Easy No-Bake Butterfinger Dessert with Angel Food Cake | Renee's Kitchen Adventures

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Easy No-Bake Butterfinger Dessert with Angel Food Cake

Easy Butterfinger Dessert is an adaptation of an old Weight Watcher recipe. Prepared instant sugar free Butterscotch pudding is combined with Cool Whip (or whipped cream) to make a creamy butterscotch filling which is layered with chunks of angel food cake and butterfinger bits for an easy no bake dessert recipe perfect for summertime! You'll want to file this one under delicious easy recipes.
 Easy No-Bake Butterfinger Dessert with Angel Food Cake in pan ready to serve

What is Butterfinger Dessert?


This Butterfinger Dessert is a no-bake layered dessert that uses cubed, store bought angel food cake, layered with a sugar free pudding fluff and crushed butterfinger candy bars! Everyone gobbles this easy dessert up...even if they aren't following the Weight Watchers program! This Weight Watchers dessert would make a wonderful dish to take to a potluck or a dinner with friends. 

The original Butterfinger Dessert by Renee's Kitchen Adventures in a clear glass baking pan

It's a great dessert for the summer, when you want to satisfy your sweet tooth, but not turn on the oven to do it. 

I found my inspiration for this recipe on Pinterest. Butterfingers are one of my favorite candy bar. I may have been guilty over the years from "stealing" mini butterfingers from my kid's Halloween stashes over the years! It's hard to resist the buttery crunch of butterfinger candy. 

I did make a few changes to the recipe that I found that I think make my version the best one out there. The original recipe used instant vanilla fat free, sugar free pudding mix, but I substituted  butterscotch flavor...and I don't think I would make it with instant vanilla pudding after tasting the butterscotch flavor in this recipe.  The butterscotch and the butterfinger flavors were great together, and since you dilute the pudding with quite a bit of Cool Whip, it is becomes a very subtle flavor in the "fluff" part of the dessert.

This butterfinger dessert recipe isn't a butterfinger pie recipe or a butterfinger lush, but it's more of a butterfinger trifle, since it has prepared cake cubes with creamy layers and chopped butterfingers. You could even make it in a trifle dish, if you like, but this dessert recipes fits perfectly in a glass 9 x 13 inch baking dish. And that's a good thing!


Easy No-Bake Butterfinger Dessert with Angel Food Cake in pan with a serving spoon and one serving missing


How do you make Butterfinger Dessert?


You'll want to follow the printable recipe card below, but here's a quick run down of how it gets done. The super simple, no bake, preparation involves cubing a premade, store bought angel food cake into cubes. I purchased an angel food cake from my grocer's bakery department, but I have also seen them in the produce department near the berries. You could also make your own angel food cake from a mix or from scratch. But purchasing one a prepared one is the easiest way to go. 

Easy No-Bake Butterfinger Dessert with Angel Food Cake on a cutting board ready to be cubed


Next, in large bowl, whisk the dry instant pudding mix with skim milk until it starts to thicken.  Fold in 2- 8oz. containers Cool Whip to make a fluff.  (This is the creamy layer.) 

Bowl and whisk with creamy filling for Easy No-Bake Butterfinger Dessert with Angel Food Cake

Finally, the angel food cubes, the butterscotch fluff, and the butterfinger pieces all get layered twice in a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish, covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerated for an hour or longer before serving.

Angel food cake cubes in 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish as preparation for Easy No-Bake Butterfinger Dessert with Angel Food Cake

Cubed angel food cake in glass dish with pudding/cool whip mixuture on top in preparation for


side view of Easy No-Bake Butterfinger Dessert with Angel Food Cake without butterfinger topping


Tips for making Easy No Bake Butterfinger Dessert 

  • If you aren't worried about calories, feel free to add extra butterfingers! 
  • I find using a whisk to make the pudding and the fluff is easiest, but you could also use an electric mixer on low speed if you like. 
  • For a serving suggestion, guild the lily by drizzling chocolate syrup or melted creamy peanut butter or chunky peanut butter on top. (or both!)

If you can't find the butterfinger bits at your store, you can easily chop up butterfinger candy bars with a food processor. You can use whole (coarsely chopped) or mini butterfinger bars in the food processor. 

Easy No-Bake Butterfinger Dessert with Angel Food Cake in dish with spoon ready to eat


Variations for Easy Butterfinger Dessert with Angel Food Cake


  1. Substitute the skim milk for whole, 2%, or 1% milk. Substitute the skim milk for almond, oat, soy, or coconut milk for a dairy-free dessert option. 
  2. Substitute the instant sugar free pudding mix for regular butterscotch instant pudding mix. 
  3. Substitute the angel food cake for any type of cake, cubed. (I've even used the discarded cake crowns I cut from the top of layers when I level them with good results.)
  4. Substitute Cool Whip for any variety of Cool Whip or for real heavy cream which has been whipped into whipped cream. (You'll need about 6 cups of whipped cream for this recipe.) 



