Poke Cake II

So perfect for a hot summer's day!! You can make this cake ultra-low sugar/fat by using the cake mix and using only ONE CAN of DIET SPRITE or DIET 7-UP for the liquid. That's right - nothing but the cake mix and a can of soda. Mix them up and bake the cake as directed. Use sugar-free jello and fat-free whipped topping. Top with fruit. I use white cake and orange-flavored gelatin topped with mandarin oranges and fresh mint sprigs. You'd NEVER know this was so light!

This is even easier in a 13X9 pan. I also use thawed strawberries and mix them with the whip cream. It makes presentation more elaborate, and it's good too.

I absolutely love pokecake. My family has been making this for years, and I looked up the recipe to make it for my friends one day (who were doubtful anything with jello poured on top of it could be good). I've had many requests for it since! I usually make it in a 13x9 pan, though I have made cupcakes, too. (Use the plain aluminum cupcake liners.) The nice thing about poke cupcakes is that you can also coordinate the jello color to the holiday (orange-flavored and dark berry for Halloween, lime and strawberry for Christmas, etc).

My Grandmother used to make this when I was young! Here is her recipe: 1 cake mix (we use yellow cake) bake cake normal & cool to luke warm, then poke holes with fork, making sure to go all the way to the bottom of the pan 2 (3oz) jello or 1 large jello (we use strawberry and sugar free works well too) mix with 1.5 cups boiling water and 1.5 cups of flavored soda (strawberry to match the jello flavor) stir well and cool...pour slowly over the top of cake, don't worry about over saturation...and refrigerate FROSTING: One small box of instant vanilla pudding (french vanilla adds an extra touch), 1.5 cups of cold milk and whip until firm...then fold in 4-5 oz of cool whip... top the cake and refrigerate until serving my mom uses different combinations...yellow cake with lemon/lime jello and sprite...or chocolate cake with cherry jello and wild cherry pop, the combinations are endless! Enjoy!

Used this recipe to make cupcakes! I put less batter into the cupcake cup than I normally would so it would make small, flat cupcakes. When I was making the holes for the jell-o, I stuck a small fork into each cupcake about four time and wiggled it around before pulling it out so the holes would be big enough. Then I just spooned the jell-o individually on to each cupcake using a regular old tablespoon until all of the jell-o was gone. They turned out great with a dollop of whipped cream and garnished with some silver sprinkles and pomegranate seeds!

This was by far the BEST cake I have ever made for a birthday cake for my family. Absolutely delicious and mouthwatering- more moist than ANY storebought cake! Instead of the usual oil/eggs, I added 1/4 C applesauce and 4 egg whites, you would never be able to tell the difference because the gelatin made it sooo moist! (even used sugar-free gelatin and lite whipped topping.. my little secret!!)I'm sure it would be just as delectable with the full fat ingredients--but if you can save a few calories with this low fat alteration, why not?

This recipe is very good and easy to make. I have made it with the white cake mix and strawberry jello and it was excellent. Also, I just made this with a chocolate cake mix and black cherry jello. It tasted like a black forest cake, very delicious. I plan to try it with a coconut cake and lime jello. Thanks for the recipe.

Delicious!! I have made this recipe for friends, family, and co-workers and each one asked for the recipe. To their surprise it was so simple. I added sweetened strawberry puree to the whipped topping to give it a "homemade" feel then drizzled the puree over the cake when I served it. Looks and tastes restaraunt quality.

Awesome recipe...I mixed sweetened coconut with the whipped cream and it tasted like it belonged there :)

Besides that I am an obvious Jello fan, I liked this cake (which I first saw on the jello.com website - an amazing site by the way) because it it easy and fun to make and the kids love it. We made one at Christmas that was red and green jelloed and then made some small Jello jigglers of gingerbread men and Christmas trees and such to decorate the top. It was moist and the frosting wasn't so sickening sweet that it prevented you from having an extra slice without feeling ill. Like I said - it's a fun cake - have the kids help make it!

