This chocolate caramel poke cake is all kinds of rich, decadent and delicious. It starts with a chocolate cake that’s all at once moist, light, soft and fudgy – truly amazing. It’s loaded with little pockets of thick, oozy caramel sauce (there’s one in every bite) then topped with a whipped milk chocolate ganache buttercream.
But never fear – not one bit of this is tricky to make. In fact, it’s an incredibly easy cake to make. First off, one layer means limited decorating time required. Win! The cake batter itself is made in one bowl – yes, just one bowl – and mixed together with a handheld beater! You can either make a caramel sauce yourself which can be made ahead of time or use your favourite store-bought variety. And lastly, that fancy-sounding frosting – it’s just 2 ingredients. So easy.
I adapted this cake from my favourite blueberry chocolate cake – if you haven’t tried it you need to, asap.
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Ingredients
This very simple chocolate caramel poke cake starts with very simple ingredients. If you bake somewhat regularly, you’ll have many on hand.
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
- Plain flour / all-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder though dutch cocoa powder will work too.
- White granulated sugar
- Baking soda and baking powder
- Oil: Just a neutral flavoured vegetable oil is perfect. This creates a moist cake.
- Buttermilk: This helps to keep the cake tender and moist plus adds the slightest tang. Make sure it’s at room temperature.
- Instant coffee granules or powder: This enhances the chocolate flavour. Use half as much powder as you would granules in this recipe.
- Large eggs at room temperature.
- Pure vanilla extract
- Caramel sauce: You can either make this homemade caramel sauce or use store-bought. For the latter, I love the Bonne Maman caramel. Feel free to use a salted caramel sauce too.
- Milk chocolate: This is for the whipped milk chocolate ganache frosting. I prefer bars of milk chocolate for this as sometimes chocolate chips can have difficulty melting but they will still work, and may just need a little extra help from the microwave.
- Cream: You’re after thickened cream, heavy cream or whipping cream. It must be full fat to whip.
How to make it
This caramel chocolate poke cake is so easy to make and the base chocolate cake may become your new favourite. It’s definitely mine.
You can also swap to this caramel buttercream too. Yum!
Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.
1. Make the cake batter
Sift, then whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and simply add all your wet ingredients right in.
Now grab your electric mixer and beat the batter for 1 minute until it’s combined, dark and glossy.
2. Bake
Pour the chocolate cake batter into a lined deep 9×13 baking pan and bake for around 30 minutes. This cake is a quarter sheet cake, in reference to it’s size – 9×13 inches.
Once the cake comes out of the oven, place a cooling rack upside down on top of the pan and using a tea towel so you don’t burn your hands on the pan, flip it over. This cake will dome in the centre. You could wait for it to cool and slice it off but that seems wasteful to me, so I just sit the empty cake pan on top of the cake and press down slightly while it’s still hot to flatten the dome out a bit. Easy.
3. Start the whipped milk chocolate ganache
While the cake bakes, you can make a start on the ganache. Heat some cream in a saucepan, swirling every so often, until you notice the first bubbles appearing. Now, pour the hot cream over some finely chopped milk chocolate, let it sit for a minute, then stir to a glossy ganache. Chill for 45-60 minutes until it’s cold to the touch but not firm.
4. Poke the holes
Once the cake is cool and the ganache is at the right temperature, poke holes all over the cake about 1 inch apart with the thick end of a chopstick or a straw with the end folded over.
5. Add the caramel
Warm the caramel in the microwave just for 10-15 seconds so that it’s a bit more pourable, then pour it over the cake. Use an offset spatula or spoon to spread it over and allow it seep down into the holes. Chill while you prepare the ganache. Chilling with the caramel on just makes it easier to spread the frosting over the top.
6. Whip the ganache
The ganache is best whipped right before you want to frost the cake as the frosting can firm up once whipped. It’s perfectly spreadable for a few minutes but if it firms up, you’ll need to mix it back to a smooth frosting again with a spatula. You just need to beat it for a few minutes until it reaches soft peak stage then spread it over the top of your cake.
Tools for this recipe
- A handheld beater is all you need here for all the mixing. While I love my stand mixer, I love when I don’t need to use.
- A deep 9×13 baking pan is the size you need for the cake.
- A small saucepan for heating the cream
- A couple of large mixing bowls
- A silicone spatula is essential in any bakers arsenal. Nothing gets left behind.
