This Ultimate Snickers Cake is six-layers of chocolate cake with peanut caramel filling and peanut butter cream cheese frosting, dripping with chocolate ganache and caramel sauce. It tastes just like a Snickers bar!

This Ultimate Snickers Cake is six-layers of chocolate cake with peanut caramel filling and peanut butter cream cheese frosting, dripping with chocolate ganache and caramel sauce. It tastes just like a Snickers bar!This cake is not for the light of heart. It’s big, it’s messy, it has a lot of (pretty easy) steps, and it takes a little while. BUT: it tastes just like a Snicker’s bar, and it’s worth every second of effort that you put into it.

I don’t wanna scare you guys, it’s not a hard cake…but the recipe does look a little scary and daunting down there. Yeah, it’s a lot of steps, but the actual steps aren’t too hard, and I promise, this cake is forgiving! And every piece of it tastes so delicious, there’s no way you can go wrong.

This Ultimate Snickers Cake is six-layers of chocolate cake with peanut caramel filling and peanut butter cream cheese frosting, dripping with chocolate ganache and caramel sauce. It tastes just like a Snickers bar!This beauty was created for my friend Ally’s birthday. Ally is a die hard Snickers lover, and the reason for this No-Bake Snicker’s Pie I made a while back. Usually if something on Bakerita involves Snickers, it was either Ally’s idea or created with her in mind. So of course when we started thinking about her birthday cake…Snickers came to mind. Shortly after, I saw this gorgeous Salted Caramel Apple Snickers Cake on Half Baked Harvest and fell in love. I showed Ally, and she did too, so I took some inspiration from Tieghan and made a similar, but more totally, thoroughly Snicker-y cake.

In this cake, you have six decadent layers on layers of moist, rich dark chocolate cake, alternatively sandwiched with an easy peanut caramel filling and a silky smooth peanut butter cream cheese frosting, all topped with dark chocolate ganache and good pour of caramel sauce. It’s all garnished with Maldon flaky sea salt and crushed roasted peanuts. This cake is messy, imperfect, and beyond delicious. It will 100% satisfy your craving for sweets.

This Ultimate Snickers Cake is six-layers of chocolate cake with peanut caramel filling and peanut butter cream cheese frosting, dripping with chocolate ganache and caramel sauce. It tastes just like a Snickers bar!I skipped on the nougat element of the Snickers bar, but I don’t think you’ll miss it. The frosting is rich and incredibly flavorful – the peanut butter and cream cheese work together deliciously and tie the whole cake together. I think it’s what really gives it that Snickers flavor. Of course, the thick layer of chocolate and caramel help. That outside layer forms a thick, sweet, fudgy layer that’s absolutely perfect after it’s melted into the cake a little bit. The caramel and peanuts in the middle layers of the cake just inherently remind you of biting into a candy bar, and the cake layers are just thin enough that you always get to have all the flavors in your mouth at once. In a few words…this cake is awesome. 

Some of this cake was served at a party, and all I heard reiterated all night was that it literally tasted just like a Snickers. This is definitely a celebration cake, but find a reason to celebrate. You need this cake in your life. And because I love you, and get mesmerized with GIFs of dessert, I decided to show you how this cake came together. Enjoy:

The construction of a Snickers Cake, from Bakerita.com

And ALSO because I love you, I’m hosting a giveaway today with some other lovely bloggers! We decided to team up to give one of you a $250 Amazon gift card. This is totally sponsored by us, not by Amazon, because we want to share a little love in preparation for the holidays! All of these gals have lovely blogs as well, I hope you’ll check them all out. Also, the Rafflecopter widget should load right above the recipe. Sometimes it takes a little while to show up!

This giveaway is hosted by Sweet Peas & Saffron, Pumpkin ‘N Spice, Live Well, Bake Often, Savory Nothings, Flying On Jess Fuel, The Well Floured Kitchen, Flavor the Moments, She Likes Food, Sweet & Delish and Bakerita.

