Chocolate cake filled with gooey caramel and topped off with crushed candy bar, Paul Newman cake is simply irresistible…just like its namesake!
Long before we had recipe blogs or social media or even Food Network, recipes made the rounds the old fashioned way-by being handed off to friends, family, co-workers, or anyone else who might ask. My mother has dozens of recipes that were carefully and loving typed by a co-worker on a typewriter in the mid-70s, and several that were copied on a ditto machine (another piece of equipment that future generations will never appreciate or understand).
This recipe for Paul Newman Cake came to me via a former boss of mine who received it from her sister-in-law. She made the cake for us and then emailed the recipe out which was the early 2000s equivalent of running it on the ditto machine.
Paul Newman Cake is known in other circles as Better Than Sex Cake. The story as I read it was that the name was softened to Better Than Paul Newman Cake to make it more family friendly for church cookbooks and PTA bake sales and the like. And if you wonder why anyone would think “Paul Newman” and “sex” are interchangeable, you need to check out 1958’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
The cake is a very simple “poke” cake (see also my post about Orange Poke Cake). Bake a box German Chocolate cake, poke holes in it, than pour in condensed milk and either butterscotch or caramel ice cream topping. When the cake’s completely cool, top with Cool Whip and crushed Heath bar. Like I said, irresistible. Just like 1950s era Paul Newman!
Paul Newman Cake
What You Need:
1 box of German chocolate cake mix
Oil, water and eggs as directed on your cake mix
1 can (14 oz) of sweetened condensed milk, like Borden
1 jar (16 oz) of butterscotch or caramel ice cream topping
1 container of Cool Whip
4 Heath or Butterfingers candy bars crushed*
What To Do:
Bake cake as directed in a 13×9 pan.
While cake is still warm, poke holes in it that go all the way to the bottom. I use the handle of a wooden spoon. You want to use a spoon with a round end similar to this one.
Pour the condensed milk over the cake using a spoon to help guide the milk into all of the holes.
Then do the same with the butterscotch or caramel.
Let the cake cool completely. Then cover with Cool Whip and sprinkle with crushed candy bars. Keep refrigerated. Enjoy!
Truly, this cake is out of this world. Serve yourself up a big piece and catch an old Newman flick on TCM for the full experience.
*Hint: If you don’t want to crush up candy bars yourself, you can buy Heath or Butterfinger Baking Bits. Amazon has them here and here.
Be sure to follow @mindascooking on Facebook and Instagram!
From the heart and from the holler,
Minda