Chocolate Candy Bar Cake | NeighborFood

Got leftover Halloween candy? This Candy Bar Cake is made with an easy one bowl chocolate cake, fluffy whipped cream cheese frosting, and lots of chopped up candy bars.

Mix and match your favorites to create your own ultimate recipe!

Easy & Versatile Candy Bar Cake

I don’t bake a lot of layer cakes these days, but this Candy Bar Cake is an old favorite I knew I wanted to bring back for the Halloween season.

My kids adore any dessert made with candy, whether it’s Dirt Pudding or Reese’s Cookies or M&M Monster Cookies, but a chocolate cake stuffed with candy bars? Well, this is a 9 year old’s dream.

This Candy Bar Cake is perfect for the reject pile of leftover Halloween candy (I’m looking at you Three Musketeers and Krackle), or for giving your very favorites a place to shine.

We like to use a mix of whatever hodge podge of candy bars we’ve collected, but of course, you can pick out the ones you like best and make a Reese’s Candy Bar Cake or a Kit Kat Cake.

As layer cakes go, this one isn’t fussy and comes together fairly easy. You can use our super easy one bowl Crazy Cake recipe or a box mix!

I’ve included lots of tips to make frosting easier, including some mistakes I made that you all get to learn from. Whether you’re a candy bar lover or you just need to use up that Halloween candy haul, this Candy Bar Cake is a great recipe to try!

Key Ingredients

For the cake, you’ll need:

• Cocoa– Look for unsweetened natural cocoa powder, not Dutch processed.
• Pantry staples, including flour, granulated sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
• Oil– Feel free to use vegetable, canola, or even coconut oil.
• White vinegar– The reaction between the oil, vinegar, and baking soda is what gives this cake its incredible fluffy texture, so be sure not to skip it!
• Vanilla extract– Pure or imitation both work to round out the chocolate flavors in the cake.

For the frosting, you’ll need:

• Cream cheese- I use full fat cream cheese and bring it to room temperature before blending. This will help ensure there are no lumps.
• Sugars– This frosting uses a mix of powdered sugar and granulated sugar, which keeps it from being too sweet.
• Whipped topping or Cool Whip– It should thaw overnight in the fridge before incorporating it into the frosting.
• Mini candy bars– We used mini candy bars, because it’s what we had on hand, but you can use full size candy bars if you prefer.

How to Make Candy Bar Cake

Step 1: Prep. Spray two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans (<<these are our favorite) with cooking spray, then line with a parchment paper circle. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2: Whisk together dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk cocoa, flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

Step 3: Add wet ingredients. Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the oil, water, vinegar, and vanilla inside.

Step 4: Combine and bake. Stir together until all the dry ingredients are well incorporated. Pour the cakes into the prepared pans and bake for 29-31 minutes.

Step 5: Cool. Allow the cakes to cool for 10-15 minutes, then run an edge around the outer rim and flip onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.

How To Make the Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting:

Step 1: Beat sugars and cream cheese together until well combined.

Step 2: Stir in whipped topping until smooth. Add a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla extract, to taste.

Step 3: Assemble and crumb coat. Start with one cake layer flipped over so the bottom is on top. Spread with a layer of the frosting, then top with the second layer, also upside down. Place a thin layer of frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Step 4: Add candy bars and frost. Add chopped candy bars to the remaining frosting, and spread it around the top and sides of the cake. Top with additional chopped candy bars for direction.

Tips for Making Layer Cakes

• Use parchment. Parchment paper really helps round cakes pop right out of the pans. If you don’t have parchment rounds, just use your pan to trace a circle the correct size on a piece of parchment, then cut it out.
• Refrigerate or freeze your layers. Cakes are much less fragile after they’ve been chilled. If you can freeze your cooled cake for just 30 minutes, they’ll be much easier to work with and frost.
• Gerry rig a cake board. A cake board makes it easy to transfer your cake to a serving platter or move it around, if needed. You can absolutely buy cake boards for your cake to sit on, but I’ve also rigged one up by cutting a piece of cardboard to the size of the cake pan, then covering it in parchment paper and taping the back.
• Make a crumb coat. A crumb coat allows you to pick up any loose crumbs from the cake so it doesn’t get into your frosting. I made the mistake of mixing my candy bars into the frosting before the crumb coat, but it’ll be much easier (and slice better), if you only add the candy bars for the final frosting.

FAQs

Can I use any kind of candy bar for this recipe?

Yes! But there are some considerations to keep in mind. I recommend thinking about any flavors that might not go well together. For instance, I find anything Reese’s to be overpowering, so I would recommend using only chocolate peanut butter candy bars or omitting Reese’s.

I have similar feelings about York Peppermint Patties, which will make absolutely everything it touches taste like mint.

That said, this is really comes down to personal preference! I’ve used all different combinations of Hershey’s, Twix, Kit Kat, Three Musketeers, Snickers, Crunch, and Almond Joy with great results.

Can I use a cake mix?

Yes, you can absolutely use your favorite chocolate cake mix here. You could even experiment with a yellow cake mix if you want!

Can I make this a candy bar sheet cake?

Absolutely! If you don’t want to mess with stacking, bake the cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan, and frost it in the pan once it’s cooled. It’ll be similar to this delicious Ho Ho Cake.

Can I use a different frosting?

Sure! I think the chocolate sour cream frosting in our Chocolate Bundt Cake could be absolutely DIVINE, or use a classic chocolate buttercream.

More Desserts for Chocolate Lovers

For the cake:

• 6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 8 ounces whipped topping (thawed)
• Pinch salt
• Splash vanilla extract
• 20 mini candy bars (divided, coarsely sliced)

To Make the Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 9 inch cake pans with cooking spray, then line with a parchment paper round. Set aside.

• In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar, flour, salt, soda, and baking powder.

• Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients then pour in the water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir all the ingredients together, then whisk until smooth.

• Pour in the prepared baking pans and bake for 28-31 minutes, or until the cake is starting to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

• Set the pans on a cooling rack to cool for 10-15 minutes, then grease the cooling rack with non-stick spray. Run a knife around the edges of the cake pan top with the cooling rack, and carefully flip the cakes out. Allow to cool completely, then wrap and chill in the fridge overnight or freeze at least one hour. Cake layers can be frozen up to 3 months.

To Make the Frosting:

• Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and powdered sugar until smooth. Fold in the whipped topping. Add the salt and vanilla, to taste.

• To assemble, place one cake layer, upside down, on a cake board or serving platter. Spread a layer of frosting over the top of the cake, then sandwich with the second layer, also upside down. Spread a thin layer of frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. Chill for 30 minutes to an hour.

• Mix 15 of the chopped candy bars into the remaining frosting, then spread it all over the top and sides of the cake. Top with remaining candy bars for decoration.

• Cake layers can be made and stored, tightly wrapped, in the freezer for up to 3 months. The cake can be frosted while still frozen.
• The cake keeps well, covered, in the fridge for about 5 days. I recommend bringing the cake to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
• Feel free to use any mix of candy bar that sounds good to you. I have personally used a mix of Almond Joy, Twix, Kit Kats, Hersheys, Crisp, and Snickers with great results. I don’t love mixing Reese’s with other candy bars because of the strong chocolate peanut butter flavor, but you do you!
• For a short cut, use a boxed chocolate cake mix instead of the homemade cake.

Course Cake, Cupcakes & Frosting

Keyword candy bar cake, chocolate candy bar cake

Calories: 590kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 524mg | Potassium: 117mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 57g | Vitamin A: 268IU | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 2mg