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Rolo Poke Cake

Thanks for sharing!

This chocolate cake is full of creamy, caramelly goodness, topped with fluffy frosting, drizzled with fudge and sprinkled with candy. Mmmmmm, it’s good!

piece of rolo poke cake on plate with chocolate cake, caramel filling, fluffy frosting, chocolate drizzle and bits of rolos

This cake is a chocolate lover’s dream come true. Moist chocolate cake gets even more decadent with caramel or dulce de leche seeping in. 

A fluffy frosting provides a nice buffer between that and chopped Rolo candies and a drizzle of fudge.  It all comes together as a bit of heaven in every bite!

It just so happens that my aunt and her daughter share a birthday. It also happens to be that one is my godmother and the other is my goddaughter.

So when they are both in town for their birthdays, we have to celebrate! Birthdays mean cake and for those two it seemed like it had to be chocolate!

So I put my thinking cap on. I know a few friends and the very aunt we were celebrating have made my devilishly good chocolate cake in a 9×13″ pan rather than as a layer cake.

I had never done that, but I figured that would make a great base for am easily transportable cake. Plus I knew we were planning on eating outside and I could just imagine a layer sliding off a tall cake as the frosting softened.

With that part decided, I just needed to figure out a way to dress it up and make it birthday worthy. A nice layer of shiny fudge frosting would certainly do the trick, but I wanted to try something new.  With dulce de leche on the brain, it didn’t take long to decide on a rolo poke cake.

corner of cake in pan with white frosting, fudge drizzle and chopped candies showing.

Now I made everything from scratch… except for the rolos, you do have to draw the line somewhere!  You could easily swap in some shortcuts if you prefer.

I’d really like for you to try the devilishly good chocolate cake sometime though, it is so easy and almost as quick as the box mix. There’s no creaming, no mixer required and you don’t even have to crack an egg! But if the idea of homemade cake wears you out, make your favorite chocolate mix.

The dulce de leche is easy too, but does take some time. Feel free to buy some or make some from a can of sweetened condensed milk if that’s more your style.

Vicki’s whipped cream frosting is one of my favorites. It is so fluffy and not to sickly sweet, but you can sub in a tub of whipped topping like most poke cake recipes if you’d like.

The hot fudge sauce is quick and easy too. You’ll find yourself making it for everything, but if you have a favorite fudge to drizzle have at it! Besides the recipe came from the aunt who was celebrating the birthday, so I just had to make it!

piece of chocolate cake with gooey caramel inside and white frosting on top.

Just tell me you’ll make the cake! Part of the reason I love that particular chocolate cake recipe so much is the moist tender crumb.

It really doesn’t need to be drenched in anything. However, being drizzled in sweet creamy goodness never hurt a thing and that is true of the cake as well!

You’ll be eating the cake and hit a pocket of gooey goodness and all will be right with the world, if only for that minute.

So get out a whisk and spatula and get to work! But first, I have to know what your favorite poke cake is. I’ve not made too many and now I want more!

For another decadent poke cake, check out the recipe for Oreo cheesecake poke cake. It is chocolaty and delicious.

Yield: 16 Servings

Rolo Poke Cake

piece of chocolate cake with gooey caramel inside and white frosting on top.

This cake is a chocolate lover’s dream come true. Moist chocolate cake gets even more decadent with caramel or dulce de leche seeping in. A fluffy frosting provides a nice buffer between that and chopped Rolo candies and a drizzle of fudge. It all comes together as a bit of heaven in every bite!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake (can sub your favorite chocolate cake mix cake)

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon instant coffee granules
  • 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 Tablespoon almond extract

Dulce de Leche (may sub a can of dulce de leche warmed and thinned with a Tablespoon or two of milk)

  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped cream frosting (may sub a tub of whipped topping)

  • 5 Tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup butter, softened (must be real butter)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Hot fudge sauce

  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter

Rolos

  • 12 rolos quartered

Instructions

Cakes

  1. Prepare a 9×13-inch pan and warm your oven to 350°F.
  2. Whisk together the sugar, cocoa, flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
  3. In another bowl, stir together water, oil, vinegar, coffee and extracts.
  4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.
  5. Spread the batter into the greased pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick tests clean.

