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Everything you love about Boston cream donuts and pies, in the form of a cool and creamy pudding poke cake!

For more yummy cakes try Root Beer Float Ice Cream Cake, Mississippi Mud Cake, or Caramel Cake.

Boston Cream Poke Cake on a white plate


Boston Cream Cake

This Boston Cream Poke Cake recipe was actually suggested by my husband, whose favorite donut happens to be a Boston Cream donut (it’s my favorite too!).

The Boston Cream donut was actually created after the famous Boston cream pie, which isn’t a pie at all, but a cake! The rich, classic dessert consists of a vanilla custard sandwiched between two yellow cake layers, and topped with a chocolate ganache or frosting.

If you’re a fan of either the Boston Cream Pie or donut, I promise you will like this recipe. It has all the same components: yellow cake, vanilla cream (pudding in this case), and a chocolate topping (also pudding in this recipe).

And the best part is that it only requires 3 box mixes, plus the few ingredients needed for the mixes. Talk about simple!! The hardest part is patiently waiting for the poke cake to refrigerate for 30 minutes, you know what I mean? 😉

How to make Boston Cream Poke Cake

CAKE. Make cake as directed in a 9×13 pan. While the cake is still slightly warm, use the end of a large wooden spoon and poke several holes into the cake.

VANILLA PUDDING. Make French Vanilla pudding as directed. Wait a minute for it to thicken up a little more and pour over cake, making sure it fills all the holes.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING. Make Chocolate pudding as directed. Pour over the cake and the layer of vanilla pudding, using it as a frosting or ganache.

Tip. This step may be easier if you refrigerate the cake for a little while after pouring the first layer of pudding.

ENJOY! Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to let all the pudding set, and serve cold. ENJOY!

It really is that simple! And like I said, it tastes just like a Boston Cream donut, but in the form of a moist, creamy cake. Poking the holes in the cake allows the pudding to seep into the cake and give it a really nice consistency. That’s what makes poke cakes SO delicious!

Boston Cream Cake topped with chocolate pudding on a white plate

Poke CAke Variations + SToring Info

  • Oreo Pudding Poke Cake – chocolate cake, Oreo pudding, and crushed Oreos
  • Grasshopper Poke Cake – devil’s food cake, hot fudge, peppermint frosting, and chopped Andes mints

STORE this cake covered in the fridge for 3-5 days. Serve cold to avoid the cream melting.

FREEZE the cake for 3-4 months after it has been wrapped in plastic wrap twice and a layer of foil. If need be you can make this cake about a day ahead of time. This will give the pudding time to soak into the cake. If you make it any further in advance you risk the cake becoming too moist.

For more chocolate cake recipes, check out:

4.88 from 16 votes

Boston Cream Poke Cake

By: Lil’ Luna
Everything you love about Boston cream donuts and pies, in the form of a cool and creamy pudding poke cake! 
Servings: 12
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 box yellow cake mix
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 box french vanilla pudding (5.9 oz)
  • 1 box chocolate pudding (5.9 oz)
  • 4 cups milk

Instructions 

  • Make cake as directed in a 9×13 pan.
  • Poke holes into cake using the end of a large wooden spoon while cake is still semi-warm.
  • Make French Vanilla pudding as directed. Wait a minute for it to thicken up a little more and pour over cake, making sure it fills the holes.
  • Make Chocolate pudding as directed. Pour over cake as well.
  • Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and serve cold.

Nutrition

Serving: 12g, Calories: 204kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 49mg, Sodium: 216mg, Potassium: 143mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 191IU, Calcium: 99mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Making this recipe? Tag us!
Share it with us on Instagram using the hashtag #lilluna, so we can see what you’re creating in the kitchen!

Pictures for this recipe were re-taken by Alicia of The Baker Upstairs



About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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60 Comments

  1. Hi , the box cakes usually call for a cup of water too. Do we go by the box then ? Thanks Sandy

  2. This sounds delicious and I want to try it. But I’m wondering about the extra ingredients listed – ie the eggs, oil and milk. If I’m to make the cake and puddings each ‘as directed on the box’, then how do these fit in?
    Thanks for clarification.

    1. Great question! So a typical yellow cake mix box calls for 1/2 cup of oil and 3 eggs. So you’d use those ingredients and then follow the directions listed on the box mix as to how to mix/bake times and temps/etc. The pudding mixes both should call for 2 cups of milk each on the back of the box. Hopefully that makes sense! 🙂

  3. This Boston creme pie poke cake looks delicious. Please let me know are you using instant or cooked pudding. Thank you Mary

  4. 3 stars
    This got screwed up & I don’t know how much of it is me or the recipe as written. For such a simple recipe, that’s not easy to do. It calls for 4 cups of milk which I thought was to be split between the two puddings, even though the directions say, “as instructed.” Well, the pudding boxes call for 3 cups of milk EACH, so the vanilla pudding was starting to set after whisking it for just 30 seconds. No filling in the holes I made in the cake, so I just spread it on top & did the same with the chocolate pudding. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any more milk in the house, so I was stuck & had to make do.
    If a total of 6 cups of milk was to be used, the recipe should have stated, “1 cake mix box & ingredients listed on the box” & the same for the puddings.

  5. I made THIS but it didn’t turn out as I expected. The vanilla pudding was too thick and did not go into the holes in the cake. It was too thick. It was still good tasting and my grand kids loved it, but i’m going to try it again using the small pkg of pudding. You really have a wonderful website.

    1. I am glad they still liked it. I try to pour it before it gets thick. Thank you so much for saying that! I really appreciate it!

      1. I’ll try that. I must have waited too long and the pudding got too thick.
        I am going to make it again because I found out my grand kids were telling their parents about this wonderful cake.