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Jello Poke Cake is cool, creamy, and perfect for any get-together. Use any flavor of Jello to make this crowd-favorite dessert!
Poke Cake is one of our favorite summer desserts! Be sure to check out some of our other poke cake variations: Banana Pudding Poke Cake and Boston Cream Poke Cake.
Strawberry jello Cake
I have fond memories of family gatherings and parties that involve this long-time-family-favorite dessert – Jello Poke Cake. We love it so much we’ve made so many variations.
It’s perfect for BBQs and summer parties because of its cool and creamy texture. Let’s be honest, I crave it year round.
You can change the flavor of Jello depending on your mood. We almost always make Strawberry Jello Poke Cake, but our other favorites are raspberry and cherry. I’ve also done lime, blue raspberry, and orange before, but those are definitely a little more adventurous!
Jello Poke Cake has been around since 1976, at least that is when it first appeared in print. The General Foods Kitchen printed the recipe in an advertisement booklet and from there it reached kitchens all over the country.
The popularity grew because it was an easy, quick dessert that could be made ahead of time. Not to mention it is easy to customize and delicious.
How to make Jello Cake
This Jello Cake is really so simple, which is probably why we make it ALL the time.
CAKE. Prepare cake mix as directed and bake in a 9×13 pan. Let cool for 15 minutes. Poke holes in the cake with a fork at ½-inch intervals.
JEllO. Prepare Jello as directed. Spoon over the cake mix until the Jello liquid is all gone.
CHILL + ENJOY! Chill for 3 to 4 hours and top with Whipped Cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve. ENJOY!
Make cupcakes
Instead of making a 9×13 cake, make cupcakes according to the directions on the box. Once the cupcakes have cooled, poke them with a fork or skewer. Use a soup spoon to drizzle Jell-o into the holes and chill.
Poke cake Recipe tips
Tips for poke cake:
- Use a cake made from scratch, a box mix, or a store bought cake.
- For a nice clean slice, wipe the knife after each cut.
- Garnish with coordinating fresh fruit. Fresh strawberries are especially delicious.
Setting the Poke Cake. It won’t set up like normal gelatin does, but it will take at least a few hours for the Jell-o to soak into the cake and cool completely. So plan ahead when making this Poke Cake!
Speed up the cooking time.
- Buy a pre-made, unfrosted white cake at a local bakery.
- Stick the cake in the freezer for 30-60 minutes, long enough to set the jello but not freeze the cake.
Flavor variations.
- Use chocolate cake mix. This recipe can be used to make any flavor of cake mix paired with a complimentary flavor. Chocolate cake with raspberry or black cherry jello would be delicious!
- White cake pairs well with all flavors of jello.
- Add a layer of similar pie filling to the top of the cake then top that with Whipped Cream. Strawberry jello would pair well with strawberry pie filling.
more Poke Cake delicious-ness
We love Poke Cake so much and have made several varieties. It’s so easy to change up with any flavor of jello. The possibilities are endless!
Here are some of our favorites on the site:
- Banana Pudding Poke Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake Poke Cake
- Boston Cream Poke Cake
- Lemon Lime Poke Cake
- Red Velvet Poke Cake
Storing Info
STORE. Because of the jello, keep the cake chilled. Tightly cover the cake and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days.
To FREEZE, wrap the Poke Cake with plastic wrap, then again with aluminum foil. Label and freeze for up to 3 months.
If the cake is frosted, flash-freeze first. Flash-freeze a whole cake by placing individual pieces on a baking sheet, making sure they are not touching.
Freeze for 2-3 hours or until the outside is frozen. Wrap in plastic and foil, label, and return to the freezer.
For more cool cake recipes:
Jello Poke Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25-ounce) box white cake mix plus any ingredients listed on box
- 1 (3-ounce) box strawberry Jell-O (or raspberry or cherry)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 (8-ounce) tub whipped topping (or 2 cups whipped cream)
Instructions
- Prepare cake as directed on the box and bake in a 9-x-13-inch baking dish. Let cool for 15 minutes.
- Poke cake with a fork at ½–1-inch intervals.
- Use hot and cold water to make Jell-O as directed on the package.
- Spoon Jell-O liquid over the cake gradually until it is all absorbed.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 3–4 hours. Top with whipped topping right before serving.
Video
Notes
Cupcake Version: Instead of making a 9-x-13-inch cake, make cupcakes according to the directions on the cake mix box. Once cupcakes have cooled, poke them with a fork or skewer, drizzle Jell-O into the holes and chill as directed above before adding whipped topping.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Since I only had a 6 oz box of raspberry jello I made it according to the directions but only used half of it. It’s in the fridge so we will see.
Let me know how it turns out. I’d love to know!
Nutrition facts are skewed. And its .3oz box not 3.3oz.
Definitely not .3 it is just 3 oz.
I grew up on this cake. It’s awesome! My mom made different variations .We didn’t have tons of junk foods like kids do these days. So when mom made cakes & pies we loved it. That was our junk food. Simpler times better days! Thanks for sharing I haven’t made this in years.
It is 1 box that is the 3.3 or 3.4 ounce.
I did a similar cake…..i used the box orange cake..then used orange jello. For frosting i did a small box of instant vanilla pudding mixed with 1 cup of milk instead of 2…and one big container of cool-whip…..just like a orange dream cicle
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing that!
What if you use 6 ounce (large) jello and just add the 1 cup of boiling and one cup of cold water to it? Will it gel properly? I didn’t realize that I was using the wrong size jello. Will it taste sweeter or heavier?
Oh, man, I wish I knew. I haven’t used the larger one. I would follow the recipe on the box.
Delicious and loved by everyone, especially the kids!
Glad you tried it! Kids always love it! Thank you!
One of my favorites! Delicious and not too rich. Always a crowd-pleaser.
Glad you agree! Thank you!
Can the jello poke cake be done in layers and Use cool whip in between the layers without the layers sliding off each other?
I haven’t tried layering jello poke cake but I think it’d be worth a try. If your layers aren’t too thick then the cool whip in between the layers wouldn’t slide as easily. Let me know how it goes if you try layering. I would love to hear how it turned out!
I always make this cake with 2-tiers, with cool whip in the middle. I use the Taste of Home recipe: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/strawberry-poke-cake/
Turns out like the picture every time!
Looks like a great recipe as well!
Perfection!!!
My Gran used to make this cake but before she poured the cake mix into the pan she would put in pie filling or fruit pieces. An example-Cherry pie filling, then yellow cake mix, bake then use cherry jello, Mandarine oranges with orange jello etc.. Always a huge hit at family gatherings. Now I just need to figure out if home made vegan jello will work in the recipe. Any cake mix can be done vegan.
I love using different flavors 🙂 That’s a good question…if you try it, you will have to let me know 🙂
DId you know you can make a jello cake in a bundt pan? I’vE done it. I love to use my BunDt pan instead of a 9×13.
I personally haven’t tried. One way to find out 😉
I wanted to make this but stores no longer sell a 13.3 0z box of Jello. I esp wanted to make it with sugar free Jello, and again no Jello is that size. I had to but 0.3 oz package and try to figure out how much I need and ended up with 4 times the amount! This receipee need to be changed!
The recipe is 1 (3.3ounce) box 🙂 That will make a big difference.
Easy to make and it was yummy. I used strawberry jello. I also mixed the cool whip with strawberry frosting and iced the top.
Perfect!! Thank you for sharing what you did!
If you made it with four boxes. How did it come out? At least you tried
It is a one(1) 3.3oz box not 13.3….
It’s not a 13 ounce pkg it’s one 3.3 ounce pkg