How To: Snickers Cake

Hi Nibblers!

This is definitely one of my favourite recipes I have ever made. I loved the way it looked and over the moon with the taste. It had all the different textures and was so fun to decorate. I have to admit, I was pressed on time making this. It was for my friend Katie’s birthday who asked for a Snickers inspired recipe. I knew I wanted to make a cake but had traded sleep in instead of waking up to bake so it was all a bit rushed. But you know what? It all worked out perfectly and I felt very abstract in my cake decorating skills. I didn’t have time to doubt myself so I just went with the flow.
Besides it being a request from Katie to have a Snickers cake, I also based my ideas on trying to honour the Snickers bar as best I could. When I was little, my Mum never liked us having chocolate often. It was always a once in a while treat. But, when the opportunity came, the first bite of the caramel nougat would pull lightly from the bar leaving a string of sticky caramel hanging. That’s one of the best bits of eating a Snickers bar. So, I tried to pay tribute to that image as best I could with this recipe.

How To: Snickers Cake

Makes a 3 tier 20cm round cake
What you’ll need:
For the cake component 
– 150g unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
– 540g plain flour
– 5 tsp. baking powder
– 400g white sugar
– 6 eggs
– 3 tsp. vanilla essence
– 180g cocoa powder
– 750mL milk
For the peanut butter buttercream
– 500g unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
– 200g icing sugar (sifted)
– 1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy – whatever you like)
– 1 tsp. vanilla essence
For decoration purposes
– 3/4 cup caramel sauce (your favourite store bought)
– 1/2 cup chocolate chip pieces
– 1/2 cup thickened cream
– 200g marshmallows – halved (for layering – optional for decoration small & large marshmallows)
– 6 fun sized Snickers bars
– 1/2 cup of crushed peanuts
– Reese’s Pieces *Optional – decoration purposes
*Optional tool – hand held torch

How To:
For the cake component:
1. Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees Celsius or 300 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Line 3 x 20cm cake tins with baking paper / or lightly coat with butter then set aside
Note: if you don’t have 3 equal sized tins, you can change up the layers (either less or more) and cooking times will vary
3. Beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy
4. Add eggs in one at a time and mix into butter/sugar component
5. Add vanilla essence to wet ingredients and mix
6. Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 of the milk into the wet mixture and mix
7. Repeat step 6 until all ingredients are all combined
8. Divide batter evenly into whatever tins you have available
Note: If it’s only one tin that you have, the cake will need at least 50 minutes in the oven
Or simply, cook each layer once tins are no longer occupied
9. Pop into the oven for 30 minutes or until cooked all the way through – check with the skewer method to make sure then set aside on a cooling rack until needed
For the peanut butter buttercream:
1. Beat softened butter on high for 5-7 minutes until the yellow butter turns to a creamy – off white colour
2. Add vanilla essence until well combined
3. Add sifted icing sugar and beat for 5 minutes until well incorporated
4. Add peanut butter to buttercream and mix until will combined
Note:If you prefer a more dense buttercream, add 1 Tbs of icing sugar at a time until desired texture
For a more liquid form of buttercream, add 1 Tbs. of milk until desired texture
Decorate! – This is how I did it
1. Cut and level cakes to have 3 even layers then set aside
2. Place a Tbs. of peanut butter buttercream in centre plate/ cake board
3. Place first layer onto board
4. Spread a thin layer of peanut butter onto first cake layer
5. Place halved marshmallows evenly around first cake layer – sticky side of marshmallow on top
6. Drizzle 2 Tbs. of caramel sauce from 3/4 cup stash around cake layer
7. Sprinkle crushed peanuts from the 1/2 cup stash around cake layer
8.*Optional Using a hand-held torch, lightly toasted marshmallow layer to create a nougat like texture – If you still want the same effect but don’t have a torch, you can pop the cake layer under a hot oven grill for 3 minutes to lightly melt the marshmallow (be sure to let the cake cool before continuing with the decoration process)
9. Repeat steps 4-8 with next layer of the cake
10. Place top layer of cake on top of second layer
11. Cover cake with thin layer of peanut butter buttercream then place in the fridge for 10 minutes to set
12. Cover cake with a generous amount of buttercream smoothing the edges as much as possible
13. Place cake back into fridge for at least 10 minutes to set layer
14. Over a double boiler, melt chocolate until smooth and silky then add thickened cream and stir until well incorporated then set aside to cool
15. Spoon drizzles of caramel sauce over the edges of cake to create drip effect then fill the middle with remaining caramel sauce
16. Repeat step 15 with melted chocolate/cream mixture
17. Sprinkle crushed peanuts, sliced Snickers bars, marshmallows and Reese’s Pieces as desired and you’re done!
Note: If you have left over cake from levelling out your cake or buttercream, don’t chuck it away! Simply crumb cake bits and mix with buttercream. Form bite sized balls and pop into the fridge to set. It makes the best naughty snack 🙂

I hope you loved this recipe! There’s quite a few steps in this one but I promise all it needs is patience. It’s extremely easy to complete if you put your mind to it. Just make sure you leave enough time to do it because you’ll be in a mad rush like me. And as always, be sure to comment below if you do give it a try or any other requests! I do have to apologise for the poor photos for this recipe – it was definitely my poor organisation skills this time.

Nibble Away,
Jo

Advertisement