This strawberry poke cake is fresh, fruity, and easy for a fun snack cake or even a birthday cake!
Whatever flavor is at the market or in your pantry can be made into a poke cake! Regardless of the flavor of the poke cake, it simply screams to be covered with cold, refreshing cool whip topping!
Easy Jello Poke Cake
This recipe has been around a long time and is almost always found in recipe boxes and church or school cookbooks because it’s so easy to make!
Poke cake is great for large gatherings, parties, and potlucks because it’s so quick and easy. Plus it’s so colorful, everyone will want some.
Ingredients & Variations
Cake Mix: Don’t be limited with a white cake mix! Try yellow cake, strawberry, chocolate, or mocha flavors. Or Funfettie for a fun sprinkle filled surprise.
Jello: Use whatever jello mix you think will go well with the cake flavor! White cake mix looks striking with grape or pineapple Jello! Chocolate and cherry go well together. Try mixing and matching too! Lemon and lime, orange and raspberry, even strawberry banana!
With over 50 different flavors of Jello, poke cake can be a totally different recipe every time it’s made!
Toppings: Top the cake with maraschino cherries, toasted coconut, sliced bananas, colored sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, red hots, or a handful of toffee pieces! Whatever you have on hand.
How to Make Strawberry Poke Cake
Just a couple of easy steps and this delicious cake will be ready to go!
- Bake cake according to package directions and let chill.
- Prepare the jello with remaining ingredients and stir until dissolved (per recipe below).
- Poke holes all over chilled cake and pour the liquid jello over top.
Refrigerate several hours or overnight before topping with cold cool whip or whipped cream.
Tips & Tricks
For the perfect jello poke cake follow these few simple tips!
- Whisk the jello in the hot water until it is completely dissolved before adding the cold water.
- At this stage, you can add a liqueur (like a flavored brandy or vodka) to the jello for a more spiked cake.
- Keep cake in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Insert wooden picks into the cake and make a tent with plastic wrap!
- Jello poke cake should last about 4 days in the refrigerator.
Fave Poke Cake Recipes
- Chocolate Poke Cake
- Better Than Sex Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Tres Leches Cake
- Creamsicle Orange Poke Cake
- Pina Colada Poke Cake
Did you love this Strawberry Poke Cake? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Strawberry Poke Cake
Ingredients
- 1 (14.25 ounce each) box white cake mix plus ingredients required to prepare cake
- 1 (3 ounce each) box strawberry Jell-o
- 1 cup boiling water
- ½ cup cold water
- 1 (8 ounce each) tub whipped topping such as Cool Whip
Instructions
- Prepare cake according to directions in a 9x13 pan.
- Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes. Poke the entire cake all over to create small holes (I use a chopstick).
- Combine Jell-o and boiling water and stir until Jell-o is completely dissolved. Add cold water. Pour Jell-o over the cake slowly ensuring it gets in all of the holes. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
- Top with Cool Whip and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
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Recipes look good my sister sent me your site I’m goin to try jello cake
Enjoy, Pat! I can’t wait to hear what you think of it.
I love this and if I take it anywhere, I always bring home an empty container! The only thing different I do is I mix the Cool Whip with a container of icing And mix with a mixer and then I cover the top with cut strawberries
That topping sounds delicious, light and easy.
Do you think blueberries would work? We have some frozen blueberries we picked a few months ago and would love to try a cake with them. Not sure how well it would turn out.
For this recipe, we use berries for topping. For a blueberry flavor, you could try making this recipe with berry blue jello powder and top with blueberries or top with this blueberry sauce made from frozen blueberries.
The recipe calls for 3 oz jello but the boxes I got are all 0.3 oz. Is that a typo in your recipe? How many boxes of jello are used?
3 oz is correct.
OH NO! Question, didn’t pay close attention to the recipe for the strawberry poke cake, and added one cup cold water, instead of 1/2-will the cake be soggy now! Darn, if u could let me know/ thank U. I made two cake, 13×13 4th of July, just put them in fridge.
I haven’t tried this with one cup of water although I do think it will be just fine! Let us know how they turn out for you.
This looks so good. Can you make it with sugar-free jello?
That should work well Danielle! Let us know how it turns out.
can I use a bundt pan?
We have not tried this recipe in a bundt pan Gail. Let us know how it turns out :)
I have made this for years I do strawberry and banana I use strawberry soda instead of water. ANd then I make banana cream pudding and put on the cake beforehand I add the cool whip on top. Been a family favorite for years.
Mmmm! That sounds delicious Sandra, thanks for sharing :)
Can a boxed angel food cake be used instead of a regular cake mix?
That sounds like a delicious idea Julie!
does the jello get solid or hard?
No, it stays soft and makes the cake moist.
This was so moist! My husband loves that it is not too sweet.I used tropical punch and vanilla cake.
Love the Strawberry fudge! My family loves anything strawberry and or chocolate