Snickers Cake
Tomorrow would have been – should have been – my dad’s 60th birthday. You may remember that last year on his birthday, I shared with you his very favorite cake, the one he would always request for his birthday. It’s a fabulous cake – a moist, chocolate cake with a river of cheesecake running through the middle and topped with sugared walnuts. It’s a very worthy birthday cake. However, if he were still here, I would have insisted on making something different and more elaborate than the cake he requested every year since it would be the big 6-0. I have no doubt that he would have been completely smitten with this cake and found every excuse in the world to eat piece after piece.
When we were kids, my dad apparently got some routine blood work done that showed his cholesterol as borderline high. My mom banished sweets from the house (my dad was an ice cream fanatic) and started whipping up homemade banana-nut oat bran muffins. The only problem? He went to work for eight hours a day. My dad worked for a small company not far from where we lived, so sometimes if we were out, my mom would stop by for a visit. One day we walked into his office and my sister and I saw tons of candy bar wrappers in his garbage can. Apparently, my dad was a big Snickers fan. You know little kids love to tattle… especially if they get to tattle on their parents. It took all of two seconds for my sister and I to let my mom in on our discovery. We totally busted my dad for sneaking candy at work while my mom was making batch-after-batch of bran muffins. Sorry Dad!
I’ve had the idea for this cake bouncing around in my head since last summer, but remembering that moment of finding those candy bar wrappers, I knew I wanted to save the recipe to commemorate my dad’s birthday. I’m so glad that I did – it’s definitely a special occasion cake that he would have absolutely appreciated.
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I started with the chocolate cake that I used for the six-layer chocolate cake with toasted marshmallow filling and malted chocolate frosting, only left it at three layers instead of dividing it into six. For the filling, I used the peanut nougat from the homemade Snickers bar recipe, along with a smear of salted caramel sauce. I then frosted the whole cake with a thin layer of salted caramel buttercream and topped it with a milk chocolate ganache and chopped peanuts. That’s a mouthful!
Like I said, I totally delved into “special occasion” cake territory here, and it might be one of the best cakes that I’ve ever made. It truly tastes just like a Snickers bar. If I had to guess, it’s the nougat filling that totally makes it.
As is always the case, commemorating the birthday of someone who is no longer with us is bittersweet. I love to think about the time we shared, but of course wish that he were still here. It’s been a little over 14 years since he passed away and I was only a week past my 18th birthday when it happened. As I get closer to having spent just as much of my life without him as I did with him, it’s a strange feeling, but I continue to relish all of the wonderful memories of the time I did get to share with him. This cake is a celebration of that time, and of him.
Happy Birthday, Dad! I know you would love this cake… I’ll have a slice for you :) xoxo
One year ago: Orange Cookies with Sweet Orange Glaze
Two years ago: My Top 15 Favorite Indulgences
Three years ago: Honey-Vanilla Sour Cream Pound Cake
Snickers Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2½ cups (312.5 g) + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (86 g) + 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) salt
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1½ cups (360 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1½ cups (355.5 ml) strong black coffee, hot
- ¾ cup (163.5 ml) vegetable oil
- 4½ teaspoons (4.5 teaspoons) vanilla extract
For the Nougat Filling:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (64 ml) evaporated milk
- 1½ cups (190.5 g) marshmallow fluff
- ¼ cup (64.5 g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (219 g) salted peanuts, roughly chopped
For the Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (56.5 g) salted caramel sauce
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
For the Milk Chocolate Ganache:
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) milk chocolate, finely chopped
- 4 ounces (113.4 ml) ½ cup heavy cream
For the Assembly / Garnish:
- Additional salted caramel sauce
- Chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with rounds of parchment paper, grease the parchment, then flour the insides of the pans, tapping out excess; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer (or large mixing bowl if you're using a hand mixer), sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for an additional 20 seconds (the batter will be very thin).
- Divide the batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes and rotate the pans in the oven. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs), about 12 more minutes. Cool the cakes (in the pans) on wire racks for 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto cooling racks to cool completely.
