Old Fashioned Cherry Poke Cake

This is such an easy and fun cake to make. It’s a shortcut recipe but, no one would know from looking and tasting this fabulous old fashioned cherry poke cake. It’s the best!

I think every generation has their own version of a poke cake.

As a little girl, I can remember visiting my mom’s aunt that I had never met before; she lived in Brooklyn, New York.

She was so happy we came to see her and I remember my mom whispering to me that Aunt Ruby was a great baker and she probably had a bunch of delicious desserts for us to try.

That was the truth!

She made cookies, scones, and a pie.

But, the star of the show was her famous poke cake.

It was so pretty to look at and I still remember to this day how much I loved that cake.

It was moist and so flavorful.

She gave us all these treats to take home but all I wanted was that poke cake.

So, here is my version of Aunt Ruby’s Poke cake.

It’s the easiest cake recipe.

A shortcut recipe that I made with a cake mix.

However, it totally tastes homemade when you add a few special touches and some ingredients you probably have in your pantry and fridge.

And, it’s a fun cake recipe to make and oh yea, so delicious to eat.

Old Fashioned Cherry Poke Cake

Yields: 12 servings, this also depends on how large or small the servings are..

What you’ll need to make this delicious old fashioned cherry poke cake…

Ingredients:

1 box cake mix, any of the white or vanilla flavors work. plus the ingredients on the box
1 small box (3 ounce) cherry or black cherry Jell-O, regular or sugar free
1 cup boiling water
2 ice cubes, make sure they are fresh ones, this is important so they don’t have any lingering taste on the ice cubes
1 can cherry pie filling, (21 ounce) Save 1 tablespoon of the filling without the cherries for Cool Whip frosting
1 tub Cool Whip (8 ounce size)
optional – 1 to 2 drops of red or pink food coloring for more of a pink tint in the Cool Whip
aerosol whipped cream plus a maraschino cherry for garnish, this is optional

**Full printable recipe is below in the recipe card

Here’s how this delicious old fashioned cherry poke cake is made…

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, spray a 13 X 9 cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Prepare cake mix with ingredients on back of box. Add in the 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Bake as per directions on box.
After you take the cake out of the oven. Let pan cool on a wire rack for a little while. About 15 minutes should be good.
While the cake is cooling, get your Jell-O mixture ready. In a medium to large heat proof bowl, pour box of Jell-O into the bowl, add boiling water and using a whisk, mix until dissolved completely. Add in the two ice cubes just to cool down the mixture. If they don’t dissolve quickly, take them out with a spoon then mix again.
With the handle of a wooden mixing spoon or a wooden skewer, poke holes all over the cake. If using the wooden skewer make sure you poke a lot of holes. If using a wooden handle, poke holes about 1 inch apart.
Now, pour the dissolved Jell-O over the cake and let it seep into the holes. Sometimes I move the cake pan or tap the bottom lightly to make the Jell-O seep down faster. Try to pour right after you make the Jell-0 because it can start to set up fast. Place in fridge for about 10 minutes.
Take out and spread the can of cherries over the entire cake. Remember to save a tablespoon or so to use in the frosting.
Put the cake back in the fridge for at least an hour. When you take it out, the cake should be cooled. Open up the Cool Whip container and mix in the 1 tablespoon of the cherry filling. Mix until the frosting turns a little pink. Or use the optional food coloring for a darker tint. Now, spread over the entire cake. Put back in fridge and let set up at least 2 hours. Take out and cut into squares, add the squiggle of optional whipped cream and a cherry for garnish. That’s it, take a bite and enjoy this delicious cake.