*Note: This recipe first appeared on Renee's Kitchen Adventures in 2012. It has been updated with new images and updated directions as some of the original products used are no longer available. It's still the same delicious recipe you've come to love over the years. I am no longer supplying any sort of WW points as the program changes each year.  I've updated the nutrition information in the recipe card using the udated products. But please remember, this is just supplied as a courtesy and may not be accurate.  Hope this helps everyone! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to send me a message! 



Butterfinger dessert, no bake butterfinger dessert, butterfinger dessert with angel food cake
dessert
American
Yield: 16 servings
Author: Renee Paj
Easy Butterfinger Dessert

Easy Butterfinger Dessert

Prep time: 15 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M
Easy Butterfinger Dessert is an older Weight Watcher recipe and is absolutely delicious! It's also got a super easy preparation that you will love! A mixture of instant sugar free pudding and Cool Whip is spread onto store bought angel food cake and layered with crushed Butterfinger candies for an easy no bake dessert everyone loves!

Ingredients

  • 1 - 10" angel food cake, store bought, cut into 1' cubes
  • 1 - 1 oz. package of instant sugar free butterscotch pudding mix
  • 1 1/2 cups skim milk
  • 2 - 8 oz. containers of Zero Sugar Cool Whip, thawed
  • 1 cup Butterfinger baking bits (or crushed candy bar equal to that amount)

Instructions

  1. Spray 9 x 13" pan with cooking spray. Arrange half the angel food cake cubes in bottom of pan.
  2. In large bowl, combine the entire package of instant pudding mix with skim milk. Whisk until starting to thicken. Fold in both containers of Zero Sugar Cool Whip .
  3. Pour half the pudding/Cool Whip mixture over the cubed angel food cake in pan. Smooth over the cubes with a spatula to create a flat layer. Top with half the crushed butterfinger candies. Repeat with rest of cake, fluff and candy. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, or overnight. Enjoy!

Notes

Substitutions:

  • You can use whole, 2%, 1% milk, or any of the milk alternatives such as coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk.
  • You can use any variety of Cool Whip or heavy whipping cream which has been whipped into whipped cream. (approximately 6 cups of whipped cream.)
  • You can use regular butterscotch pudding mix with sugar instead of sugar free.


If you make any of the above changes, note that the nutrition inforamation will change.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

342.11

Fat (grams)

5.11 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.98 g

Carbs (grams)

69.83 g

Fiber (grams)

1.63 g

Net carbs

68.2 g

Sugar (grams)

36.48 g

Protein (grams)

8.61 g

Sodium (milligrams)

571.97 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

2.11 mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate

Did you make this recipe?
Tag @renees_kitchen_adventures on instagram and hashtag it #rkarecipes

More NO BAKE recipes you'll love!


Easy Apricot Cheesecake Pie
Easy Strawberry and Cream Pie
No Bake Lime Gelatin Dessert
Fresh Strawberry Pretzel Dessert



Follow RKA on all these social networks!!    

43 comments:

  1. mmmmmmmmm! What a fun dessert. Cool whip is deliciousness. I dislike any cold ;) January/ February are usually tougher (but not too "tough" in SC ;))

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, my gosh. This looks so sinful but isn't ! How cool is that?! January, and thankfully it is behind us. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Another recipe keeper from Renee!!! It's super sunny here in Vancouver too. We have high hopes it'll last at least a few days longer. Have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This looks great what size are those bars not sure what fun size is. Maybe they have a weight to the bar. Thanks so much I want to try this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't have the bag I bought any more..but I believe this is what they are called on the bag. They weighed about 7.5 oz all together, if that helps! :)

      Delete
    2. The "fun" size bars look about 1/3 or 1/2 the size of a regular candy bar, if that helps :)

      Delete
  5. De.lic.ious! Very easy and yummy, my favorite kind of food. Thank you again for another excellent recipe. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. This was really great, thanks so much! My limited grocery store didn't have Butterfinger bars so I did a hybrid Score/Crispy Crunch combo. Worked really well :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks for the review! I a glad you enjoyed it and I love that you subbed the candy! :)

      Delete
  7. This sounds so good! But I think I'll make it with the regular pudding and cool whip because all the extra chemicals added to the sugar free and fat free kinds totally freak me out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure it will be wonderful with the full fat and regular pudding...just remember with those changes, the nutritional info above will not be accurate. Enjoy!