- Make the Nougat Filling: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and evaporated milk, stirring until dissolved, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and add the marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, and vanilla extract, stirring until completely smooth. Fold in the peanuts. Let the nougat mixture cool to room temperature before using it in the cake. You can do this leaving it at room temperature or you can pop it into the refrigerator to speed up the process. Be sure to give a stir occasionally as it cools.
- Make the Frosting: Beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 5 minutes (I like to use the whisk attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer, but it's not necessary). Pour in the salted caramel and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until it has all been incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional two to three minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Assemble the Cake: If your cakes baked up uneven or have domed on top, level off the tops. Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Cover with half of the nougat filling and then spread a couple spoonfuls of the salted caramel sauce over top to evenly cover the nougat filling. Top with a second cake layer and cover with the remaining nougat filling and top with caramel sauce. Place the final cake layer on top face-down. Frost the cake with the salted caramel frosting, finishing it as smoothly as possible. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour, until the frosting is set.
- Make the Chocolate Ganache: While the cake chills, make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside. Place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and warm until it just comes to a boil. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Begin whisking the mixture in the center, gradually working your way outward until the ganache is completely smooth. Set aside to cool, whisking occasionally, until it has thickened slightly, yet still a pourable consistency.
- Garnish the Cake: Transfer the ganache to a 2-cup measuring cup. Slowly pour the chocolate ganache into the center of the cake, letting it push itself outward and flow over the sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes, giving the ganache a chance to set up. To finish garnishing, drizzle some additional salted caramel sauce over the top and side of the cake, and top with chopped peanuts. Keep the cake refrigerated, removing it from the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to serving.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
I made this cake into cupcakes and they were just amazing.
This looks great! Any suggestions for what I could substitute for the coffee? I would like to make this for my boyfriend with a caffeine intolerance. We don’t even have a coffee maker in the house anymore! Thanks!
Hi Allison, You can use decaf coffee. Aside from that, your only option is really hot water, which can dilute the flavor of the chocolate instead of enhancing it.
This cake is a must try, it didn’t dissapoint at all. Such an amazing cake. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I am one happy baker :)
I made this last weekend for my friends Engagement Party. It took a long time to bake and put it all together, but man It was AWESOME! Definately a recipe that I will do again. Thank you for sharing it.
Could this cake be frozen? My co-worker asked for this Snicker Cake as her birthday cake. I’m going to be out of town on her birthday. I wanted to make this cake ahead of time and put it in the freezer. What do you think?
Hi Missi, You can, but wrap it extremely tightly in a couple of layers of plastic wrap, and then foil. I would be more inclined to only freeze the cake layers and then assemble it and fill it when you’re ready to serve it. Either way, I would not freeze the layers or the whole cake for more than a month.
I just made this cake as three smaller cakes. EPIC. Thank you so much for the well written recipe. The cake was delicious and moist and every element tasted amazing on their own and together in this unbelievable cake. Well done and thank you for sharing this incredible recipe.
I’m making this for Fathers Day and would like to know if the nougat can be made in advance and refrigerated.
Hi Sandy, Yes, you can make the nougat ahead of time and refrigerate.
Is the all purpose flower self raising or plain?
Hi Ash, Always plain all-purpose flour unless stated otherwise.
I mentioned this in my post today, and I added a link so my readers could find it and your blog! I’m sure your dad would be very proud of you for creating this wonderful website!
This recipe looks AMAZING and I would like to try to make this for my Dad’s birthday this weekend. As there are quite a few steps, is it possible to prepare something’s 2 days in advance, maybe salted caramel or nougat filling, etc? Many thanks
Hi Belinda, Yes, you could make both the salted caramel sauce and the nougat in advance; store both in the refrigerator.
This cake rocks!! My husband’s favorite candy bar is Snicker’s so I made this cake for his bday and it was a HUGE it to everybody but most importantly, my husband thought it was amazing! Even though it takes more time than a normal cake, the effort is so well worth it. The presentation & flavor knocks it out of the park!!
