These poke cake recipes include everything from fruity, refreshing cakes to rich chocolate desserts and holiday favorites. Whether you need an easy make-ahead dessert for a party or just want a simple cake that stays extra moist, this roundup helps you find the right poke cake fast.
What is a Poke Cake?
A poke cake is a baked cake that has holes poked all throughout and then is filled with something flavorful, such as pudding, gelatin, sweetened condensed milk, syrup, or fruit sauce. As the filling settles into the cake, it adds moisture and flavor all the way through, which is what gives poke cakes their signature soft texture and layered taste.
One of the best things about them is that they are very forgiving. They do not need elaborate decorating, they can often be made ahead, and they are easy to slice and serve for parties, potlucks and family gatherings.
Chocolate Poke Cake Recipes
Whether in the cake itself, the filling or the frosting, these cakes are full of chocolatey flavor!
This Reese’s Poke Cake is a super easy dessert recipe for the peanut butter cup lovers out there. The ultimate combination comes together in this chocolate peanut butter sheet cake that is perfect to bring to potlucks and parties!
This German Chocolate Poke Cake takes the classic dessert recipe to a whole new level with a tender chocolate cake soaked in sweetened condensed milk and topped with a rich chocolate ganache and sweet coconut pecan frosting!
This Grasshopper Poke Cake is super easy and over the top delicious. Just a few ingredients and boxed cake mix and you’ll be enjoying this for dessert today!
This Peanut Butter Pretzel Poke Cake is a delicious yellow cake soaked with chocolate pudding & topped with peanut butter frosting, Reese’s Pieces, pretzels & chocolate syrup. So good!
A classic Southern Sunshine Cake recipe made with yellow cake mix, mandarin oranges, and a light pineapple whipped topping. Also called Pig Pickin Cake, this easy make-ahead dessert is perfect for potlucks, holidays, and summer parties.
This Caramel Apple Poke Cake is one of the best recipes using boxed cake mix! With tons of apples, and cinnamon, this from scratch apple cake will become an instant family favorite!
This piña colada poke cake is an easy tropical dessert made with white cake mix, crushed pineapple, cream of coconut, and a fluffy whipped topping. Moist, light, and packed with pineapple coconut flavor, it’s the perfect make-ahead cake for summer parties, potlucks, and warm-weather entertaining.
Did you love creamsicles as a child? Try this grownup version of an old-fashioned favorite! Orange Creamsicle Poke Cake is an easy cake recipe with Jello and pudding!
This Pineapple Poke Cake screams HELLO SUMMER! It’s sweet, delicious, filled with crushed pineapple and a sweet topping with a fresh pineapple garnish!
This Easy Strawberry Poke Cake features a vanilla cake that’s studded with lots of strawberry flavor. Soft cake is drizzled with sweet strawberry jello and then topped with a strawberry glaze and a creamy whipped topping!
This Coconut Cream Poke Cake is made totally from scratch! It’s a decadent and rich, creamy and tropical tasting cake that will transport you to a fun warm place!
This Caramel Carrot Cake Poke Cake is so sweet and delicious, you’ll never want any other carrot cake again! Baked to perfection and saturated in sweetened condensed milk, then topped with fluffy frosting and drenched in caramel sauce.
The kids always have so much fun poking the holes when I make a poke cake. And let’s be honest, I kind of think it’s fun too!
Because almost all of these recipes use a boxed cake mix, I don’t need to run to the store to get tons of crazy ingredients. And I almost always have a few boxes of cake mix in the pantry. Even if I don’t, I can always make one super easy.
And I usually eat my feelings (are there people that don’t?) and cake is always the best stress snack. Who’s with me?
I hope you and your family enjoy these poke cake recipes as much as mine does! And if you still more ideas, check out these icebox cake recipes.
Jessica the mom, wife and chef behind Savory Experiments. You might see her on the Emmy- nominated TV show Plate It! or on bookshelves as a cookbook author. Jessica is a Le Cordon Bleu certified recipe developer and regularly contributed to Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, The Daily Meal, Mashed and more!
Tempting recipes!
Thanks! We do love cake around here!