I used to make this all the time and am making it for coffee hour at church this Sunday. AND I'm making it with the diet sprite and sugar free jello - an elderly member of church told me that's how she makes it and it's delicious. However, I do remember that we used to "poke" this with the handle of a wooden spoon leaving nice holes for the Jello to go down. This is an old recipe that always goes over really well.

My mom has made a cake similar to this for years...the only difference is...after she pokes the cake and pours the jello over, she coats the cake with a layer of vanilla pudding (stovetop, not instant!!), and then "frosts" it with cool whip. The pudding really adds something! YUMMY!!!

This cake is so refreshing. I baked it for Valentines day and it was DE-LISH! Very versatile, next time I may to orange jello w/ mandarin oranges on top! Was going to bring this cake to work on Friday, so baked the cake mix on Wed. poked, poured jello, and frosted on Thursday and took to work on Friday morning. Will definitely make again! **I made this again w/ devils food cake, black cherry jello, and choc fudge frosting w/ marchino cherries on time. "Black Forest Cake" OMG! AMAZING! Will def. make again!**

I have been making this recipe for years. It is so easy and everybody loves it!

For a BBQ, I used a lemon cake, made in a 9x13" pan, with lime jello. Absolutely divine.

Oh, the memories. My sister Susan would make this cake. She used to bake a lot back in the day. This cake is so easy and full of flavor. The color pops as much as the fruity sweetness. I loved making this for my hubby's family. Which to my surprise had never had it before. I've made it a few times for them. Everyone loves it.

Great recipe and so easy to make! I've made this before with a raspberry jello and this time it was made with lemon jello. I used the jumbo sized jello mix and it covered the whole 9X13 cake. It was covered with a powder sugar, cool whip and cream cheese frosting.

This is the cake we ate every summer at July fourth. We love it! Can also be served with fresh berries. Or bake the cake in a 13X9 pan and use strawberries and blueberries to decorate into a US flag. Thank you for a great reminder.

Kids love it! I use regular Jello, usually red flavor looks good inside the cake when you cut into it!

Fun and easy cake. People actually request this from me for parties. Especially good for barbecues.

I made this recipe with my 3 & 5 year old children, it was easy, fun, and absolutely perfect for the 5 year old palate! Fun, fun, fun recipe to make with your children! Karen

I made this exactly as the recipe directed and my family was pleased. The cake was moist and fruity. I used raspberry jello. Easy to make, light and refreshing. I will make this again. Thanks from my family to yours.

I made a triple-lemon cake using this recipe's main idea ... I baked a box-mix lemon cake in two 8" round pans and cooled. While cooling I made a package of lemon pudding, using the pie-filling instructions on the box, and refrigerated. When the cakes cooled out of the oven, I added the lemon jello per the instructions of this recipe, and allowed to cool in the fridge. To finish it off, I used the lemon pudding as the middle layer, and made my own white wedding cake frosting with a hint of lemon to top it off. If you like lemon you will LOVE this cake - lemony perfection!! ;) This would probably be quite yummy using cool whip for a top if you don't want to make a frosting. ;)

This is all right...wouldn't make again though. The jello made it too sweet.

I made this cake for the first time yesterday for Easter and it turned out good. Easy to make and easy to eat. I was not blown away, but I will experiment with other flavors like other reviewers suggested. I made a cherry cake and it was good, but not 5 star worthy. Peach would probably be good... Thanks for the recipe, Karin. I will make again.

I have looked for a poke cake recipe forever- and I finally found a great one! I used raspberry jello and it turned out sooo yummy- I will definitely be making this for tea parties and cool summer desserts.

Try this: mix one (4 serving size) instant pudding with one cup of milk. Fold it with the whip topping before frosting. I used lemon jello and lemon pudding. It made a cake eater out of my cake avoiding husband. IT's excellent!

Love this in a 9x13 pan! And the cupcakes are great for school functions. So many variations are possible! Fresh fruit on the topping, Jello Jigglers on top etc!

Family LOVES this!

I have made this cake in a 13x9 pan for years and our family loves it! It is an extra special treat on a hot summer day. This is a wonderful cake recipe.

These cakes are soo fun and pretty to make. Any cake, pudding or jello can be used in countless combination's. Very refreshing and the kids love to help decorate it. Thank You Karin, I will make this again and again!

