Snickers Chocolate Layer Cake
Snickers Chocolate Layer Cake. Need I say more? No, really I must.
Is it sacrilegious to make a candy-themed cake and never once try the original candy bar? If it’s against heavenly ordained rules, then I am going down in flames.
I guess missed out on childhood candy classics. Odd since I loved sugar, I never partook in the tradition candy bar snacks. I remember I use to eat Domino sugar cubes by the dozen. Fun times. I must have been a sugar purist.
This cake is, just that, a Snickers Chocolate Layer Cake. But more, much more. Three layers of moist chocolate cake with all of the snickery-fixins–chocolate, nougat filling, peanuts, caramel, and more chocolate—are just, well, meant to exist in this world.
I tested the recipe from Brown Eyed Baker. I more-or-less followed this recipe to a T. Either it be laziness or my stubbornness against buying super-specific kitchen gadgetry, I did not own a candy thermometer. I needed item if for making a lot of caramel. Since I do not plan on counting numbers and waiting for the caramel to hit the *right* temperature, I decided to follow a no-thermometer caramel recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
Besides the salted caramel substitution, I really would (okay HIGHLY suggest) that you plan this cake over the course of two days. Sure you can frost the layers after they have cooled. But as you cut the domes, you’ll be dealing with tons of chocolate crumbs everywhere and a dry cake. After the chocolate cake layers cool to room temperature, let the cake layers rest in the refrigerator overnight in plastic wrap.
They will be much moister after their cool night’s rest. Plus a moist cake like this chocolate one, is much easier to level off it chilled. If a mess can be avoided, it’s always best.
In the end it is a recipe to come back to again and again!
- For the Moist Chocolate Cake:
- 2½ cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1½ cups buttermilk, room temperature
- 1½ cups strong black coffee, warm
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 4½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- For the Snickers Nougat Filling:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup evaporated milk
- 1½ cups marshmallow fluff
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups salted peanuts, roughly chopped
- For the Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ¼ cup salted caramel sauce
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- For the Milk Chocolate Drippy Ganache:
- 8 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
- 4 ounces (½ cup) heavy cream
- For the Assembly & Garnish:
- Additional salted caramel sauce
- Additional chopped peanuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray set aside (if you want to use parchment paper you can).
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Fit the mixer with a paddle attachment and stir the dry ingredients on the stir setting for 30 seconds.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat on low until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and beat it for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix for a final 20 to 30 seconds. The batter will be very thin.
- Divide the batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 20 minutes and rotate the pans in the oven at 10 minutes. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out almost clean (with a few moist crumbs). Cool the cakes in the pans on wire racks for 20 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely. (NOTE: For a moister cake, I let the cakes chill in the fridge overnight).
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and evaporated milk, stirring until dissolved.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and add the marshmallow fluff, peanut butter, and vanilla extract, stirring until completely smooth. Fold in the chopped peanuts.
- Let the nougat mixture cool to room temperature before using it in the cake. You can do this leaving it at room temperature or you can pop it into the refrigerator to speed up the process. Be sure to give a stir occasionally as it cools.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until lump free and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and drizzle in the salted caramel and beat until combined. At this point scrape down the side of the bowl.
- Add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, until completely incorporated. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional two to three minutes, until light and fluffy.
- While the cake chills, make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside.
- In a microwave safe measuring cup, heat the cream until it bubble around the edges, about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the warm cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes.
- Whisk from the center outward, gradually stir from the center outward until the ganache is completely smooth. Set aside to cool, whisking occasionally, until it has thickened slightly, yet still a pourable consistency.
- Level off the cakes so each layer is flat.
- Frost each layer with a ring of buttercream frosting to create a “moat” for the filling. Fill in with the nougaut filling and stack the next layer on top.
- Do a light crumb coating on the outside of the cake and let the cake chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Frost the cake with a final coat.
- Carefully pour ganache onto the top of the cake. Let it naturally fall to the sides or gently glide it evenly with an off set spatula.
- Decorate with extra caramel sauce and chopped peanuts.