Recipes & Cooking Desserts & Baking Cakes How to Make a Poke Cake: Bring Back Your Favorite Childhood Dessert Be the first to rate & review! We salute the humble Jell-O poke cake, that colorful, nostalgic treat born in the ’70s. It’s simple to make and looks festive. By Amy Panos Amy Panos Amy Panos has over two decades of experience working as an editor for Dotdash Meredith home publications. She is the former editor of Creative Home and Traditional Home. Prior to working for Dotdash Meredith, she worked as a marketing manager. Amy has written content on home, cleaning, and organization, and she especially loves a good do-it-yourself project, a storage tip, and a home decor idea. She has also served as a spokesperson for Better Homes & Gardens on the TODAY Show and ABC News. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process and Sarah Martens Sarah Martens Sarah Martens is the Senior Editor overseeing food at Better Homes & Gardens digital. She has been with the BHG brand for more than 10 years. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Published on June 21, 2024 Recipe tested by Sarah Brekke, MS Recipe tested by Sarah Brekke, MS Sarah Brekke, a culinary expert with The Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen, is passionate about food and cooking. Her unique background as both a food scientist and a culinary contributor allows her to blend her passions for both educating readers and creating tasty content. Learn more about the Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Carson Downing Prep Time: 20 mins Stand Time: 1 hr Bake Time: 40 mins Total Time: 2 hrs Servings: 16 pieces Yield: 16 pieces Jump to Nutrition Facts Liquid strawberry gelatin poured over a still-warm white cake creates a watercolor look, but the real showstopper is the frosting. We upgraded the usual whipped cream to a confection made with cream cheese, powdered sugar, and heavy cream. Serve the cake chilled and with fresh fruit for a sweet ending to any occasion. Here, we'll show you how to make poke cake step-by-step. Bonus: Many poke cake recipes (including ours) start with a boxed cake mix, so it's an easy dessert you can whip up at a moment's notice. You can also use our tips to create your own poke cake recipes, like chocolate poke cake or pudding poke cake. Once you've mastered the basics, any flavor combination is possible. What Is a Poke Cake? Poke-and-pour cake (also called poke cake) is a cake recipe that calls for holes to be poked in it after baking, usually with the handle of a wooden spoon or a wooden skewer. Then a liquid is poured over the baked cake to soak into the cake holes. Poke cakes are known for being incredibly moist (thanks to the liquid) and delicious (because of the extra filling). How to Make a Poke Cake Here's a high-level look at what you'll need to do to make this recipe for poke cake. Make the Cake: Start by mixing the cake batter and baking the cake in a 13x9-inch baking pan. Follow the instructions for the poke cake recipe you've chosen or your boxed cake mix. Once your toothpick comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.Add Filling: Using the handle of a wooden spoon, a straw, or chopsticks to poke holes through the cake about 1 inch apart. Make sure the holes aren't too close together or too far apart—if they're too close together, your cake could be too moist; if they're too far apart, there may not be enough filling throughout the cake. Once you've poked holes throughout the cake, pour the filling on top.Chill and Frost: After you've added the JELL-O filling to your cake, let it chill until set or overnight. Frost this strawberry poke cake as desired and serve. Get creative with additional sprinkles and toppings. Blueberry Lemonade Poke Cake Ingredients Nonstick cooking spray 1 (15.25-oz pkg.) white cake (including eggs, vegetable oil, and water) 1 cup water 1 (3-oz. pkg.) strawberry-flavor gelatin mix (JELL-O brand) 1/3 cup ice 8 oz cream cheese 1 cup powdered sugar 2 cups heavy cream 2 tsp vanilla Directions BHG / Michelle Parkin Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix and the eggs, oil, and water according to package directions; mix until combined. Bake as directed until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. BHG / Michelle Parkin While cake is still warm, in a small saucepan bring the 1 cup water to boiling. Stir in gelatin mix until dissolved. Stir in ice cubes until melted. BHG /Michelle Parkin Use a straw or the end of a chopstick to poke holes 1 inch apart all over the cake. Transfer gelatin mixture into a glass measuring cup and pour over top of the cake. Chill until completely cool and gelatin is set, at least 1 hour or overnight. Carson Downing For frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until combined. Gradually add the cream while beating; continue to beat until frosting becomes thick and forms soft peaks (peaks curl over). Beat in vanilla until combined, stopping before cream forms stiff peaks (peaks stand straight). Spread frosting over cake. Serve with blueberries and/ or strawberries. How to Store Jello Poke Cake Cover and store leftover cake in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Rate It Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 322 Calories 17g Fat 40g Carbs 3g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 16 Calories 321.8 % Daily Value * Total Fat 16.8g 21% Saturated Fat 10.2g 51% Cholesterol 47.9mg 16% Sodium 316.7mg 14% Total Carbohydrate 40.2g 15% Dietary Fiber 0.4g 1% Total Sugars 26.9g Protein 3.3g 7% Vitamin D 0.5mcg 2% Vitamin C 0.2mg 0% Calcium 103.4mg 8% Iron 0.7mg 4% Potassium 63.7mg 1% Fatty acids, total trans 0.4g Vitamin D 18.7IU Alanine 0.1g Arginine 0.1g Ash 1.6g Aspartic acid 0.2g Caffeine 0mg Carotene, alpha 0.1mcg Choline, total 10.6mg Copper, Cu 0mg Cystine 0g Energy 1345.8kJ Fluoride, F 14.8mcg Folate, total 24.9mcg Glutamic acid 0.8g Glycine 0.2g Histidine 0.1g Isoleucine 0.2g Leucine 0.3g Lysine 0.2g Methionine 0.1g Magnesium, Mg 7mg Manganese, Mn 0.1mg Niacin 0.8mg Phosphorus, P 141.5mg Pantothenic acid 0.3mg Phenylalanine 0.2g Proline 0.4g Retinol 163.4mcg Selenium, Se 3.5mcg Serine 0.2g Starch 0.1g Theobromine 0mg Threonine 0.1g Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.7mg Tryptophan 0g Tyrosine 0.1g Valine 0.2g Vitamin A, IU 595.1IU Vitamin A, RAE 165.9mcg Vitamin B-12 0.1mcg Vitamin B-6 0mg Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 2.2mcg Water 46.8g Zinc, Zn 0.2mg *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.