This chocolate Kit Kat cake is perfect for any special occasion! Layers of moist, chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream are covered in a beautiful layer of Kit Kat candy bars.
This makes a gorgeous cake that doesn’t require any special skills to decorate and looks amazing as the centerpiece for any party or gathering. It’s perfectly chocolatey and delicious, and as a bonus, it’s super budget-friendly. It’s a fantastic way to celebrate a birthday or holiday.
If you find yourself hankering for chocolate even after you’ve made this cake, I have plenty more recipes to soothe your craving. These Vegetable Garden Cupcakes are perfectly moist, chocolatey, and absolutely adorable. If you’re a fan of chocolate chip cookies, give this Chocolate Chip Cookie Fudge a try and thank me later. Or, if you want to make something show-stopping and over-the-top, this Giant Nutella-Stuffed Chocolate Egg fits the bill.
Why You’ll Love This Kit Kat Cake Recipe
- So easy: Kit Kat cake is easy to make and decorate for even a beginner home cook.
- Delicious and beautiful: This cake is really pretty, but it tastes even better with heavenly layers of moist cake, smooth buttercream, and crispy Kit Kats.
- Full of chocolatey goodness: Any cake decorated with candy, especially this Kit Kat Cake, is perfect for anyone who loves chocolate and has a serious sweet tooth.
- Endlessly customizable: Change up the toppings, frosting, or even the flavor of cake to customize this Kit Kat dessert to your exact preferences.
Ingredients for my Kit Kat Chocolate Cake
Kit Kat Bars – Kit Kat bars are made of crunchy wafer cookies layered with creamy milk chocolate for a delightfully crisp chocolate treat. They’re the perfect size and shape for decorating this cake. At the store, look for full-size candy bars as the fun-size or mini candy bars will be too small to decorate the cake.
Instant Coffee – Coffee makes chocolate cakes and other desserts taste even more like chocolate. It’s an ingredient worth buying just to make this recipe – it really adds to the intense chocolate flavor
Boiling Water – Boiling water interacts with the cocoa powder and, like the instant coffee, gives the cake an even more intense chocolatey flavor.
White Vinegar – White vinegar is acidic and creates a chemical reaction with the baking soda in the cake to provide lift, making it fluffy and perfect for digging a fork into.
Strawberries – Fresh strawberries add a fruity, fresh topping to an otherwise very rich and chocolatey cake. The flavor and textural contrast make this cake so incredibly enjoyable, you won’t be able to have just one slice.
Pantry Ingredients – Flour, granulated sugar, confectioner’s sugar (sometimes called powdered sugar), salt, baking soda, vegetable oil, vanilla extract
Helpful Tools
How to Make a Kit Kat Cake
Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Step 2: Stir the wet ingredients.
In a separate bowl, dissolve the instant coffee in the boiling water. Then add in the cocoa powder and vanilla, and stir to combine.
Step 3: Mix the cake batter.
Add the wet ingredient to the dry mixture and add in the vegetable oil. Then, stir to combine the batter.
Step 4: Bake the cake.
Divide the batter evenly between two greased cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Once baked, allow the cakes to cool in the pans to room temperature before removing them from the pans and decorating.
Step 5: Make the buttercream icing.
While the cakes cool, make the icing. Use an electric mixer to cream the butter until light and fluffy. Then, gradually add the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder, beating until well combined and fluffy.
Step 6: Assemble and decorate the cake.
Using about ⅓ of the buttercream, layer the cakes together and use the remaining buttercream to cover the top and sides. Break apart the Kit Kats into individual pieces and line the outside of the cake with them. Top the finished cake with fresh strawberries and decorate with a pretty ribbon, if you’d like. Admire your masterpiece, then cut a slice and dig into a chocolatey slice of perfection.
Substitutions for this Kit Kat Cake
Flour – This cake can be made with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
Vinegar – Instead of vinegar, you can use lemon or lime juice in this recipe.
Strawberries – You can use any kind of berry you’d like, or omit them altogether.
Recipe Variations
- For an M&Ms Kit Kat cake, top the cake with M&Ms. Try switching up the variety and use peanut, peanut butter, fudge, or crispy M&Ms for an exciting twist.
- Here are some other creative Kit Kat cake ideas. Top the cake with crushed Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate shavings, or even chopped Kit Kat bars. There are so many possibilities to customize this cake.
