Chocolate Lazy Cat Cake Is the Best Thing I Made from a Boxed Mix This Summer

Published on June 28, 2025

Heading to a party or potluck this summer? Meet your new favorite make-and-take dessert. This chocolate and cream cake has earned raves everywhere from TikTok to the BHG Test Kitchen. The original recipe for Lazy Cat Cake was created by Ahmed Al Zamil and it requires just a handful of pantry ingredients, including a box of chocolate cake mix. Yet, somehow the dessert manages to taste like you spent hours in the kitchen.

How to Make Lazy Cat Cake

Lazy Cat Cake is made up of four layers. Here's a quick look at how to make the chocolate cake at home.

1. Prepare a box of chocolate cake mix and bake it in a 13x9-inch pan. Once the cake is baked, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the cake. Pour on a mixture of chocolate milk mixed with instant espresso powder. Like all poke cakes, this ensures the finished cake is very moist. Cool the cake before moving on to the next layer.
2. Next, prep the cream layer by whipping cream cheese with sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and heavy cream. Once thick and fluffy, pile the mixture onto the cake and spread it evenly. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
3. Make a chocolate ganache layer by melting heavy cream with chopped semisweet chocolate. Pour it over the cake and chill for at least 2 hours.
4. Finish the cake by topping it with chocolate-flavored crispy rice cereal and a dusting of cocoa powder.

Tips for Making Homemade Lazy Cat Cake

Keep these helpful tips in mind when making this recipe for Lazy Cat Cake.

• You can absolutely make a homemade chocolate cake for this recipe. Make your favorite recipe and continue with the instructions once the cake is baked.
• Don't skip the chocolate milk soak! It ensures the finished cake is moist and full of flavor.
• The cream cheese layer is very easy to customize. Don't have cream cheese? Use mascarpone instead. Add mini chocolate chips or chocolate sprinkles for more texture.
• There are also endless ways to make the crunchy topping your own. Instead of crisped rice, swap in chocolate puff cereal, chocolate corn flakes, toasted nuts, or crushed chocolate cookies.
• I've seen vanilla variations of this cake made with a yellow cake mix, cream cheese filling, fresh raspberries, and vanilla cereal on top. The recipe would also be great with sliced strawberries on top.
  

The Verdict on Lazy Cat Cake

This chocolate cake has everything you could want in a dessert. First, you have incredibly moist cake that tastes extra chocolatey thanks to the espresso. Next, the cheesecake-inspired cream adds richness, while the ganache layer adds bitter chocolate notes. Finally, the crunchy topping adds just the right texture. I couldn't get enough of this dessert. It's so much more than the boxed cake mix it starts with.