      Delete
  8. Just made this. I am diabetic so have to be VERY strict with my sugar and carbs. I ground up unsalted peanuts, sugar free chocolate pieces, and walnuts in a little food processor, and used a sugar free angel food cake. Maybe not Butterfingers, but close. Still has some carbs, but at least brought it down some more. Thanks for the recipe. Delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think I'll add a layer of chocolate fluff in mine as well.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've been doing WW for almost a year with little success because of my wicked sweet tooth. This sounds fantastic. Just what I needed. I also live in Ohio and hate Jan and Feb.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What site do you use to get nutritional stats? The one I have been using doesn't figure fiber.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I currently use Sparkrecipes to calculate the information. It allows me to input my specific ingredients.

      Delete
  12. I love this. I have made it using Heath bars (you can also use Skor bars. It take 3 full sized. I have also left off the candy and used crushed pineapple that I poured over the cake before putting the pudding on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did you drain the pineapple before pouring it over the cake?

      Delete
  13. I'm wondering if I used a sugar free Angel Food Cake (they sell them at a couple of grocery stores here) if the PointsPlus could be reduced. I'll have to put it through the WW recipe builder. This sounds like an awesome recipe! I'll be trying it ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You'll have to come back and let me know. I have never seen SF angel food cake! What a nice thing to find!

      Delete
    2. I'm trying this tomorrow night for company. I'm also substituting Heath Bar for Butterfinger ...I'll let you know how it is!

      Delete
    3. I made this using sugar free angel food cake and Heath Bars. It was wonderful! 1/12 of the recipe (a nice big piece) came out to 3 WW PointsPlus. I ran it through the WW recipe builder. I'm making another one tonight as soon as the Cool Whip defrosts! YUM.

      Delete
    4. Sounds wonderful! I love this recipe because you can get so creative with the flavors and add ins!

      Delete
  14. In recipe it says 1 oz.of pudding mix is this a mistake?. thanks want to try it soon lorrie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lorrie! No, it's not a mistake. The sugar free pudding mix box weight is 1 oz. This is the weight of the dry pudding mix. I hope you give it a try!

      Delete
  15. can we stop making desserts and calling them "not bad" Five points is almost a quarter of your points for a day when you've hit maintenance. Also please stop telling people it's low in sugar (I'm seeing that circulate on Pinterest, which is how I found the site). This recipe has 80g of sugar per serving. Even if you took out the angel food cake (which obviously you shouldn't) there would be 18g of sugar per serving.
    It looks delicious, but we have to stop kidding ourselves that these sorts of desserts are "good." They are an indulgence and that's okay, but we should stop deluding ourselves about what's "good" and sabotaging our own health.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you read the text that goes with this post, I never referred to this dessert as healthy, low sugar, or "not bad". I agree, any dessert is an indulgence. If you follow the WW points plus program (not the old WW momentum program) you will know that you are given 40 points+ to use during the week on things like dessert. This dessert is simply an option to other choices which may have a higher point+ value.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for posting this recipe -- it looks delicious and I'll be making it tonight! Sorry for the comment above; we're all intelligent enough to make our own decisions about what we choose to make and aren't easily fooled by claims of "healthy". Those of us on WW (and other plans to improve our health) need to find some options to replace all the junk we used to eat. This one looks great! Keep 'em coming!

      Delete
  16. I love this dessert & have been making it for over 10 yrs. I have used vanilla, lemon, & white chocolate pudding which turns out amazing. My new favorite is using chocolate angel food cake with chocolate pudding & the new chocolate cool whip frosting. Heavenly!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. this looks FABULOUS and I will be trying... but, I just have one question. Why is it necessary to spray the pan with cooking spray?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You could probably omit this step. I do it just to make sure if leftovers start to dry out, washing the dish isn't an issue. But to be honest,it rarely lasts that long.

      Delete
    2. Makes sense...thank you!!!! :) I can't wait to try.

      Delete
  18. Brownie Points for being WW friendly! It's so helpful to someone like me!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I plan to make this over the weekend and I didn't purchase the sugar free pudding, I just got the regular instant butterscotch pudding. Is one box going to be too much? I think the weight is 3.4 oz.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One box of regular instant pudding is fine. It weighs more than the sf box because sugar weighs more than sugar substitute. Hope you enjoy it!

      Delete
  20. I made this but instead of putting it in a pan, I layered it in a bowl like you would banana pudding. Such a great recipe. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  21. I made this but instead of putting it in a pan, I layered it in a bowl like you would banana pudding. Such a great recipe. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  22. This looks delicious, I will try it out. Thanks for the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Shared on my blog and pointed them here for directions. Thanks for the recipe! http://collectorofrecipes.com/?p=878

    ReplyDelete
  24. Can I use instant pudding? And what size Box do you use,?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello! Yes, you use instant pudding mix. I think the size is still 1 oz. sugar free. Hope this helps!

      Delete

Thank you for visiting! Share what's on your mind and make my day! Make this recipe? I'd love to hear how it turned out for you! Share on social media with #RKArecipes

>