The most popular poke cake has a wonderful strawberry-lemon variation that is ideal for outdoor gatherings.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 4 hrs 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 5 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 24 |
| Yield: | 1 9×13-inch cake |
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 ounce) package vanilla cake mix (such as Betty Crocker®)
- 1 cup water
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant lemon pudding mix, divided
- 2 (8 ounce) containers whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), divided
- 2 (16 ounce) packages fresh strawberries, diced, divided
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- Combine cake mix, water, eggs, oil, and 1 box lemon pudding in a large bowl; beat using an electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 28 to 33 minutes. Immediately after baking, poke holes down through cake with the rounded handle of a wooden spoon in 1-inch intervals. Set aside to cool for 20 minutes.
- While cake is baking, combine one 8-ounce container of whipped topping with remaining package of lemon pudding mix in a small bowl. Mix until pudding is well incorporated. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Add one 16-ounce package of diced strawberries to a saucepan with sugar, cornstarch, and 2 teaspoons lemon zest. Cook over medium heat until it begins to boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer until strawberries soften, sugar has fully dissolved, and syrup has thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Spread lemon pudding mixture evenly across the cooled cake, allowing it to go into the holes. Pour and spread strawberry syrup mixture on top of the lemon layer. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
- Frost cake with remaining 8 ounces of whipped topping and top with remaining strawberries and remaining lemon zest.
- You can use a 21-ounce box of gluten-free cake mix instead of a 15.25-ounce box of regular, if you’d like.
- Strawberries can be mashed after cooking using a potato masher for a smoother sauce if desired.
- The directions for making the cake are based on the particular brand mentioned. Follow instructions on the box if using a different brand.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 232 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 36 g |
| Cholesterol | 21 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 2 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 232 mg |
| Sugars | 18 g |
| Fat | 9 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
As an advanced home cook, some of the directions in this recipe are off. The strawberries need some liquid to cook in. 2 T cornstarch is too much- makes an over thick glaze. The lemon that is used for zest should be used somewhere in the recipe. Zest should be added at the end of strawberry cook time. I added my lemon juice to the strawberry sauce to thin it down at the end cooking time. 3/4 c sugar added to strawberries is too much unless you like overly sweet or you have sour berries. The strawberry glaze should go into the holes, not the lemon flavored cool whip. In the end it was meh-ok, but won’t make it again.
The recipe seemed backwards. The pudding whipped cream mixture did not drip into the holes in the cake. It created a barrier for the strawberry syrup to drip through. Plus the strawberry syrup was to thick. Disappointed in the recipe, will not make it again.