Better Than Anything Cake: The G-rated title for the popular cake made with devil's food chocolate cake, infused with sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce, topped with Cool Whip and Heath toffee bits.
Prepare the cake according to the directions on the box for a 9x13-inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes and then sprinkle the surface with the chocolate chips. Continue baking until the cake tests done.
Remove the cake from the oven and immediately poke holes all over the top using either the bottom of a wooden spoon, a skewer or a fork.
Pour the sweetened condensed milk slowly over the top of the cake. Chill for 1 hour or until cool. Spread the caramel sauce over the cake.
Spread the Cool Whip over the top of the caramel sauce, top with the crushed Heath bars, and refrigerate again for at least 1 hour. Serve cold and refrigerate any leftovers.
Notes
A 9x13-inch pan is used for this recipe; you can use glass or metal.
Boxed Cake Mix - Any chocolate variety will work, the original recipe calls for devil's food cake mix, but I've used German chocolate cake mix, chocolate fudge, etc. Whatever you like or have available is fine!
Chocolate Chips - I love the extra little texture these provide; I use semisweet since I always have a big bag in the pantry, but you can use milk, dark, even white or peanut butter chips, if you'd like!
Caramel Sauce - You can use homemade caramel sauce, store-bought sauce, or caramel ice cream topping, any of those will work! While I love the contrast of the caramel and chocolate cake, you could also choose to use hot fudge (homemade or store-bought) instead.
Cool Whip - Any type of whipped topping will work here (just be sure to thaw it in the refrigerator before using and not take it straight from the freezer), or you can make homemade whipped cream. If you're not feeling whipped cream, you could always top it with your favorite frosting, too!
Heath Bars - You can crush up the candy bars or use bagged toffee bits (found in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips). See post above for topping alternatives.
Make-Ahead: I typically make this cake completely the day before serving it and keep it covered in the refrigerator until serving. You could probably prepare it through step #3 (the caramel sauce) up to two days before you need to serve it, cover and refrigerate, then top with Cool Whip and toppings the day of or night before serving.
Storage: After assembling, the cake should be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: This cake can be frozen; wrap well in double layer of plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.