The Store

Angel food cake makes for a great dessert — especially when you have company over — but not everyone can bake from scratch or decorate a cake, so there lies a dilemma. A store-bought cake will do in a pinch, but then you're left with either a pre-frosted dessert that everyone knows you didn't make yourself or a plain, unimaginative loaf. Well, a quick hack will transform that grocery-baked cake into a treat that will impress any guest, especially if they're chocolate lovers. All that's needed is whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and Heath toffee candy bars (you can also include a little booze, like rum, into the equation for a more adult-oriented experience) to elevate any store-bought angel food cake.

The creative hack comes from Barbara Costello — who describes herself as a grandmother to all on her TikTok page BrunchWithBabs — and she also uploaded a video of the process that's already received over 60 thousand likes. Luckily, if Heath bars or rum aren't your thing, you need not fret because that's the beauty of this hack: Aside from the angel food cake (which is different from sponge cake) and whipped cream frosting, the other ingredients are easily swappable.

Because of the nature of this hack, there's not much labor involved. As Costello's TikTok video illustrates, the only requirements are a divided angel food cake, crumbled chocolate bars, and some flavored whipped cream. First, slice your cake heightwise into three equally-divided portions and put them somewhere close for later. Then, place whatever candy you choose in a tightly sealed plastic bag and use a mallet or rolling pin to break up the pieces. From there, begin mixing the heavy cream until it's at a soft peak consistency — this is when you'll pour in chocolate syrup (and the other ingredients and flavorings should you choose) — then bring the mixture to the right texture with additional mixing. After that, you simply rebuild your cake with layers of the cream, crumbled toppings, and cake until you achieve the cake's original shape.

Still, the simplicity of this trick leaves the door open for exploration. The chocolate-rum whipped cream is available for augmentation if toffee and chocolate don't make you do backflips. You may have to play around with ratios to get the right texture, but on the bright side, there'll be plenty of tasty mistakes.

Other recipes online, such as Betty Crocker's take or Taste of Home's version, incorporate some of Mrs. Babs' elements (like chocolate-covered toffee) but offer some modifications. For instance, the boxed mix giant suggests frozen whipped topping, while the latter uses caramel or butterscotch as a garnish. These adaptations highlight whipped cream's flexibility. On top of being smoother and lighter than different frostings, whipped cream makes an excellent canvas for sprinkling any type of crushed chocolate bars or dessert topping, so the choice is yours. Nevertheless, whipping it up can be labor intensive, especially if you don't have a mixer. Luckily you can use a simple trick to make whipped cream if one isn't available.

Commenters on Costello's original video offer alternative ingredient suggestions, as well. One commenter suggests swapping in Snickers or Hershey Bars with Almonds in place of the Heath Bar. Another suggests "Caramel and bourbon would be fab too." Either way, this hack only needs a few ingredients, so anything from Hersey's Cookies 'N' Creme to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups can be used and the world is yours to create the angel food cake of your dreams.