White Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake

Name: White Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 28 min
Total time: 58 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 chocolate cake mix + ingredients from back of box; 1 1/2 cups cooled coffee (substitute this for the water in the cake); 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.); 1 cup caramel ice cream topping + extra for drizzling (Hershey's); 1 cup milk; 1 box instant white chocolate pudding (3.4 oz. Hershey's); 2 cups Cool Whip; 2 cups chopped Hershey's White Chocolate Bliss Bars

Published: Nov 10, 2013 · Modified: Jun 11, 2020 by Jocelyn · As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links · 61 Comments

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This White Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake is a great way to end the meal. Chocolate, caramel, and white chocolate...it's the perfect trio of flavors.

Chocolate, caramel, and candy bars make this cake an amazing dessert!

When our kids have tests, we have them study, and then we will quiz them to see how much they really studied. Nothing like a good study session to make you realize how much school stuff you have forgotten and how dumb you have become. That was me the other night. My son had a biology test that he wanted me to quiz him for. Biology is one of those classes I learned at the time, and then promptly forgot as soon as school was over.

Yikes! It has been way too many years since being in school. My brain does not remember things like ATP energy, autotrophs, chloroplasts, adenosine, thylakoids. Shoot! I can't even remember how to pronounce some of those. My son had a good laugh at me as I was asking him some of the things on his papers. The sad thing is that I just went over all those things with him the other day, and I couldn't tell you what any of those are now. Well, maybe chloroplasts...I think those are some sort of plant cell where the color is stored...or something like that. The other ones I have no clue. Obviously I forgot again!

I think it is safe to say that I need to stick to studying things like chocolate, caramel, and candy bars. That is definitely a test I would ace. Bio bad...baking good!

So a few weeks ago I was "studying" the aisles at the store. (confession: I lose more time wandering the grocery store aisles than anywhere else) I took a turn down the coffee aisle and checked some of the instant coffee flavors. My eye landed on a white chocolate caramel coffee, and I knew right away that I wanted to bake something with those flavors. After a few more aisles of wandering/studying I came up with this White Chocolate Caramel Poke Cake idea.

If you are wondering what a poke cake is...it is just what it sounds like. You bake a cake, and then "poke" holes all over the top of the warm cake for the caramel and sweetened condensed milk to soak into. Then cover it with a Cool Whip topping.

This cake actually has a white chocolate pudding Cool Whip on top of it to give it even more white chocolate flavor. I found some Hershey's white chocolate pudding while I was aisle wandering and decided to give it a try on this cake. I also used some white chocolate Hershey bars for the topping! I don't know about you, but I can't resist something that decadent looking.

Chocolate, caramel, and cake...I think all my studying paid off! 🙂

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