cake mix

Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake Poke Cake Recipe

Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl.

Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl.

If you love caramel and you love cheesecake, then I can tell you right now– this recipe is for YOU.

I didn’t really think I could be surprised by a poke cake anymore, but I have to confess that this one was shockingly good. I don’t mean that I was shocked that it was good. Just that it was that good. Like, it’s on an entirely new level of good.

Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl.

The yellow cake base is simple enough– I just used a cake mix. If you’d rather, you can always use this homemade and utterly delicious yellow cake recipe. That’s totally up to you.

As for me? Most of the time, I don’t mind a good cake mix cake. They’re soft, fluffy, and wonderfully dependable. ????????

Once the cake is baked (and while it’s still warm), poke holes in the cake and fill them with cheesecake pudding and salted caramel sauce. You can use a fork if you’d like, I see a lot of people do that. But I really prefer using the handle of a sturdy wooden mixing spoon. Bigger holes = more filling = more better.

Yellow cake soaked in cheesecake pudding and salted caramel, topped with Cool Whip and a salted caramel swirl.

Top the whole thing with whipped cream and more salted caramel sauce and let it chill for a few hours. Once everything has come together, you’ll have this incredibly indulgent cake filled with caramel and cheesecake flavors. And the light, fluffy, yet sinfully saturated-in-caramel texture is absolutely unbeatable!

This cake is so easy to make– it really just takes a few minutes of hands on time. And it’s so, so, SO good! This is a perfect Thanksgiving or Fall dessert, but it’s still a cool and creamy summer treat too.

So what are you waiting for?? I can’t wait for you to try it!

You have to try this cake made with layers of pumpkin cake and pumpkin chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting. And don't forget the butterscotch caramel!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Butterscotch Caramel Recipe

You have to try this cake made with layers of pumpkin cake and pumpkin chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting. And don’t forget the butterscotch caramel!!

You have to try this cake made with layers of pumpkin cake and pumpkin chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting. And don't forget the butterscotch caramel!!

There are FOUR outrageously delicious flavors happening in this cake.

Can you guess them just by looking at the outside?? One of the flavors is a little tricky, but I bet you can do it.

You have to try this cake made with layers of pumpkin cake and pumpkin chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting. And don't forget the butterscotch caramel!!

Today we’re playing with:

Pumpkin cake.

Pumpkin + Chocolate cake.

Cream cheese frosting.

Annnnnnnnnd BUTTERSCOTCH CARAMEL. ????

You have to try this cake made with layers of pumpkin cake and pumpkin chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting. And don't forget the butterscotch caramel!!

You have to try this cake made with layers of pumpkin cake and pumpkin chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting. And don't forget the butterscotch caramel!!

You guys. This butterscotch caramel sauce is basically heaven on earth. I’ve been eating it on everything lately– apples, ice cream, straight outta the jar. It’s SO GOOD.

So don’t judge me too harshly for not whipping up a batch from scratch. I just figure, why fix what’s not broken, right? Plus…. it just makes things that much easier. Which is always A-Okay in my book.

You have to try this cake made with layers of pumpkin cake and pumpkin chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting. And don't forget the butterscotch caramel!!

Ok, so I am being 1000000000% for real when I promise you: this cake is SO EASY. Here’s the basic breakdown:

Both cakes are overly simple using just cake mix, pumpkin, and a little milk. You’ll need a yellow cake mix, a chocolate cake mix, and two cans of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling).

Next, you’ll make my favorite cream cheese frosting. It’s easy. You can do it.

Last, you’ll buy that amazing butterscotch caramel sauce. I found it at Target near the ice cream. You could also use my other favorite– Smuckers Caramel Delight Sundae Sauce (which I also usually buy at Target).

You have to try this cake made with layers of pumpkin cake and pumpkin chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting. And don't forget the butterscotch caramel!!

And voila! You’ll have one incredibly moist, flavorful, and beautiful cake perfect for ushering in pumpkin everything season Fall.

Enjoy!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

Hostess Cupcake Cake Recipe

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you’ll love this cake version that’s all grown up!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

OH my gosh. This cake. YOU GUYS! Where to even begin?!? Because, honestly, this cake was all kinds of ridiculous. In the very best way…

I remember back when my mom would pack my lunches and would on a very rare occasion send me to school with a Hostess Cupcake in my lunchbox. I tried to not let my friends see me geek out over a cupcake in (but seriously, how come none of the other 5th graders ever seemed as fall-over-yourself excited about cupcakes as I did?? Was I truly alone in that feeling?!). So I’d carefully set it aside until I had finished my lunch. I wanted it to be the very last thing that I tasted before going back to class.