Tips and tricks
- Weigh the flour: There can be big variations in the amount of flour that can fit in a cup measure depending on how you fill it, so for best results in baking, always weigh your flour. If you can’t, spoon the flour into the cup measure then level it off with the back of a knife without tapping it down. Then order yourself a kitchen scale so you have it ready for next time.
- Don’t overbeat the batter. You don’t want a tough cake and beating the cake for too long can develop the gluten in the flour, resulting in a tough cake. All that to say, just beat for 1 minute and no longer for the perfect cake texture.
- Line your pan: This will help the cake pop right out with no sticking.
- Don’t overwhip the ganache. Just like whipping cream, overwhipping will result in a grainy texture. Treat the ganache like cream and once it gets to soft peaks, stop beating. It’ll be lovely and spreadable at this stage and does actually firm up a little as it sets.
- Make the caramel first, if making it from scratch.
Storage
- Once fully decorated, only slice the cake as you serve so all the caramel doesn’t ooze out. You can keep it stored at room temperature in a large airtight container or covered with plastic wrap for 24 hours. It will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days but let it come to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
- The cake portion, before adding caramel or frosting, can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap it 2-3 times in plastic wrap.
- If making the caramel from scratch, it can be made 2-3 weeks in advance as long as you store it unopened in the fridge.
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Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 260 g plain flour (all-purp flour) (9.2oz)
- 85 g unsweetened cocoa powder ( 1 cup / 3oz)
- 450 g white granulated sugar (1 ¼ cups)
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk (250ml)
- 3 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in ¾ cup boiling water (180ml) (notes)
- ½ cup vegetable oil, like canola oil or light flavoured olive oil (125ml)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
FOR THE TOPPING
- 1 cup caramel sauce homemade or store-bought (300g / 10 ½ oz)
- 300 g milk chocolate (10 ½ oz)
- 1 cup thickened cream (heavy cream) (250ml)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
- FOR THE CAKE: Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F. Line a deep 9×13 pan / lamington pan with baking paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bakign soda together, then add the sugar and salt and whisk to combine well.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add all of the wet ingredients – eggs, egg yolk, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, coffee.
- Use a handheld beater and mix on low-medium for 1 minute.
- Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. Place in the oven and cook for around 30 minutes, turning at the halfway point, until a toothpick inserted in the centre, comes out one or two crumbs attached.
- Remove from oven and immediately place a wire rack upside down on top of the cake. Using a tea towel so you don't burn your hands, flip the whole lot over and remove the cake pan. Flip the cake pan over and press it down lightly onto the cake to flatten slightly. Leave it there for 5 minutes, then remove and peel away the baking paper. Make sure the cake is completely cool before filling and frosting.
- FOR THE WHIPPED MILK CHOCOLATE GANACHE: You can proceed with this while the cake is baking.Finely chop the milk chocolate and add it to a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the cream just until the first bubbles appear, then remove it from the stove immediately and pour over the chocolate. Leave the mixture for a minute, then stir to combine.
- Chill the ganache in the fridge for about 45-60 minutes until it’s cold to the touch but not firm.
- Once the cake and ganache have cooled, transfer the cake to a serving board or platter. Poke holes all over it about 1 ½ inches apart with the thick end of a chopstick or a straw with a folded end.
- Warm the caramel just slightly so that it’s a little runnier, then pour it all over the cake making sure it seeps down into the holes. Spread it out evenly then chill the cake while you finish preparing the ganache frosting.
- Use a handheld mixer to beat the ganache to soft peak consistency (just like you would with whipped cream).
- Immediately, spread the whipped milk chocolate ganache over the cake and it's ready to serve.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales like these are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- All ovens vary – check for doneness 3-4 minutes before the recipe suggests.
- If using instant coffee powder as opposed to granules, cut the amount in half to 1 ½ teaspoons
- If you let the whipped ganache sit for more than a few minutes, it will start to set/firm up. You can bring it back by stirring with a spatula. Try not to mix it too much or you risk it turning grainy.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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4 Comments on “Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake”
This was an easy cake to make. Turned out great. I reduced the sugar to 425 grams and it was still sweet enough. Great cake.
So happy you love it, Kim. Thanks for you tip.
Hi Marie
I’m adding this recipe to my list to make for our next gathering. It sounds fantastic, easy too! I’d love a piece right now! Thanks
Can’t wait to hear what you think, Barbara.