This strawberry poke cake is made from scratch and is a soft, moist jello poke cake that is topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. It has the taste of strawberries in every bite and is the perfect easy, elegant dessert!
Our friends have been complaining that there are too many salads on the blog these days. And some others have been complaining that I don't post as many recipes as I used to. Which is kinda true. Since we've move to Auroville, I've become a little lazy and spend more time playing with the dogs than I do in the kitchen. But I can't help it because they are so adorable and always ready to run around. One of our cats is also very pregnant and super demanding - she is always hungry and always needs petting.
I'm trying to change the salad situation, and also wanted to make a dessert for Easter for the family and this Strawberry Poke Cake made from scratch was absolutely perfect! It's got all the makings of a soft, moist cake that serves a crowd, and still looks elegant enough to serve at a tea party if you will.
I'm always wary of making cakes because they are so hard to decorate and I truly suck at doing that. I can never get a layered cake to look straight and can never make cream look even. Something is always lopsided. Plus making pretty things with icing - forget it!
I'd take a cake like this any day. Which is baked in a 13"X9" baking pan and slathered with whipped cream on top. All you need to do is cut it into slices, and the thickness of each slice is enough for you to get a good forkful in every bite. The jello seeps through the cake and makes adds a pretty gradient throughout the cake.
I had actually never heard of a poke cake till I saw these pretty things on Pinterest. So I have to tell you what it means before we get to the recipe.
What is a poke cake?
It's a cake that you poke holes into after its baked and cooled. The holes are then filled with jello or other liquid fillings such as condensed milk, chocolate, pudding or even pureed fruit. This infuses every bite of the cake and keeps the cake moist.
I love making jello poke cakes, because after filling the holes with jello, the cake is refrigerated and the jelly sets so you get slightly wobbly jelly in every bite of the cake. Because its so simple to make and the act of making a poke cake is so straightforward, you can easily turn this strawberry poke cake into a chocolate poke cake, a banana poke cake, coconut poke cake or even a lemon poke cake. Just switch up the filling and you have a different poke cake every time.
Top tips to make a Strawberry Poke Cake
- Baking Pan: Use a 9"X13" baking pan for this recipe. It's the optimal size because the cake rises quite a bit and the cake will overflow in a smaller cake pan. If you don't have that size, you can divide the batter into two square 8" pans.
- Jello: Jello comes in different pack sizes in different countries. If you are in the U.S. you can use 1 pack (3 ounces) Strawberry Jello, which translates to a 90g pack in India
- Line with parchment: Lining the cake tin with parchment paper is really important for this recipe because the jello seeps through the cake to the bottom of the pan and can become sticky which makes it difficult to lift the slices when you want to serve. The parchment paper avoids any mess, and helps lift up each slice smoothly. If you leave the sides of the parchment paper hanging while lining the cake tin, you can just use to left them out when you are ready to serve.
Are you also going gaga over that super moist slice of cake with the jello seeping in? We took two days to finish the cake because it does make twelve squares but I have to say - everyone who ate it was such a fan!
More Fun Cakes you can Make:
- Mini Mango Cheesecakes
- Lemon Blueberry Cake Bars
- No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Jars
- Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Strawberry Poke Cake (From Scratch)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) Fine Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) Butter at room temperature
- 4 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 3 ¼ cups (406.25 g) All-Purpose Flour Maida
- 1 cup Milk
- 90 grams Strawberry Flavoured Jello
- 3 cups (360 g) Whipped Cream
- 1 cup Fresh Strawberries sliced
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F/ 175C. Grease and line a 13X9" baking pan with parchment paper. Leave extra paper hanging on the side so that it's easy to lift up the cake later.
- In a bowl, patiently beat the butter and sugar together for 3-4 minutes till light and fluffy. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment or else just use a hand mixer.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after every egg to make sure its combined well into the mixture. Also stir in the vanilla extract and baking powder.
- Alternate between adding the flour and milk and mix until just combined. Alternating the dry and wet ingredients means that you add ⅓ of the flour first, mix and add half the milk; mix and then add ⅓ of the flour again, mix add the remaining milk and then the flour. This helps incorporate everything well and avoids over mixing.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake for approximate 45 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Once the cake is baked, let it cool for 15 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, prepare the jello according to package instructions.
- Once the cake is cooled, poke the cake with the back of wooden spoon or thick skewer and make holes in the cake at every inch. Pour the jello into the holes and refrigerate the cake for 3-4 hours.
- An hour before serving, spread whipped cream over the cake and decorate with strawberries slices. Refrigerate again for an hour or till ready to serve. This cake keeps well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Notes
- Baking Pan: Use a 9"X13" baking pan for this recipe. It's the optimal size because the cake rises quite a bit and the cake will overflow in a smaller cake pan. If you don't have that size, you can divide the batter into two square 8" pans.
- Jello: Jello comes in different pack sizes in different countries. If you are in the U.S. you can use 1 pack (3 ounces) Strawberry Jello, which translates to a 90g pack in India
- Line with parchment: Lining the cake tin with parchment paper is really important for this recipe because the jello seeps through the cake to the bottom of the pan and can become sticky which makes it difficult to lift the slices when you want to serve. The parchment paper avoids any mess, and helps lift up each slice smoothly. If you leave the sides of the parchment paper hanging while lining the cake tin, you can just use to left them out when you are ready to serve.
Raquellia Dobson says
Cake seems to be fab. With all those eggs and butter how could it go wrong? however when i saw 45 minutes baking time i was curious. I checked it after 35 minutes and it was already overbaked Could this be a typo?-Raquellia
Rebecca says
I use black cherry Jello, and LOVE the intense flavor!!
Ritika says
You can use strawberry syrup yet it'll make the cake incredibly moist due to the fact that the syrup won't establish as the jelly does
Richa Gupta says
Hey Ritika! We haven't tried this, but glad it worked out for you! Thanks for reaching out to us 🙂
Ruhanika says
Oooooh, this looks so light and tasty! Love anything with avocado!
Kevin Walters says
This is so nice and unique recipe. Gonna definitely try this cake right away.
Richa Gupta says
And it's such fun to make, Kevin! Hope the poke cake turned out well!
Peter Calvin says
Can we use white choco chips for a little twist ? is that a bad idea
Richa Gupta says
Not at all, Peter! Get creative with this strawberry cake! 🙂
Apoorva Mittal says
Can we substitute the jelly with something else? like i dont want jelly but a strawberry syrup would work. can you give any suggestions
Richa says
You can use strawberry syrup but it'll make the cake super moist because the syrup won't set like the jelly does
Veronica says
Do one cup butter is that 2 sticks? Do i melt the butter or not ? I havnt make the recipe yet..
Veronica says
How much butter do i use? Do i bake cake at 350 or 375?
Richa says
Hey Veronica, please read the recipe - the amounts and temperatures are clearly mentioned.
vijayawadaeshop says
Strawberry Poke Cake recipe is nice and looks very yammy.
will try at our unit, kids love it
simran winni says
The taste and the presentation both are the factors which are making any cake a perfect one and this is one of them.
Richa says
Thanks Simran!
Monika says
This strawberry cake is magnificent and I have enjoyed every bit of this cake on the recent events I have celebrated.