And there was no just shoveling the whole thing in my mouth. Oh no. I took my time and savored each component separately. First, I peeled (yes, peeled, you know what I’m talking about!) off the chocolate icing and ate that first. Next I scooped out the cream filling. And finally, I’d eat the remaining cake. If I was lucky enough to get a Hostess Cupcake in my lunchbox, you can darn well believe I made it a full-blown experience when it came time to eat it!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

Being the mature adult that I am today, it’s been long, long time since I’ve sampled fine packaged delicacies such as a Hostess Cupcake. But that doesn’t mean I hold it in any less regard. In fact, I made this cake as an ode to my favorite lunchbox treat!

Basically, if a Hostess cupcake grew up to be a full-blown layer cake, this is what it would be. And it’s nothing short of OMG SO GOOD. To use my most eloquent terminology there.

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

If you liked Hostess Cupcakes in your lunchbox as a kid, you'll love this cake version that's all grown up!

Today’s cake recipe combines layers of my all-time favorite chocolate cake with a copycat Little Debbie cream filling (that I also used in these Oatmeal Cream Pies), and it’s topped with a sinfully indulgent chocolate ganache.

It’s literally a larger-than-life Hostess Cupcake with better chocolate frosting, a better cream filling, and much better chocolate cake.

So, what I’m say is pretty much this: if you were that child geeking out in the cafeteria over a Hostess Cupcake… this one’s for you ????.

No thermometer for this easy fudge! All you need are a few simple ingredients and a love of sprinkles.

Cake Batter Fudge Recipe

No thermometer needed for this easy fudge! All you need are a few simple ingredients and a love of sprinkles.

No thermometer for this easy fudge! All you need are a few simple ingredients and a love of sprinkles.

It’s been way too long since I posted a Funfetti recipe! I looked it up. It’s been over a month. And I haven’t made any fudge since Christmas!

So, yeah. This cake batter fudge was absolutely necessary.

Especially because I’m a fudge-all-year-round kinda girl. I L-O-V-E fudge.

No thermometer for this easy fudge! All you need are a few simple ingredients and a love of sprinkles.

I know making fudge can be kind of intimidating. But no need to worry when you’re here. On Something Swanky, we pretty much exclusively adhere to only shortcut fudge-making methods.

Not that I mind using a candy thermometer here or there. But when it comes to fudge, I just feel like there are so many really, really good EASY fudge-making methods, that I feel like any kind of complicated recipe is just totally unnecessary.

No thermometer for this easy fudge! All you need are a few simple ingredients and a love of sprinkles.

This recipe for cake mix fudge was really popular a few years ago, but I never got around to it for some reason. It’s always been nagging at me in the back of my mind, and I’m so thrilled that I finally tried it! It is insanely easy and SO good.

And by easy, I mean c-r-a-z-y easy. Like… melt some butter, mix some stuff, and pop it in the fridge. That’s pretty much all there is to it.

No thermometer for this easy fudge! All you need are a few simple ingredients and a love of sprinkles.

Just be sure to be gentle when you mix in the sprinkles, and don’t add them until the very end! Sprinkles tend to bleed their colors in warm mixtures, which can look kind of messy in this fudge. Still tastes good though, so no worries if yours bleed a little bit ????.

Enjoy!

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

Banana Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

This is the best banana cake! It’s simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too 🙂

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

We always, always have old bananas on the counter. Mostly because every time I go to the grocery store, I get all fired up about eating more fruits and vegetables and buy out the produce department. And then, I’m ashamed to admit, a lot of it just sits around for the rest of the week… not getting eaten. Oops!

Thank goodness, old bananas are a LOT easier to rescue than, say, slimy old green beans. ????

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

I’ve been wanting to make a banana cake that starts with a cake mix. I love the concept of just throwing a few ingredients into the bowl and whipping up a perfectly soft and fluffy cake. I’ve never been one to shy away from a cake mix, and I’ll say it again: I love that you know what you’re getting with a mix.

You know the cake is going to be soft, fluffy, moist, and flavorful. It’s just so reliable! You know the texture is going to be good and that it’s going to bake up just right. I’ve yet to use a cake mix and be disappointed.

So it’s no surprise that this recipe ended up being a slam dunk.

🍌🍌🍌 CELEBRATE BANANAS with us: our favorite Banana Bread Recipes 🍌🍌🍌

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

All you need is a yellow cake mix, a 2-3 bananas, and a few other simple ingredients. It bakes up beautifully in less than 30 minutes, and it tastes AMAZING. Perfectly sweet with a serious banana flavor.

And the chocolate cream cheese frosting... omg.

I almost made just a regular cream cheese frosting. Which would have been good, I’m sure. But chocolate was for sure the right call to go with banana. Although… isn’t chocolate always the right call??

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

This is the best banana cake! It's simple to whip up, starting with a mix, and is supremely moist and flavorful. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing too :)

I hope you enjoy every bit of this cake as much as we did!