I love poke cake! The best thing about it is you can really use any cake/jello combination. This is a very good recipe..thank you!

I made this for my husband's birthday. Everyone loved it. I garnished with strawberries on top. Perfect cake for a warm spring day. Very easy to make.

This cake is such a nice change from a traditional cake with heavy frosting. It's perfect for a warm spring or summer day.

I made this for July 4th, using 1 cup dark cherry jello and 1 cup blueberry jello. I poured it in "stripes" across the cake, alternating colors. Turned out great! Looked very patriotic and festive!

Super delicious! Definitely will be making this again!

I really love poke cakes. I used strawberry and lime jello because that;s what I had on hand. Next time I'm going to steer away from lime jello though, it was a little tangy for my tastes.

I have always made this with strawberry jello and whipped topping for the top but today I made cupcakes and used a lemon cake mix and used lemon jello. I then folded a can of buttercream frosting into some whipped topping and frosted them with that. I think we like it even better than the strawberry! I used less water in the jello (sugarles!) so that the jello would be a little tart. very good!

Really good and so easy! I did a white cake with strawberry jello this time but another idea is to mix the jello and cake mix with a little frozen lemonade concentrate, I've done this before and made a raspberry lemonade poke cake that everyone raved about. Another idea for the icing is to mix the cool whip with a container of store bought icing to make a fluffy sweeter topping.

This was so easy, I baked my own double sponge recipe and followed the recipe, I used fresh whipped cream (I live in Australia and have no idea what frozen whipped topping is). My family ate half and the remainder went to my aging neighbours - they loved it. They have dentures and proudly declared that this was the best cake that they have ever eaten as they did not require their teeth to be in!! Thank you Karin from my family and Ken and Esme next door.

I made this cake to take to a pot luck and it was a BIG hit. I topped mine with home made whipped cream and strawberries w/glaze.

I bake my cake in a 9x13 pan and use orange gelatin. Yum! It's such a nice cool summer treat.

This is the perfect cake for summer. My mother-in-law makes this all the time. It is a family favorite. We like trying it with different gelatin flavors too.

Very Nice and Easy to Make. I will definitely make this again!

This was fun! I made Nany's White Cake (from allrecipes.com) in a 9 X 13 pan. Then I only used 1 package of all natural strawberry jello in 1 cup boiling water. I didn't use the whipped topping, but it was great! I have a very picky son, and he loved it!

I have made this several times for my grandsons birthday. I usually make it 3-4 layers and use different colors of Jello for each,we call it a rainbow cake.

My MIL makes this all the time, accept she makes it in a 9x13 pan. I think the layer cake will make it much prettier! I made if for the Fourth of July this year and topped it with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries to make a flag. I alway use strawberry jello, but I bet other flavors would be good too.

I always get rave reviews when I make this cake! Everyone loves it. Moist and delicious.

I made one cake layer with pineapple jello and one with strawberry. I added sweetened coconut to the whipped topping. The recipe is easy, cake is pretty and tastes very good! I would prefer one color of jello...except possibly green and red at christmas. Next time I will tint the coconut to match the jello color used. Thanks Karin!

This recipe is great. However, I wasn't sure if I was suppose to let the dissolved jello cool before I spooned it over the cakes...I ended up just spooning it on right away, without letting it cool, and it seemed to work fine but I wonder how everyone else has done it and whether one way is better than the other? Also, I think next time I would use two containers of whipped topping so I could make a really thick inside layer between the two cakes.

This is a very moist cake. I used a red and a blue jello for a 4th of July party and used blueberrys and strawberrys for garnish.

I too have made this many times and done lots of experimenting. I've used sugar free jello and light topping, also have used Jello pudding for topping - topped with whipped topping. If you have the time, it is good to make home made pudding and whip real cream for a topping. You can also add extras like real fruit, coconut, even chocolate chips etc. to gild the lilly. Fun to experiment for sure!

this was very tasty, I used strawberry jello, put strawberries in between the two layers and served with sliced strawberries, however I think I will skip the whole layer thing and do it in a 9x13 pan next time seems like it would be much easier

Like one review said, this is a great base recipe. I think that regardless of which kind of cake you use and which type of jello you choose, this recipe is a great one. My family loves it.

