Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake
While I love a good layer cake, sheet cakes have been calling my name lately. That’s where this chocolate caramel poke cake comes in!
The best part of this cake? The hidden pockets of homemade caramel!
With almost every bite you get a delicious tunnel of buttery caramel. It’s enough to have you coming back for seconds…and thirds!
There’s a reason I call this my most irresistible sheet cake recipe 🙂
How to Properly Line a Sheet Cake Pan
Before we dive into how to make this cake, let’s make sure we prepare it properly!
To ensure your sheet cake easily pops out of your pan, I highly recommend lining it with parchment paper.
Another trick I love to use when I make sheet cakes is to use flower nails as heating cores.
These are usually used to pipe buttercream flowers, but they work great as heating cores too!
Just flip them upside down and they’ll help conduct heat from the bottom of the pan into the center of the cake.
This helps the sheet cake bake up more evenly and quickly.
I ordered mine on Amazon and a pair of them was $6. They last forever! I’ve had mine for over five years now.
How to Make This Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake Recipe
To make sure this recipe turns out as amazing as possible, let’s walk through each step together! I’ve also included a video tutorial of the process below.
I figured it might be helpful to know what tools I use, too, so I’ve shared a list below.
Not all of these are mandatory, but they make the process a lot easier.
If you don’t have all these things on hand, feel free to improvise and work with what you have.
- 9×13-inch Sheet Pan (Quarter Sheet Pan)
- 2 Flower Nails
- Electric Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- Small Saucepan
- Rubber Spatula
- Large Bowl
- Whisk
- Large offset spatula
- Large Straw or Chopstick
Step 1: Make the Homemade Caramel
Make the caramel first so that it has time to cool before you need to use it.
I know that making caramel from scratch can seem intimidating if you’ve never tried it before.
I was convinced it was some complicated process that required all kinds of special equipment. But it doesn’t have to be complicated!
I make my caramel without a thermometer using just four ingredients, and a batch comes together in about 5 minutes. It doesn’t get much easier than that!
If you’re short on time you can use store-bought caramel, but I think it’s worth making the caramel from scratch.
Once you make it, it gets used in pretty much every aspect of the cake.
It’s spread on top of the sheet cake, added to the frosting, and used to decorate the top of the cake.
Step 2: Bake the Chocolate Sheet Cake
Next, make the chocolate cake batter. Preheat oven to 325°F/162°C. Line a 9×13-inch (quarter sheet) pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.
Place two flower nails in the center of the pan with the flat side resting flat against the cake pan.
Make sure they are spaced a few inches apart and spray them thoroughly with non-stick spray.
Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan. Reposition the flower nails so that they’re evenly spaced across the pan.
Bake for 50-55 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through to help the cake bake evenly. Place the pan on a wire rack and let it cool fully in the pan.
If you don’t use heating cores, the cake will take 5-10 additional minutes to bake.
If you make this in advance, wrap and freeze the cake at this point. Take it out of the freezer about 20 minutes before you want to frost the cake.
Step 3: Make the Fluffy Caramel Buttercream
Next, we work on the delicious caramel buttercream frosting.
This recipe uses an American buttercream as a base, and we whip up the butter while we make it to give this frosting a fluffy, light texture.
This chocolate sheet cake bakes up pretty tall, so you need a relatively thick layer of frosting to get the cake-to-frosting ratio just right.
Lightening the texture of the frosting allows you to add a thick layer on top of the sheet cake without it being overpoweringly sweet.
Step 4: Decorate the Poke Cake
Once the cake has cooled, carefully flip it onto a wire rack and remove the flower nails from the cake.
Use a straw or chopstick to poke holes about 1 1/2 inches apart from each other across the entire top of the cake.
Pour a majority of the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the cake, reserving about 1/3 cup to decorate with later.
Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the caramel over the cake and into the holes.
Spread an even layer of caramel buttercream on top of the cake, making swirls with an offset spatula or spoon.
Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the cake and top with chocolate pearls and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Substitutions and Swaps – Chocolate Sheet Cake
This chocolate sheet cake uses quite a few ingredients, and I know you might not have them all on hand. Or if you have food allergies or restrictions, I’ve got you covered.
Below are some swaps and substitutions that can be made in this cake recipe.
- All-Purpose Flour – This recipe turns out best with all-purpose flour, but you can also use a gluten-free flour blend if needed.
- Eggs – If you have an egg allergy, I recommend using an egg replacer like this in place of the eggs in this recipe.
- Cocoa Powder – I like to use regular baking cocoa in this recipe, but you can also use Dutch-processed or black cocoa.
- Buttermilk – You can use full-fat yogurt, additional sour cream, whole milk, or an alternative yogurt or milk (almond, soy, oat) if you’re dairy-free.
- Sour cream – You can use full-fat yogurt, additional buttermilk, whole milk, or an alternative yogurt or milk (almond, soy, oat) if you’re dairy-free.
- Vegetable Oil – Any flavorless oil would work great in this recipe, like canola or sunflower.
Substitutions and Swaps – Caramel Buttercream Frosting
- Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter. Just be sure to omit the salt that this frosting recipe calls for. You can also use vegan butter in its place!
- Heavy Cream – Whole milk or alternative milk (soy, almond, oat) will work fine in this frosting recipe too.
- Vanilla Extract – Other extracts can also be used in place of the vanilla extract.
Key Tip for Making This Caramel: Add the Sugar Gradually
Whenever I make homemade caramel, melting down the sugar can be a little tricky.
I highly recommend adding the sugar gradually. I add about a quarter of a cup at a time.
This helps the granulated sugar liquefy more quickly and minimizes clumping. It makes a world of difference!!
I didn’t know that I should do that when I first started making caramel, and I used to just dump it all in at once.
The caramel will still turn out if you add all the sugar at once, but it takes a lot longer to melt down. It can also leave you with little lumps of hardened sugar in your caramel.
Tips for Making the Best Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake:
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper to easily remove your cake once it’s baked.
- Use flower nails to help your sheet cake bake more evenly and quickly.
- Mix your batter until it’s just combined. Over-mixing your batter can make your sheet cake denser and less tender.
- Properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale to measure the dry ingredients.
- This recipe can be used to make about 3 dozen cupcakes. Fill your cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes in a preheated 350 F/175 C oven.
- You can also use this recipe to bake a 12×17-inch (half-sheet) cake, but the baking time will be shorter. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 325 F/ 162 C.
- If you want to make a chocolate layer cake, I recommend using my chocolate layer cake recipe to make 3 8-inch cake layers.
Making This Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake in Advance & Storage Tips
This cake is made with a few different components, but they can be made in stages to break up the work and make it more manageable.
I like to make the caramel ahead of time. It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
You can also make the frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again.
This sheet cake can also be made in advance and frozen for up to a month if wrapped properly (plastic wrap and foil).
Once this cake is made, it can sit out at room temperature for a day, in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to a month.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you make this chocolate caramel poke cake recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a rating and comment below.
Or if you share your creations on social media, be sure to tag me @chelsweets so I can see your delicious creations!
Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake
Ingredients
Homemade Caramel Sauce
- 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar 266g
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 113g
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature 80g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
Chocolate Sheet Cake:
- 3 cup all-purpose flour 375g
- 2 3/4 cup granulated sugar 550g
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted 50g
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 6g
- 1 Tbsp baking soda 18g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 2g
- 1 1/2 cups hot water 360g
- 1 Tbsp instant espresso or coffee 6g
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature 240g
- 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil 170g
- 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature 128g
- 3 large eggs, room temperature 168g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 4g
Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 226g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 4g
- 1/4 tsp fine salt 1g
- 4 cups powdered sugar 500g
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature 60g
- 1/3 cup caramel sauce, room temperature 100g – recipe above
Decorations and Tools:
- 9 x 13-inch baking pan
- Flower nails as heating cores
- Callebaut Milk Chocolate Crispearls
- 1 tsp flakey sea salt – garnish
- Small offset spatula
Instructions
Homemade Caramel Sauce:
- Make the caramel first, because it needs time to cool and thicken before it's used to fill and drizzle over the cupcakes. Making caramel from scratch might seem a little intimidating, but I promise it's easier than you'd think!