The giveaway is closed! Thanks so much to everyone who entered.

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This Ultimate Snickers Cake is six-layers of chocolate cake with peanut caramel filling and peanut butter cream cheese frosting, dripping with chocolate ganache and caramel sauce. It tastes just like a Snickers bar!

Snickers Cake

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Ingredients

Scale

For the cake

  • 3 cups (12.75 oz) all-purpose flour
  • 3 cups (1 lb. 5 oz) granulated sugar
  • 1½ cups (4.5 oz) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1½ cups buttermilk
  • 1½ cups warm water
  • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting

  • 1½ cups 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the caramel filling

  • 1 (11 oz) bag Kraft caramels (unwrapped)
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
  • ½ cup dry roasted peanuts (chopped)

For the ganache

  • 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chopped)
  • ⅓ cup heavy cream

For the caramel topping

  • 1 (11 oz) bag Kraft caramels (unwrapped)
  • ⅔ cup heavy cream
  • Peanuts & flaky sea salt (to garnish)

Instructions

For the cake layers

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans, and dust with flour, tapping out excess.
  2. Combine flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of a mixer. Mix on low. Add eggs, buttermilk, 1 1/2 cups warm water, oil, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth and completely combined.
  3. Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake until cakes are set and a toothpick inserted into the center of each comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool in pans set on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks, and let cool completely.

For the caramel filling

  1. Place all of the unwrapped caramels and heavy whipping cream in a small saucepan. Heat on low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until the caramels are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a small bowl or liquid measuring cup and let cool until warm. Stir in peanuts.

For the frosting

  1. Add the butter and cream cheese to the bowl of stand mixer (or use a hand held mixer). Beat together until the light and fluffy, about 4 minutes on medium speed. Add the peanut butter and vanilla, beat until there are no streaks. Add the powdered sugar and beat for another 3 minutes on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.

To assemble

  1. Once your cakes are completely cooled, level each cake so that the top is flat with a long, thin knife or cake leveler. Using the same knife, cut each cake layer into two thinner layers. You should have six thin cake layers.
  2. Place about 1 cup of frosting into a small Ziploc or piping bag, fitting with a large round tip if you have one. If not, you can just cut a 1/2 inch hole in the corner of the bag.
  3. Place 1 layer of cake, flat side up, on a plate or cake stand. Pipe frosting in a circle around the edge of the cake layer. Pour about 1/3 heaping cup of the caramel with peanuts in the center of the cake layer, and spread to cover the caramel up to the frosting border. Place another layer on top, and using a knife or offset spatula, spread evenly with a layer of frosting. Repeat with remaining layers of cake, switching between the caramel filling and the frosting filling. You should have 3 layers filled with the peanut caramel, and 2 filled with frosting. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Don’t worry about it being too perfect as you will be covering most of it up. Place the cake in fridge to allow the frosting to set for at least 30 minutes.
  4. After the frosting has set, make the chocolate coating. In a microwave safe bowl add the chocolate and cream. Microwave on high for 30 second intervals, stirring between each until melted and smooth.
  5. Allow the chocolate to cool for about 3-5 minutes, and then pour the sauce onto the middle of the cake and spread to just the sides, allow the sauce to drip down the sides of the cake. Place the cake in the fridge for at least 1 1/2 hours (or overnight) until the chocolate is completely set and the frosting firm.
  6. Once the chocolate has set, prepare the caramel topping. Place the unwrapped caramels and heavy cream in a saucepan. Heat on low-medium heat, stirring frequently, until the caramels are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. It should be thinner than the previous caramel. Transfer to a liquid measuring cup, and let cool for about 10 minutes. Stir, and then pour the caramel over the cake and allow it to fall down the sides of the cake over the chocolate ganache. Garnish with peanuts and a sprinkling of sea salt if desired.
  7. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set before serving.
  8. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Recipe inspired by and adapted from this Salted Caramel Apple Snickers Cake from Half Baked Harvest

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