Easter Poke Cake is a delightful Easter dessert that is both easy and tasty. The bright and colorful cake with the cheesecake topping will delight your taste buds. For a unique festive appearance, garnish it with Easter sprinkles or your favorite Easter candies.
I just love this pretty and colorful poke cake.
It’s perfect for Easter thanks to the multi-color cake and the festive Easter sprinkles on top.
You are going to love the refreshing cake with the cheesecake pudding filling in this Easter cake recipe.
This easy recipe will be a family favorite for years to come.
Disclosure – I may get a small commission for purchases made through links in this post.
Key to Success #1 – Use Gel Food Coloring to Tint the Cake Batter
We’re keeping things super simple for this recipe by using a boxed cake mix as the base.
Mix up the cake batter using a box of white cake mix.
Add the ingredients that are called for on the package – usually water, vegetable oil, and eggs.
Next, divide the cake batter into four separate bowls.
To each bowl, add 2-4 drops of gel food coloring in pink, purple, yellow, and light blue.
I highly recommend the Americolor gel food coloring.
These are the exact shades that I used:
- Pink: Americolor Gel Food Coloring in Fuchsia
- Purple: Americolor Gel Food Coloring in Violet
- Yellow: Americolor Gel Food Coloring in Lemon Yellow
- Light Blue: Americolor Gel Food Coloring in Sky Blue
Stir the gel food color into the cake batter until the batter color is consistent.
Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl so that you don’t miss any batter.
Key to Success #2 – Don’t Poke All The Way Through
After the cake is fully baked, allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before poking holes in it.
Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes about 1 1/2 inches apart all over the top of the cake.
If you don’t have a wooden spoon with a small handle, you can use any utensil that has a small and round handle.
Try to poke the holes about 3/4 of the way through the cake.
You want to make sure you don’t poke all the way through the cake because you want the bottom of the cake to remain intact.
Gently poke the holes so that the top of the cake doesn’t get torn up in the process.
Key to Success #3 – Pour The Pudding While It Is Only Slightly Thick
Combine both boxes of instant cheesecake pudding mix with 3 1/2 cups of cold milk.
Whisk the pudding mixture until the pudding mix dissolves and the pudding starts to thicken slightly.
The pudding should still be mostly liquid when you pour it over the cake.
Adding the pudding to the cake while it is still liquid will allow it to soak deeper into the cake for added moisture and flavor.
The pudding will start to set up rather quickly once combined with the cold milk.
Use a spatula or knife to gently spread the remaining pudding over the top of the cake, spreading it all the way to the edges.
Key to Success #4 – Top with Cool Whip and Decorate As Desired
After the pudding has been added to the cake, refrigerate it for at least 20 minutes until the pudding has set up completely.
Top the cake with a layer of Cool Whip, making sure to spread it all the way to the edges of the pan.
Decorate your poke cake with Easter sprinkles or your favorite Easter candies.
The exact sprinkles mix that I used is linked below, but you can use any colorful seasonal sprinkles that you have on hand.
This easy recipe would also be cute topped with rows of Easter Marshmallow Peeps.
You really can’t go wrong with any Easter Decorations on this super simple Easter cake.
Show us how you decorated your cake. Post a photo on Instagram and tag us @gracelikerainblog!
Save this Easter Poke Cake recipe to your favorite Easter Desserts board or your Poke Cakes board.
Easter Poke Cake
Easter Poke Cake is a delightful Easter dessert that is both easy and tasty.
The bright and colorful cake with the cheesecake topping will delight your taste buds.
For a unique festive appearance, garnish it with Easter sprinkles or your favorite Easter candies.
Ingredients
- 1 box (16 oz) white cake mix + ingredients called for on the box
- 2 boxes (3.5 oz each) instant cheesecake pudding mix
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip whipped topping
- Easter sprinkles
- gel food coloring in pink, purple, yellow, and light blue
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Divide the cake mix evenly into four separate bowls. Use gel food coloring in pink, purple, yellow, and light blue to tint the bowls of cake batter. Stir until each color is consistently distributed.
- Working quickly, spoon each color of cake batter into the greased baking dish. Continue spooning the batter into the dish until all batter has been added. Use a toothpick to slightly swirl the colors. Bake for 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes then use the handle end of a wooden spoon to poke holes about 1 1/2 inches apart all across the cake, poking about 3/4 of the way through the cake. Cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and both boxes of pudding mix until the mixture is just slightly thickened. Pour pudding over the cool cake. Spread the remaining pudding over the top of the cake.
- Refrigerate 20 minutes until pudding sets completely. Top with Cool Whip. Garnish with Easter sprinkles or candies.
Notes
This cake can be made in advance. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
If using hard confetti sprinkles or hard candies, the candies will soften if you refrigerate the cake overnight before serving.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 265Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 589mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 1gSugar: 38gProtein: 4g
Nutrition Information Provided For Educational and Informational Purposes Only.
Check out these other fantastic recipes from GraceLikeRainBlog.com.
Don’t Miss These Other Cake Recipes
-
Snow White Doll Dress Cake
This Snow White Doll Dress Cake will be the highlight of your little girl’s birthday party with its brightly colored dress made with buttercream frosting rosettes. We’re sharing all the keys to success so that you can make this easy Snow White cake at home for your little princess. This 5-layer doll dress cake is …
-
Kit Kat Cake
A Kit Kat Cake is a fun and colorful cake that is perfect for a birthday or any special occasion. The secret to a great Kit Kat Cake is covering the cake with a thick chocolate frosting that will hold the Kat Kats onto the side of the cake without any ribbons for support. This …
-
Hummingbird Cake
Hummingbird Cake is a classic Southern Living recipe that has been loved for generations. This Jamaican creation is a tender banana pineapple spice cake with thick and tangy cream cheese frosting. Top it off with a ring of toasted pecan halves for a pretty finish. Hummingbird Cake is a crowd-pleasing cake that is like a …