- Turn the stove to a medium heat and place a saucepan over the element.
- Once the saucepan has warmed up, pour in 1 1/3 cup sugar gradually, adding 1/4 cup at a time. Wait until the sugar is mostly liquified, then add in the next bit of sugar. As the sugar melts it will slowly deepen in color. I try to stir it as little as possible, and let the heat melt it down. If you feel like the sugar is burning, remove the pan from the element and turn down the heat a bit.
- Stir as needed until the sugar is fully dissolved and is an amber color. Turn off the heat.
- Slowly mix in 1/2 cup of butter, 2 Tbsp at a time. Stir until each addition of butter is fully incorporated before adding the next bit. Then stir in 1/3 cup of heavy cream and 1/2 tsp salt. The mixture will be very thin but will thicken as it cools.
- Pour the caramel into a separate container and set aside to cool.
Chocolate Sheet Cake:
- Next, make the chocolate cake batter. Preheat oven to 325°F/162°C. Line a 9×13-inch (quarter sheet) pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.
- Place two flower nails in the center of the pan with the flat side resting flat against the cake pan. Make sure they are spaced a few inches apart and spray them thoroughly with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 3/4 cups granulated sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 Tbsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt together. Set aside.
- In a separate, large bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups hot water and 1 Tbsp instant coffee or espresso powder. You can also use 1 1/2 cups of strong, hot coffee.
- Add 1 cup buttermilk, 3/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup sour cream, 3 large eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla into the coffee mixture and whisk together until smooth.
- Add half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk together until just combined.
- Pour in the rest of the dry ingredients and whisk again until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan. Reposition the flower nails so that they’re evenly spaced across the pan.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Rotate the pan halfway through to help the cake bake evenly. If you don't have flower nails, bake the cake for 5-10 additional minutes.
- Place the pan on a wire rack and let it cool fully in the pan.
Fluffy Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
- While the cake bakes and cools, make the caramel buttercream frosting.
- Beat 1 cup of butter on a medium speed for 2 minutes with a whisk attachment until smooth and fluffy. It should become lighter in color.
- Add in 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp of salt. Mix on low until combined.
- Slowly mix in 4 cups of powdered sugar on a low speed. Add in 1/4 cup of heavy cream halfway through to make the frosting easier to mix.
- Mix in 1/3 cup of cooled caramel sauce on a low speed.
- Beat on low until the ingredients are combined, then increase the speed to medium high and mix for an additional minute.
- The frosting should be super fluffy at this point! Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake Decoration:
- Once the cake has cooled completed, carefully flip it onto a wire rack and remove the flower nails from the cake.
- Use a straw or chopstick to poke holes about 1 1/2 inches apart from each other across the entire top of the cake. You can also use the end of a spoon.
- Heat up the caramel in 15 second intervals in the microwave until it's fluid and thin. Pour a majority of the remaining caramel over the top of the cake, reserving about 1/3 cup to decorate with later. Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the caramel over the cake and into the holes.