- This recipe uses chocolate cake for a rich and indulgent dessert. If you prefer vanilla cake, go ahead and make this vanilla cake recipe instead and decorate it with Kit Kats for a perfectly sweet Kit Kat birthday cake.
- If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can decorate this cake with different flavors of Kit Kats. These are often available on the Internet and in Asian markets. Flavors like matcha green tea, strawberry, and peach would be a really interesting addition to this cake.
- If you aren’t a fan of buttercream, you can use a tangy and sweet cream cheese frosting instead, or make a decadent chocolate ganache to spread over your cake by combining heavy cream and dark chocolate.
- Strawberries aren’t the only fresh topping that would work on this cake. Try using other fruit like oranges or raspberries.
Tips For Making the Perfect Kit Kat Bar Cake
- Take care to not over-mix the batter, as this can result in a tough cake. For the most tender and fluffy cake layers, only mix as much as you absolutely have to in order to hydrate the dry ingredients.
- When baking Kit Kat cake, make sure not to open the oven door before the cakes are almost fully baked. Opening the oven before the cakes have set can cause them to deflate and lose their amazing fluffy texture.
- Use plenty of cooking spray to grease your cake pans. If you’re still afraid of the cake sticking, you can also dust the pans with flour once you have greased them.
Serving Suggestions
This cake would make an excellent birthday cake or a stunning dessert to serve at a holiday dinner. Serve it at your next brunch as a sweet treat to finish the meal, or share it with a crowd at a bridal or baby shower!
Storage Directions
Room temperature – This cake should be placed in an airtight container for storage. It will keep at room temperature for up to four days.
In the refrigerator – To extend shelf life, it can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week.
In the freezer – This cake can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to six months. Thaw on the counter before enjoying.
FAQs
What is between the layers of a Kit Kat?
Kit Kats are thin, crisp wafer cookies enrobed in creamy milk chocolate. In between the layers of cookie is a sweet filling that many people don’t realize is actually mashed-up Kit Kats that did not meet the visual standard to become their own chocolate bar!
What makes a cake the most moist?
The moistest cakes use oil instead of butter. Since oil remains liquid at room temperature, and butter solidifies, oil keeps the cake more moist. Other ways to keep a cake moist are with the addition of extra fat in the form of Greek yogurt or sour cream, such as in these colorful and festive Pride Cupcakes.
Other Chocolate Cake Recipes to Try
No Bake Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
This creamy cheesecake pairs chocolate and orange together for a delicious, festive treat!
A chocolate coconut cake topped with the creamiest coconut frosting you’ll ever try! It’s topped with coconut shavings and fun, chocolatey coconut shards!
This chocolate cake is perfectly moist and has the richest and creamiest chocolate buttercream. It’s my go-to chocolate cake and soon it will be yours!
Chocolate Snowflake Mousse Cake
A light and fluffy ombre chocolate mousse cake with a beautiful snowflake pattern made from stencils and cocoa powder!
Chocolate Kit Kat Cake
This chocolate Kit Kat cake is perfect for any special occasion! Layers of moist, chocolate cake and buttercream are covered in a beautiful layer of Kit Kat candy bars.
Ingredients
Cake Batter:
- 2 cups hot water
- 6 tbsp instant coffee
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 tsp white vinegar
Buttercream:
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder
Decoration
- 11-13 KitKat Bars
- pretty ribbon
- fresh strawberries
Instructions
Bake the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, dissolve the instant coffee in the hot water. Then add the cocoa powder and vanilla, whisk together, then pour into the dry mixture. Add the vegetable oil and vinegar, and mix until everything is well combined.
- Grease two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30 minutes. Cool them completely in the pans.
Make the buttercream:
- Cream the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined. Gradually add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, then beat for 3-5 minutes, until fluffy.
Assembly:
- Slice the edges off both cakes to create smooth, even edges. Spread about 1/3 of the buttercream between both layers, then cover the entire cake in the remaining buttercream.
- Break apart the Kit Kats into individual bars and stick them around the entire perimeter of the cake. Secure with a pretty ribbon, tying it into a bow at the front of the cake.
- Top the cake with plenty of strawberries and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 961kcalCarbohydrates: 126.75gProtein: 9.03gFat: 49.63gSaturated Fat: 21.32gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 19.99gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 388mgPotassium: 505mgFiber: 4.9gSugar: 88.75gVitamin A: 665IUVitamin C: 14.1mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 4.08mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Hi everyone! My name is Cayla Gallagher and I’m the creator of pankobunny!
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