Did you use unsweetened or sweetened evaporated milk? Is sweetened or unsweetened condensed milk same thing as evaporated milk or what is the difference? :)
Hi Siiri, Evaporated milk does not come in sweetened or unsweetened. Sweetened condensed milk is very different from evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is milk that is heated to remove a majority of the water content so it has a more concentrated flavor. Sweetened condensed milk also has most of the water content removed, but it also has additional sugar added. You cannot substitute one for the other.
Ok! Thank you so much!!
Today your cake recipe makes his way to Germany. Now you can say your great cake delight also German plates. My husband loves it! The cake is delicious and looks great. Thank you so much for this great recipe and your wonderful and inspiring website. Kind regards from Wiesbaden – Germany
Hi michelle..the cake looks gorgeous. .I tried today but didn’t turned out like urs..:( I have a question. .y my cake didn’t raised like urs? I followed ur steps but it turns out a bit dense..ur reply will means a lot to me as I plan to re attempt this cake again soon..
Hi Erica, Without being there, it’s really hard to say exactly what caused it, but some thoughts – do you have an oven thermometer? Be sure that your oven is the correct temperature. Also, are you baking at altitude? This could also be a factor.
This cake is so bakeworthy, that I am going to make it this weekend. I am just wondering if the salted caramel sauce has to be warm when added to the icing and cake? I have made the caramel sauce in advance and was going to add it directly from the fridge. Will that be ok? Thanks! It looks delish!
Hi Sarah, You can use it from the refrigerator, you just may need to give it a good stir to loosen it up a bit.
Hi there, sorry to hear about your Dad. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I am going to make this for my boyfriends birthday :) please could I ask how many grams of Marshall fluff would I need? I am in the UK, trying it convert the measurements. Thank you
Hi Keri, It should be able 191 grams.
Thank you so much , also I am having problems finding Dutch Cocoa , would I be able to use regular cocoa powder?
Thank you again
Hi Keri, That might be okay, but you may notice some difference in rising.
I made this cake and a cupcake version of it this past weekend and oh my gosh! SO good. The cupcakes were even better, although they weren’t nearly as attractive just because they were very flat, but they had the perfect ratio of everything. I will definitely make this again! Thanks for all the amazing recipes!
Hi BEB, I was wondering, I cant find marshmallow fluff in our place, what can I replace it with? :-)
Hi Rodney, You can make your own! :) https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2013/05/16/homemade-marshmallow-creme-recipe/
This looks amazing! where do you purchase your dutch cocoa powder? I can’t find it at any of the local markets.
Hi Lauren, I order it from Chocosphere (I get Valrhona cocoa powder): https://www.chocosphere.com. You could also order Dutch cocoa powder from King Arthur Flour or Amazon.
Before I get to my question,i want to say how much of an inspiration your website is,amazing, kudos,
I noticed the recipe for the Ganache says heavy cream and milk chocolate but from the picture posted, your ganache with chopped peanut looked like a just brown chocolate. so did I miss something or can I use normal chocolate instead of milk chocolate, or can I melt a snicker chocolate bar and poor on top. please will appreciate a prompt response, baking tomorrow, thanks loads.
Thank you so much! I’m not sure what you mean by “normal” chocolate, but it’s a ganache with milk chocolate and heavy cream. If you’d rather use semisweet or dark chocolate, you could do that. I do not recommend melting a Snickers bar.
Hello, I see your recipes are really cute! You top the nougat filling with the frosting you did for the top or just caramel sauce?
Hi Camila, Just the caramel sauce.
This is an an amazing cake.. I made it and it turned out to be the best cake I’ve vever baked in my life. Thankyou so much for sharing this delicious recipe *thumbs up* :DDDDD
Made this cake over the weekend, day one I made the nougat and caramel sauce, next day I baked the cake, made the frosting and ganache. It is so good!!!! Thank you again!