- Spread an even layer of caramel buttercream on top of the cake, making swirls with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the cake and top with chocolate pearls and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Use a sharp, warm knife to cut the cake into 24 squares, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Making This Chocolate Sheet Cake in Advance and Storage Tips:
This cake is made with a few different components, but they can be made in stages to break up the work and make it more manageable. I like to make the caramel ahead of time. It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. You can also make the frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again. This sheet cake can also be made in advance and frozen for up to a month if wrapped properly (plastic wrap and foil). Once this cake is made, it can sit out at room temp for a day, in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to a month.Different Sized Sheet Pan:
You can also use this recipe to bake a 12×17-in (half sheet) cake, but the bake time will be shorter! Bake for about 25 minutes at 325°F/162°C.Cupcakes:
This recipe can also be used to make cupcakes. Fill your cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes in a preheated 350°F/175°C oven. The yield varies based on the size of your muffin pan and liners, but one batch should make about 3 dozen cupcakes!Nutrition
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For a trip down memory lane, here are the original pictures I took for this recipe back in 2018.
Good Morning! How thick does the caramel sauce get once it is cooled? I have been looking for a good caramel sauce recipe that could also be used for dipping apples, etc. Unfortunately we have lost the recipe we always made growing up:( Thanks! I love reading the recipes and looking at the pictures on your blog!
Hi Rachel,
So sorry to hear that! This caramel does thicken as it cools, but never really firms up. I think the consistency would be great to dip apple slices into it. Hope that helps, happy baking!!
hi do i have to put coffee in it?
Hi My-Lan,
You can omit the instant coffee/instant espresso powder if you’re not a fan of the flavor. I like the depth of flavor it adds, but the recipe will still bake up great without it. Hope that helps, happy baking!
Is this recipe easy to half? Also, what if I don’t have buttermilk?!
Hi Amy,
You can totally halve this recipe! If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use full fat yogurt or sour cream in place of the buttermilk this recipe calls for.
Or if you want to make your own buttermilk, you can use whole milk plus a bit of vinegar or lemon juice! The ratio is 1 Tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice for each cup of whole milk. Hope that helps, happy baking!
I can not get this caramel sauce, when I add the butter, a little at a time, the butter just separates from the sugar that just clumps into one ball and I can’t get it to incorporate. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Kristen,
The butter will melt on the surface of the sugar, but it should incorporate with a bit of stirring. Is your butter at room temperature?? If it’s cold, it can cause your caramelized sugar to harden!
@Chelsweets,
The first time I made this cake everything turned out fantastic and we loved it. I tried making it again today and cannot get the Carmel sauce to work. The butter won’t incorporate and I just get a hard clump of Carmel and a pool of melted butter. I have tried twice as I thought I overlooked the sugar the first time. My butter was room temp as it had been sitting on the counter all day. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I think this time I will go buy a jar of Carmel as I’m not up to trying 3 times, but I do remember how good it was the first time I made it!
Do we need to have sour cream or can we substitute it for something else
Hi Ilana,
You can use buttermilk, regular milk, or full fat yogurt in place of the sour cream in this recipe <3
This is the first time I have ever made a cake that wasn’t in a box and let me tell you it was so fun to make. My entire family plus friends loved it and now my dad wants one for his birthday. I can’t wait to try out more of your recipes.
This put the biggest smile on my face Taylor 🙂 That’s wonderful to hear!! Happy baking!
I was wondering if i could use salted butter in the frosting recipe to make salted caramel frosting?
Hi Kylie,
So sorry for the delayed response! You can either do that, or just add a touch more salt to the caramel or frosting until you’re happy with it’s flavor. Hope that helps, happy baking!
i was wondering if you don’t wanna make Carmel would your still be good if you get some from the store ? I’m just 12 but I love your recipes and my family loves eating the food 🙂 !
Hi Georgia,
I think this cake would still taste great with store-bought caramel! Happy baking!!?
Hi Chelsea! I think I did something wrong with my caramel. Once I removed it from the heat, it already appeared to be thickening up, so I was afraid to put it in the fridge. I just left it out at room temp to cool. Once my cake came out, I noticed that I could barely stir it. So, to salvage it, I poked holes in the warm cake and spread it over the top (instead of letting it cool). Hopefully i don’t regret that decision. I plan on trying the caramel in the frosting–we’ll see if it is too stiff. But I will definitely not drizzle on top. Any tips are appreciated!
