11 Poke Cakes You Need In Your Life

In search of an easy-to-assemble cake recipe that's also filled (literally) with rich flavor? Look no further than the poke cake.

In search of an easy-to-assemble cake recipe that's also filled (literally) with rich flavor? Look no further than the poke cake.

This old-school dessert first became popular in the 1970s as an attempt by Jell-O to up the sales of its products. (Read more about the history of the poke cake.)

The process is simple: First bake a sheet cake (the traditional cake color was white), poke holes in it, and pour the Jell-O flavor of choice over it to create a colorful, crowd-pleasing dessert.

As shown by our overview of 50 years of Southern recipes, the 1970s inspired many unique but delicious culinary creations. Today, poke cakes are seeing a resurgence of popularity.

Choose Jell-O as your filling, or try sweetened condensed milk, pureed fruit, flavored syrup, and more. If you're short on time, you can swap the made-from-scratch cake with a box mix for an equally as delicious product.

Poke cakes are ideal for serving a crowd, so try these different recipes for treating guests at occasions all year round.

Banana Pudding Poke Cake

Homemade vanilla pudding makes this cake soft, moist, and flavorful. To save time, instant vanilla pudding works just as well in this recipe. We recommend chilling the cake in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.

Chocolate Poke Cake

Instant chocolate pudding turns this chocolate cake into a scoopable, intensely chocolatey dessert.

Lemon-Lime Poke Cake

Citrus-spiked sweetened condensed milk and buttermilk add a double-dose of moisture and tang to plain white cake.

Strawberry Poke Cake

This cake is a store-bought wonder. It uses cake mix, Jell-O, and frozen whipped topping for an extra effortless dessert.

St. Patrick's Day Poke Cake

Lime Jell-O is the perfect color for a St. Patty's dessert and is quite tasty soaked into white cake.

Red, White, and Blue Poke Cake

Unlike most poke cakes, this one uses a two homemade fillings made from fresh berries to add color and flavor to the sponge.

Cheerwine Poke Cake

Infuse a sheet cake with the flavor of one of the South's favorite sodas. And don't forget the cherries on top!

Nehi Orange Poke Cake

A mix of Nehi soda and fresh citrus juice creates a sweet and tart soak for a sour cream-infused sheet cake in this refreshing recipe.

Triple-Coconut Poke Snack Cake

If you're going to make a coconut cake, you might as well go all in. Coconut milk, sweetened condensed coconut milk, and coconut chips ensure this cake is full of coconut flavor as advertised.

Key Lime Sheet Cake

Lime juice and lime Jell-O are combined for a balanced dessert with tons of fresh and artificial fruit flavor.

Tres Leches Cake

While we wouldn't call this a traditional poke cake, it uses the same principle to infuse the sponge with the flavor of three different kinds of milk.

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Read the original article on Southern Living.