A decadent vanilla cake topped with chocolate buttercream, milky way bars, and a glorious caramel sauce!

Milky Way Cake! from Sally's Baking Addiction
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Milky Way Cake

So excited to bring you this cake today.

It’s full of tasty truffles, fudges, and decadent treats for any sweet-tooth fix!

Milky Way Cake! from Sally's Baking Addiction

The second I saw this cake I was in love. I mean… a wonderfully moist and buttery vanilla cake covered in copious amounts of chocolate frosting toped with milky way (also inside!) and then drizzled with caramel? What’s not to love!

Recipe shared with permission from Sally’s Candy Addiction.

Milky Way Cake! from Sally's Baking Addiction

Tips & Tricks for Milky Way Cake

You can use GOOP to prepare your pans.

I also made this cake in 8-inch round pans. This made the layers very thick, but cooking times were roughly the same. (Every oven is different so keep an eye on yours)

I do not recommend serving this cake cold. When the candy bars gets cold it is difficult to cut through, plus the cake just tastes great room temperature.

Be sure to keep your caramel on hand to drizzle over each slice as you are serving it.

Milky Way Cake! from Sally's Baking Addiction
Milky Way Cake! from Sally's Baking Addiction

Milky Way Cake

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
chilling 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour
A decadent vanilla cake topped with chocolate buttercream, milky way bars, and a glorious caramel sauce!

Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 cups (230 g) cake flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ยผ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature and separated (separate whites from yolks)
  • 1 ยผ cups (284 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 ยฝ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • โ…” cup (160 ml) whole milk, room temperature

Easy Caramel Sauce

  • 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, packed
  • ยฝ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
  • 4 tablespoons (ยฝ stick / 57 g) unsalted butter, quartered
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting

  • ยฝ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 ยฝ cups (420 g) confectioner's sugar, plus 2 tablespoons if needed
  • ยพ cup (65 g) natural unsweetened or Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • ยฝ teaspoon kosher salt, (pinch more if needed)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ยผ cup (60 ml) heavy cream, plus 1 tablespoon if needed
  • 2 cups chopped Milky Wayยฎ bars, divided (about 20 fun-size bars)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350ยฐF. Spray two 9-inch cake pans with GOOP (see notes) or parchment or bakingย spray.

Cake

  • Sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
  • In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form, about 2- 3 minutes. Set aside.
  • In your wiped out stand mixer bowl and still using paddle attachment, beat butter on high for 1 minute, or until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat on high for 3-4 minutes. Scrape bowl as needed.
  • With mixer on low, add egg yolks and vanilla. Then beat on medium-high until combined.
  • With mixer on low speed, add in dry ingredients, scraping bowl as needed, in 3 additions alternating withย milk. Mix until everything is just combined, do not overmix.
  • Remove bowl from stand mixer and using a rubber spatula, fold in egg whites.
  • Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  • Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool completely in the pans on a wire rack.

Caramel Sauce

  • Combine the brown sugar, heavy cream, butter, and salt in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon (not rubber) until butter is melted, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Bring to a boil and, without stirring, allow to boil for 3 minutes.
  • Remove saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
  • Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then pour into a glass jar and cover tightly. Allow to cool to roomย temperature, about 45 minutes, or in the refrigerator, about 30 minutes, before using on the cake.

Chocolate Frosting

  • In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
  • Add in 3 ยฝ cups confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and ยผ cup (60ml) heavy cream withย the mixer running on low.
  • Once incorporated increase speed to high and beat for 3 minutes.
  • If the frosting is too thin, add in 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar or add 1 tablespoon heavy cream if it isย too thick.
  • Taste the frosting; add in extra pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
  • Measure 1 cup of frosting and place it in a separate bowl. Fold in ยฝ cup (80 g) of the chopped candy barsย into the 1 cup of frosting. Set aside.

To Assemble

  • Level cakes to create a flat surface.
  • Place 1 layer of cake on cake-stand or serving plate. Evenly spread frosting-candy bar mixture over top.
  • Be gentle and this is a thick mixture and your cake is fragile.
  • Top with second cake and spread the plain frosting all over top and sides.
  • SALLY’S CAKE FROM HER BOOK: Decorate top with a few chopped candy bars and drizzle with caramel.
  • MY CAKE: Press remaining chopped candy bar into sides of cake. Simply scoop chopped candy bars bits into palm of your hand then press into the side of the cake. After cake has been covered you can use a fondant smoother or baker’s blade to press into the sides to create an even surface.
  • Place any remaining bits on top of cake and the drizzle with caramel sauce.
  • Cover any leftover cake tightly and store at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Did you make this recipe?

Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.

Thanks, Sally for this fun recipe!

I know you will enjoy this Milky Way Cake as much as I did!

Share with your friends!

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Meet Amanda Rettke

Amanda Rettke is the creator of I Am Baker, and the bestselling author of Surprise Inside Cakes: Amazing Cakes for Every Occasion โ€“ With a Little Something Extra Inside.Over the course of her 15+ year blogging adventure, she has been featured in and collaborated with the Food Network, New York Times, LA Times, Country Living Magazine, People Magazine, Epicurious, Brides, Romantic Homes, life:beautiful, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Mail, Star Tribune, The Globe and Mail, DailyCandy, YumSugar, The Knot, The Kitchn, and Parade, to name a few.

Reader Comments

  1. Oh my! Kinda afraid to try this gorgeous cake! It will become an addiction for sure. Well done! And thank you for sharing about Sally’s new book.

  2. I LOVE this so much!!! This is so delicious looking!!! Decadent and sweet and LOADED with snickers!!! LOVE IT!

  3. This cake looks amazing! I love all the milky ways studded around it! I am gong to have to check out Sally’s cook book!!

  4. This looks A M A Z I N G! I don’t know how you had the patience to put all of those little candies on that cake but it looks so great!

  5. I love that you went with a nice vanilla cake inside. I’m sure it offsets the richness of frosting, candy bars, & caramel perfectly! Can’t wait to try this out. ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. This cake sounds amazing. Cant wait to try it. As I was reading the recipe I noticed it says 1 13/4 tsp baking powder in the cake heading. I’m guessing it should only be 1 3/4 tsp?

  7. What is the difference between this chocolate buttercream and the one on your “The BEST Chocolate Cake Recipe” (updated/posted on Nov. 10, 2013)?

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