Hi Brandi,
I think that as long as you can drizzle it onto the cake it should work out! It sounds like you may let the sugar caramelize a bit too long! I’d recommend letting it brown/melt for a shorter period of time next time you make it <3
Hi Chelsea! My sister and I made the cake for Mother’s Day and it went over very well! Our family is going to add this to our rep of cakes we love. This was the first time we’d ever made caramel, and while we had to soften it with some boiling water so we could drizzle it when making the cake, the flavor was fantastic. We also loved how your buttercream recipe gave us the perfect amount for the cake! Thank you so much!!
So happy to hear that Laura!! 🙂 That’s wonderful!! Happy Mother’s day!
Hi, Chelsea! Thank you for the recipe. I am not a total novice when it comes to baking but am pretty inexperienced with cakes. I am trying to build my cake skills for my children’s birthday parties and am considering making this for my son’s second birthday party next month. I am having a hard time visualizing the presentation of the final product. I see in the instructions that you remove the cake and the flour nails from the pan, but then frost only the top. Is it supposed to go back in the pan for frosting, slicing, and serving (it looks like it’s in the pan in the picture at the top of this post)? Would it keep its shape to serve it as a sheet cake on a piece of cardboard (or other serving device) with the sides frosted as well as the top? My thought was to make the pokes and then chill the cake, trim the sides and add caramel and crumb coat, chill again, and then add final frosting coat. Do you think this would work well?
As a separate question, I am really itching to try my hand at layered round cakes. I am concerned though that a 7-9 inch round layered cake would not be enough to feed a sizeable birthday party. How would you recommend a novice (as in, tiers probably aren’t going to bode well for me, also doing large numbers of layers) scales up to feed 30+ people? I guess I could make a second cake for serving that isn’t presented as nicely like at a wedding. I am wondering if you have any creative ideas to tackle this? Or is this simply the reason sheet cakes and not layered round cakes are typical fare of kids’ birthday parties?
Thank you!
OMG. I love love love your recipe for Caramel sauce!! I have just melted and thinned Kraft caramels in the past bc I’ve been too afraid to try and make it myself, but are right. It IS EASY and oh my, delish!! Thank you for posting. I am a Amazon Prime member so I going to go to Food Network and download that app and join your Food Network baking series. Congrats on that btw!!
How many and where do you position baking nails on a sheet cake (rectangular 13×9)?
Hi! I was wondering if the recipe can be doubled to make a 1/2 sheet?
ok, what did I miss? The amount of batter was waaaay too much for a 9×13 sheet pan, so I used a (roughly) 9×13 cake pan, including using the flower nails. There’s about 15 minutes left of baking time, and the sides are burned and the middle is liquid. Did you mean use a 13×18 sheet pan? So disappointed!! The frosting is awesome though, so I’ll save that.
This sounds amazing and I’m going to make it for my friend’s birthday this week! One question I have is would this same type of caramel poke cake taste good with a yellow cake as the base? Thank you.
I have literally never commented on a recipe before and I bake a ton. I am super disappointed with this cake. Like a comment below there is waaaay too much batter. I even took about two cups out of my 9×13 after pouring it in and it still flowed over in my oven making a huge mess and the sides were burnt and the middle a soggy mess. I had such high hopes for this cake but it was a complete disaster. Frosting was good though.
Hi Natalee,
I’m so sorry to hear that! This recipe makes about 12 cups of batter, which should bake up nicely in a 9x13inch pan that is 2-inches tall. This sheet cake does bake up quite tall like in the pictures, and ends up being about 2 inches tall once it’s baked. I use this pan when I make this recipe: https://amzn.to/3HJYNIi
How tall is the pan you’re using? Hopefully we’ll have able to figure out what happened together!
Why did my cake over flow the pan while cooking?
I’m so sorry to hear that Kay! What type of pan were you using? Does it have 2-inch tall sides?