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With a few extra ingredients, this Better Than Sex Cake recipe turns a basic cake mix into a decadent dessert. The rich, caramel filled cake is complemented by a creamy whipped topping and crunchy toffee candy on top.
Featured With This Recipe
Looking for a dessert to impress without spending a lot of time or money? This Better Than Sex Cake is for you! My daughter requested this cake for her birthday for many years, and it became a family favorite. I love the flavors and textures in this cake. I also love it because it is so easy to make. It’s a great dessert when I’m having company over for dinner. We’ve had rave reviews since sharing it here on our website.
What is Better Than Sex Cake?
Better Than Sex Cake is a decadent chocolate poke cake that combines layers of moist chocolate cake, creamy whipped cream, rich caramel sauce, and a sprinkle of toffee bits. The result is a heavenly dessert with a combination of flavors and textures that will have you craving more.
Of course, the name of this cake is not exactly family friendly. In front of the kids we call it “Better Than You Know What Cake.” We have had many of our readers share with us what they call this dessert. Some people say they call it “Better Than Sex,” while others say they call it “Better Than Anything You Can Think Of.” Still others have told us they simply refer to it as their “secret weapon.” Whatever you want to call this delicious dessert, one thing is for sure: It’s easy to make, tastes incredible, and will leave everyone satisfied and smiling!
How to Make Better Than Sex Cake
You won’t believe that this sinfully delicious Better Than Sex Cake recipe starts out with just a regular box cake mix. In addition, you will need sweetened condensed milk, caramel ice cream topping, frozen whipped topping (Cool Whip) or homemade whipped cream, and Heath candy bars.
- Bake the cake according to the package directions. Make adjustments for altitude according to where you live. Once the cake has cooled for about 15 minutes, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes evenly on the top of the cake. Poke the holes about half way into the cake, not all the way to the bottom.
- Stir the sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping together in a glass measuring cup or bowl. Pour the mixture evenly over the cake and into the holes. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to add the topping and serve.
- Just before serving, spread Cool Whip (thawed) or homemade whipped topping over the cake.
- Chop the Heath bars into pieces using a knife. Another option is to keep the Heath bars in the candy wrapper and pound it gently with a mallet to break it up into pieces. Place the Heath pieces evenly on the cake as pictured below.
- Keep leftover cake covered and refrigerated. It’s best to eat it within a couple of days, after that it tends to get soggy.
Make Your Own Chocolate Cake Mix
Prefer to make your cake mix from scratch? We’ve got you covered! Make any kind of cake mix using our simple Homemade Cake Mix Recipe and make it a chocolate cake. After making the cake mix, just add eggs, butter, cocoa, and milk to make the perfect cake batter.
Better Than Sex Cake Variations
We have made this several different ways, we have even had a reader report that it is delicious with a white cake mix or yellow cake mix in place of the chocolate mix. If you can’t find Devil’s Food Cake mix, you can use a German chocolate cake mix or a regular chocolate cake mix instead.
You can also add any kind of chopped up candy bars on the top, but we prefer Skor candy bars or Heath bars. The crunchy toffee candy is so good! Here are some more great topping ideas: Butterfinger Bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, M&M’s Minis, Reese’s Pieces, Snickers Bars, crushed Oreo cookies or mini Oreos, Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips.
Frequently Asked Questions
Heath and Skor Candy Bars are English toffee bars covered in milk chocolate. They are nearly identical in appearance, made with much of the same ingredients, and are even manufactured by the same company. The Hershey Company makes Heath Bars and also sells Heath Toffee Bits which are great for baking in cookies and as a topping on this cake. The Hershey Company also makes Skor Bars, which are marketed as “buttery toffee enrobed in milk chocolate.” There are no nuts in either bar, but Skor Bars have a more buttery flavor while Heath Bars taste a bit nuttier. They can both be found in most grocery stores.
Yes! You can make this cake a day before serving if needed, but add the whipped topping and Heath bar pieces just before serving. Store the pre-made cake in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.
Absolutely! However, don’t use the whipped cream that comes in a can. It melts quickly and becomes runny, and won’t work for this recipe. You can make your own whipped cream with heavy cream and sugar, and it will taste amazing!
More Poke Cake Recipes
What makes this Better Than Sex Cake so moist and delicious is poking holes in the cake and pouring a caramel sauce over the holes. We call this a “Poke Cake”. Try some of our other delicious poke cake recipes!
Raspberry Lemon Poke Cake – Raspberry Lemon Jello Poke Cake is a cold, refreshing treat! You’ll love this moist, tangy lemon and raspberry flavor with light pudding frosting.
Piña Colada Poke Cake – This Piña Colada Cake is bursting with coconut and pineapple. The topping on this cake is simple, yet so delicious. It is the perfect summer dessert!
Pumpkin Poke Cake – This Pumpkin Poke Cake is a deliciously rich and ultra moist cake with a creamy, crunchy topping. Every bite tastes like fall!
4th of July Poke Cake – This 4th of July Cake is the perfect chilled dessert for your Independence Day celebrations. It is so fun with the red, white, and blue colors inside.
Better Than Sex Cake Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 9×13 Cake Pan
- Wooden Spoon
- Hand Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces Devil’s Food Cake Mix
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 12.25 ounces caramel flavored topping
- 8 ounces frozen whipped topping thawed
- 4 Heath or Skor candy bars chopped
Instructions
- Bake cake according to package directions for a 9×13 inch pan. Cool for about 15 minutes. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes into the cake.
- In a small bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping. Slowly pour caramel mixture over the cake, letting it sink into the holes.
