the cake has completely cooled, poke 24-30 holes in it using the base of a wooden spoon.
2. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the cake, aiming to fill the holes.
3. Cover and chill for a few hours until the cake has absorbed the sweetened condensed milk (you can tell it's absorbed when there aren't pools of sweetened condensed milk sitting on top of or around the sides of the cake anymore).
4. Spread the cool whip over the cake. Top with the Heath bits and drizzle the caramel syrup over top.
5. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
6. Serves 12-15

Notes

When I made this cake for photographing, I was out of Heath Milk Chocolate Candy Bits, so I used Heath Bit O' Brickle Bits and drizzled some chocolate syrup. This works just fine, but if you can find the Milk Chocolate Heath bits-- use those!