This is a great recipe for a 4th of July potluck. Do half of the cake in red & half in blue. Decorate w/strawberries & blueberries.

I gave the recipe a 4 because I made a few changes. With the changes it's definately a 5. I baked the cake in a 9x13 pan just to make it easier and I used orange jello. It had a creamsicle taste to it. Absolutely delicious. I will make again. Might try peach or black cherry in a chocolate cake. Yummy.

Loved it. Used lemon jello and then garnished with lemon zest and mint leaves. Never knew a cake could be so refreshing!

Awesome! Great for a lighter dessert. It does need fresh fruit on top, I think. After trying it several times, we all like it best with raspberry jello and fresh raspberries.

I used the sturdy whipped topping from this site and everyone loved it.

Very easy and moist cake. I didn't really like the whipped cream as frosting though, next time I will not frost.

This cake is REALLY yummy. I always make it for my girls birthdays- and now my father-in-law requests it for his!(with Blueberry Jello) However, I don't use frozen whipped topping- I made it once, and it ruined the cake- So, I just make my own icing, using "Best White Icing Ever" by megan. It makes it sooooo much better.

I used this for a white chocolate raspberry cake that I made for my mom. I used raspberry jello and made my own white chocolate flavored frosting. I also mixed some cool whip with raspberry jelly and used that for the middle layer. The jello really adds moistness to the cake, and it was delicious. I would also reccomend making your own frosting. However, using coolwhip for the middle layer is good.

This is a great base recipe. The variations on this are seemingly endless. I've used different cake flavors, different jello flavors, and even pudding instead of jello. The kids in my family enjoy these cakes, and even the adults can be seen sneaking seconds. Play around with this...if nothing else, the kids will love it!

Really Tasty...and so easy

I've made this many times (got it from a Kraft calendar recipe). I use the lemon jello and fold in lemon pudding (mixed, not dry) into the whipped cream. Very tasty. Beatiful garnished w/ lemon slices & lemon zest.

This was a good cake! I used lemon flavored jello and not only did it taste good, but it also looked pretty with the yellow stripes running throughout the cake. This is an easy cake to make...and very very good. I will keep this recipe and make it again!

This was super easy and a big hit at my daughter's potluck dinner for school. I didn't even have any left to bring home.

so simple, yet so easy and a crowd pleaser for everyone... kids, adults, elders, its a no-brainer!! I used strawberry cake mix, strawberry sugar-free jello, and the fat free whipped topping, then fresh sliced strawberries on top. it turned out wonderful!

i make this all the time for the kids. they love it every time.

Thank you for jogging my memory on a wonderful cake! It is cool and fruity and my idea of a perfect birthday cake!

I've been using this for years, it's quick and light. It's always a hit. It's fun to use different flavors / colors of jello for each layer (at Christmas I do one green and one red)

very very tasty and easy!

Deliciously moist. Used wood skewer to poke holes and topped with fresh berries.

I make this cake at holiday time,, At Christmas I make one layer using lime jello, and other layer using strawberry/ banana jello.. refrigerate and frost as usual,, So cake comes out with red and green layers, very christmas looking.. Or you could use red and blue colored jellos for a 4th of July cake

I have been looking for this recipe for years. My grandmother used to make it for us kids at Christmas. While I still love it, I cannot say that everyone else in my family loved it as much. Will still give it 5 stars though!

For me...it was just all right.

I made it with lemon cake, strawberry jello and I mix the cool whip with strawberry yogurt and top with fruit.

Good flavor and very easy!

This was pretty good!

I make this all the time. Everyone loves it. I get compliments all the time when I bring this to parties.

I make this low carb which means I have to make a vanilla cake from scratch using Carbquick and Stevia and sugar free gelatin and sugar free whipped topping, but the extra effort is worth is as it taste great and I get my low carb.

This recipe was pretty simple, but I wasn't too overly impressed. My kids loved it though, so that's good enough for me. I'll make it again just for them.