Hi I love this idea and am in the process of making it for my husbands birthday. It say to have the coffee HOT and then mix the buttermilk eggs coffee and vanilla together, my only problem with that is…that if you mix a hot liquid with eggs they will scramble and not turn out correct. You could temper in the eggs by adding a little of the mixture to the hot coffee to cool it and then add the rest to the mixture. I am cooling my coffee a bit before added. Just wanted to give you a heads up not everyone would know to do that. Thanks for the recipe and can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Hi Catherine, The hot coffee does not scramble the eggs; having it hot is an integral part of the recipe. I’ve made a similar chocolate cake before that calls for boiling water. It’s important that the liquid not be cooled, actually.
Wow! I am in the final stages of making the cake. Just put a crumb coat of frosting on it and am waiting a bit before the second coat. The ganache and topping will go on tomorrow. I have a question for you– have you ever frozen the leftover nougat filling? I made extra since I used 9″ pans. I’d hate to see it go to waste! Or should I say go to waist?
Hi Cheryl, I have never frozen the nougat filling. I think it might freeze okay, I just couldn’t say for sure since I haven’t done it.
this cake was heaven. My new favourite cake. I loved the textural differences between the supermoist chocolate cake and the crunch of the nuts. The salted caramel was delicious and balanced out the sweetness of the cake. the elements of the cake were easy to make. Well worth the time to make it. Thankyou for sharing
1. I love your site! 2. I made this for my man’s birthday, because he despises regular birthday cake, and he LOVED it. Mine will never look as exquisite as yours, however. 3. I am not very good at frosting the sides of cakes, sadly. I end up having to over-estimate how much I need, or I won’t have enough so the sides don’t show, and 4. I never tried using dutch processed cocoa before I found your blog, and I love it. Thank you!
Hi
I love the taste of this chocolate cake, I have tried twice the malted chocolate marshmellow 6 layer cake (I don’t remember the order of the words in that huge title haha but you know the one i’m talking about!). And both times the cakes sunk in the oven. They dripped to the sides and sunk in the middle! The taste though was a hit! Everyone loved it and tomorrow I have to bake a birthday cake and I’m going to make this one, but I could really use your advice to avoid the sunking in the middle part. I live in QUito so I bake in altitude, I was thinking it had something to do with that. Or maybe my baking soda is too old and doesn’t work anymore? I opened it a few (several) months ago… It usually still works though, I keep it sealed.
Should I reduce the amount of leaveners??? By how much???
Another question I had was: can i reduce the amount of sugar? Even though the malted chocolate marshmellow cake is great, Everybody thought it was overly sweet, and given that sugar in frostings really changes the texture, I thought I could take some off the cake batter… Would it change anything??
Thank you for taking the time to answer me!! I would really like this birthday cake to turn out good.
Hi Maria, The sinking in the middle could definitely be due to baking at altitude. You will need to make modifications; unfortunately, I do not bake at altitude, so I can’t speak from experience, but here are some guidelines: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/high-altitude-baking/.
I would not reduce the amount of sugar; this will change the consistency of the cake. If you thought the cake was too sweet, I would recommend replacing the milk chocolate with semisweet chocolate in the frosting.
Sinking in the middle may also be due to using pans that are not deep enough. This Chocolate Cake batter should not come above halfway up the pan, before baking. It rises a lot during baking. If there is not adequate space for the batter to climb during baking and adhere to the sides of the pan (which supports the cake) the batter will overflow the pan and the cake will sink in the center.
Two inch deep 8 inch pans are essential for this cake; if your pans are less than 2 inches, just use 9 inch layer cake pans.
Made this cake over the weekend, most excellent! Tasted as good as I thought it would, thanks for sharing!
Where do you get salted caramel sauce?
Hi Cindy, I make my own (https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/05/22/homemade-salted-caramel-sauce-recipe/), but you may be able to find a jar at a specialty-type store like Williams-Sonoma or Sur la Table, or at a gourmet grocery.
COULD YOU USE CARAMEL SYRUP( SAUCE FOR ICE CREAM) TYPE?
Yes, that would work!