Dulce de Leche

  1. In a small bowl, stir the baking soda in a couple Tablespoons of the milk until dissolved and set aside.
  2. Choose a pot much larger than you think you’ll need to avoid bubbling over. I usually use a 6 qt dutch oven. Stir together the remaining milk and sugar.
  3. Bring the mixture to a low boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Turn off heat and stir in the dissolved baking soda mixture. This is one of those bubbling like crazy moments, so be careful as you stir.
  4. Return to medium heat and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is golden and thick like honey. This will take about 45 minutes to an hour. You don’t need to stand over it the whole time, but you’ll want to keep an eye on it as it will bubble occasionally and you don’t want it sticking to the bottom of the pan as it gets thicker.
  5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and let cool slightly.

Ermine

  1. The most crucial part to this frosting turning out is getting the consistency of this first step correct. In a saucepan, whisk together flour and sugar. Add the cold milk a few tablespoons at a time to start, whisking in between to avoid lumps. Once you have a paste, stir in the remaining milk. Make sure there are no lumps, then turn on the burner to medium heat. Continue to whisk and cook until the mixture thickens to a paste consistency. You want it to be pretty thick. It will be tempting to walk away and so something else, but don’t. Once it starts to thicken it will go really quickly and it is important you don’t get lumps. Set thickened paste aside to cool.
  2. Once paste is room temperature, add butter and vanilla to mixer bowl. Turn on low and stir until incorporated. Add flour/milk paste and whip on high for about 10 minutes. You want to make sure the frosting has plenty of time to get nice and fluffy.

Hot Fudge

  1. Whisk together sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan to make sure there aren’t any lumps.
  2. Add milk and butter. Cook over medium-low heat until it comes to a hard boil.
  3. Boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
  4. Remove from heat and allow to cool some before drizzling.

To Assemble

  1. While cake is still warm, poke with the round end of a wooden spoon to create holes across the top of the cake.
  2. Make sure your dulce de leche is a drizzling consistency. Warm it a bit and thin with a Tablespoon or two of milk if needed. Then drizzle over the cake. It will be easier to frost if you put the cake in the refrigerator for a bit after this to let the dulce de leche thicken back up and set.
  3. Spread frosting over cooled cake.
  4. Sprinkle chopped Rolos over the cake and drizzle with fudge sauce.
  5. Serve small pieces with a scoop of ice cream and additional hot fudge sauce!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 489Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 450mgCarbohydrates: 65gFiber: 1gSugar: 44gProtein: 5g

All nutritional information is estimated and will depend on the exact ingredients you use.

Did you make this recipe?

I'd love to see it! Share a picture on Instagram or Pinterest and tag me @carleecooks to let me know how it went!

This cake is a chocolate lover’s dream come true. Moist chocolate cake gets even more decadent with caramel or dulce de leche seeping in. A fluffy frosting provides a nice buffer between that and chopped Rolo candies and a drizzle of fudge. It all comes together as a bit of heaven in every bite!

Thanks for sharing!

Carlee

Tuesday 12th of February 2019

You should definitely make it for them!

Joanne

Friday 1st of February 2019

Oh my that looks amazing!! Pinned.

Carlee

Tuesday 12th of February 2019

Thank you!

Shirleen Holmes

Tuesday 23rd of January 2018

Does the capital T in some ingredients stand for tablespoon?? THANKS Shirleen Holmes

Carlee

Friday 26th of January 2018

Yes, it does. T for Tablespoon and tsp for teaspoon. I hope that helps!

Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies

Wednesday 26th of July 2017

This looks amazing, Carlee! My husband would be thrilled to come home and find this dessert waiting for him!!

Carlee

Wednesday 26th of July 2017

You should definitely make it for him when he deserves a special treat!

Amy

Sunday 16th of July 2017

Congratulations on the feature!

Carlee

Sunday 23rd of July 2017

Thank you so much!

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