Easy Butterfingers Pecan Cake

This is the kind of dessert that looks like you put in real effort when in reality you spent 20 minutes and stuck a box of chocolate cake mix in the oven. The trick is the poke-cake technique: while the cake is hot from the oven, you poke holes in it and pour butterscotch ice cream topping over the surface. The sauce sinks down into the cake and saturates it with caramel-butterscotch flavor.

Waiting until the cake is fully cool before topping is a must. Hot cake plus cold whipped topping equals a melted mess of liquid topping running down the sides of the pan. Once the cake is at room temperature, the whipped topping holds its shape and the crushed candy stays where you put it.

The crushed Butterfingers folded into the whipped topping are the textural magic. The bars soften slightly from the moisture in the topping but keep enough crunch to give every bite something to chew. Pecans add a separate toasted layer that grounds the sweetness.

Reserving half a candy bar to scatter on top is worth the extra step. The chunks on the surface look better than the chunks hidden under the topping, and you get an immediate visual signal of what’s inside the cake.

Kitchen Tips

• Use a wooden spoon handle or a chopstick to poke holes. They should go almost (but not quite) to the bottom of the pan, and be well spaced.
• Pour the butterscotch sauce slowly so it has time to soak in. Pouring fast leaves puddles on top.
• Crush the Butterfingers in their wrappers with a rolling pin. Less mess.
• This cake gets better as it sits. Make it the day before for the deepest flavor.

Variations

• Swap chocolate cake mix for yellow or vanilla cake mix for a lighter base.
• Use Heath bars instead of Butterfingers for a toffee version.
• Drizzle additional butterscotch on top before serving for an extra-sweet finish.