- Let cake cool completely (I usually cover it and put it in the fridge until I'm ready to serve it). Top cooled cake with whipped topping.
- Decorate the top of the cake with chopped candy bars. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
I have a recipe called “Better than Sex” cake, but instead of actual cake, it calls for chocolate pudding, and the crust/topping is nuts. Anyone else tried this version?
It looks nice but I don’t understand why so many desserts use packet mix? Why not make the cake from scratch? So many American recipes do this- does no one bake in the states? I’m going to try it but actually make the cake myself rather than cheating with horrible packet mix- you guys should try it!
Sounds like a fantastic idea! Let us know what you come up with, we would love to hear how it turns out! If you want a really great from-scratch cake, try our coconut cake 😉 Click here: /coconut-cream-cake-with-coconut-cream.html
Yes, I did but I used heath bar bits instead of nuts. I took it to work and everyone s a I’d it was to die for. It must have been, a lot of people didn’t get any!!!!!
We Americans do bake from scratch, it is so much better. No store bought cakes here. Unfortunately what you see and what we do is two completely different things. I am making sure my Grandkids are learning how to bake like I did with my Grandmother and Mom. ❤
We Americans do Bake! This was only another choice. Don’t jump to conclusions.
I have made this several times however I use hot fudge topping with smashed up malted milk balls. A huge hit among young adults.
Great idea! Mmm, that sounds so good!!! We will have to try it with the malt balls next time!
Can anybody help… we do not get SKOR bars in Singapore. What can I replace this with?
Thanks
Do you have HEATH bars? They are essentially the same as a SKOR bar. It is a toffee candy bar covered in milk chocolate – similar to English Toffee. In the U.S. you can also get toffee bits that are used for baking, and these work really well too.
I just finish making this cake for my Birthday . i will let you know how it came out. keeping my fingers cross . Thank you for the recipe.
I hope it turned out great! Happy Birthday!
This sounds so good and delicious so i will make it for my Church dinner after our service !! I’m so grateful for the share and all of the compliments on this truly amazing Cake Love The Way It Sounds Just So Scrumptious and Yummy Yours Truly Joy B.
Thanks so much for your comment! Hope everyone at your church enjoys it! 😀
I make this cake ALL the time for events and I NEVER come home with any! The only difference I do is that use a chocolate cake mix and 12 oz of diet coke and mix it together and back as directed! You can very it with dr. pepper or cherry coke, ect!! you can not even taste that it was made with diet coke and I get asked the recipe ALL the time!!
How much coke do you put in?
This recipe doesn’t call for coke… did you mean to ask this question on another recipe?
I love this cake too and have made it often. It’s always a hit. I do one thing differently, however. I mix half the jar of caramel sauce with the sweetened condensed milk before pouring it over the cake. Oh YUM!!
I make it at Halloween and we call it the Gooey Goblin Cake! I always buy a bag of Heath toffee bits for the top…costs less and is a lot easier than pulverizing Heath bars!
Oh Diane– great idea! I had no idea there was such a thing! THANK YOU!
Great cake, always a crowd pleaser. I use the fork method instead of the handle of the wooden spoon, and use hot fudge ice cream topping instead of caramel topping. I always freeze the Heath Bars in the wrapper then take a hammer to them while they are still wrapped. This makes less of a mess. Then I sprinkle the candy from the wrapper onto the cake. Ellen.
I can hardly wait to make this cake for Easter!! I’m wondering if it would work in 2- 9″ round cake pans to form in the shape of a bunny or if all the gooey stuff is better in the 9 x 13′ pan??
This looks great and very easy to make. I will be trying it out for Easter this year as I am responsible for the dessert.
The SWEETENED condensed milk makes it way too sweet. I use Mrs RICHARDSON’S CARAMEL FUDGE ice cream topping, heated a little , then cool whip and candy bars, so good!!
Made this for my family Easter celebration this year and it was a HUGE success! Everyone had seconds! Not sure if it was better then you-know-what though…(lol)
If you’re going to post recipes then please make sure all ingredients (words) are spelled correctly. I don’t think you mean “health” bars. Don’t you mean heath candy bars?
lol yes, it must have auto-corrected me
if you look by the chocolate chips there are bags of Heath bar bits. I don’t know for sure what they are called but that is what I use on “Death by Chocolate”. I am making the (I am going to call it) OMG cake for a family reunion tomorrow..can not wait!
I was in a hurry, poked the holes then added the condensed milk etc..right away..waiting now for it to cool..hope I didn’t ruin it..after I’ll put the cream on and its in the fridge..has anyone else done that..please say it was okay…thanks
We call it “Holy Cow Cake” because when you eat it, you say, Holy Cow, that is so delicious!
Can it be frozen for mail out purposes?
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried that. It might be easier to mail the ingredients with directions on how to make it.
I made this yummy cake 5 times already but I also put Oreo cookies on top of it and it’s so delicious….
We call it ALMOST better than Sex cake. We laugh at those who call it “Better than” 🙂
We fork the cake but not all the way to the bottom, and drizzle sweetened condensed milk, a jar of caramel sauce, and a jar of chocolate fudge sauce, then keep it refrigerated over night. The next day right before serving, cool whip with crumbled SKOR bar all over it. I even mix in a dry pistachio pudding mix in with the cool whip sometimes. So GOOD!!
I see a lot of people are having a hard time finding Skor bars as I was. I decided to take teh ten minutes extra and make my own toffee at home. Worked great and it always tastes better when you know its all been made at your own hand.