Easter Poke Cake is a fun, flavorful, and easy Easter dessert recipe. If you’re looking for the easiest, but also a show-stopping dessert to make, this is it! This festive Poke Cake requires just a cake mix, instant white chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and with a help of food coloring, it turns into a magical, bright, and fun Easter dessert. But it’s so delicious and cute looking, so nobody would ever know it! Adjusting the colors, you can transform this cake into a Rainbow or Unicorn Cake for a party. It will be super fun and a cute birthday cake, too.
White Chocolate Poke Cake
However, if you’re here, you must love poke cakes, too, right?!
I wanted to get a little creative for Easter and decided to whip up this fun and colorful Easter Poke Cake.
It’s made with white cake mix, white chocolate pudding, and homemade whipped cream.
Poke cakes are embarrassingly easy and give so many possibilities. You can mix and match whatever cake and pudding you like. If you’re not feeling the white chocolate, just use vanilla, cheesecake, or lemon pudding and you’ll have a delicious cake to your taste. Or basically anything your heart desires.
For a base I suggest white cake mix, so you can easily color the batter. However, you can use vanilla or lemon cake mix, as well.
How to make Poke Cake?
Prepare the cake mix according to the directions listed on the box. Next, divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and add a few drops of food coloring in each. Then using a teaspoon, make droops of the mixture in the bottom of greased 9×13 inches baking dish. When you finished it, tp the baking dish on the counter to flatten the surface. Using a toothpick, swirl the colors just a little. Bake as directed on the box.
When it is baked, and cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, poke the cake. Use the handle end of a wooden spoon or another similar object to poke holes all over the top of the cake, about an inch apart, then allow it to cool completely.
Add the filling: In a bowl, combine the white chocolate pudding and milk, whisking until the pudding is dissolved. Before the pudding sets completely, pour it over the cooled cake, trying to fill all the holes completely. Spread remaining on top and place in the fridge to set completely.
When the pudding is set and the cake is completely cooled, top the cake with whipped cream. I prefer to make homemade whipped cream, but if you are in a hurry, you can use storebought whipped topping.
Can I Make this Poke Cake Ahead of Time?
Absolutely! Poke cakes get even better as they sit, so they’re the perfect make-ahead dessert. The filled and frosted cake can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days before serving. Just do not add sprinkles ahead of time, because they could tint the whipped cream. You can garnish it with Easter egg candies, or Peeps if you desire.
However, if you’re looking for an easy, dessert to grace your dessert table, you need to make this Easter Poke Cake recipe!
PrintEaster Poke Cake
Prep Time: 20 minutes- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Category: dessert
Method: bake
Cuisine: American
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
Description
Easter Poke Cake is a fun, flavorful, and easy-to-make Easter dessert recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix
- ingredients listed on the box (eggs, water, oil)
- 2 (3.3 oz.) boxes instant white chocolate pudding
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar(or more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Food coloring (blue, green, pink, and yellow)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to a temperature specified on the box. Grease a 9×13 inches baking dish with baking spray and set aside.
- Prepare the cake mix according to the directions listed on the box.
- Next, divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and add a few drops of food coloring in each bowl, and stir well.
- Then using a spoon, make small droops of each mixture in the bottom of the baking dish. Drops will spread in greased dish so you should do this quickly. I suggest you to drop one color at the time leaving a few inches apart between the drops, then make the drops with second color, then the third, then the fourth, until you cover the bottom of the pan. Then drop another layer on top until use all the batter. Finally, tap the baking dish on the counter to flatten the surface, do not spread with the spatula to avoid mixing the colors. Using a toothpick, swirl the colors just a little bit. Do not over mix, you want the colors swirled not mixing together. Bake as directed on the box.
- When the cake is baked, and sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, poke the cake. Use the handle end of a wooden spoon poke holes all over the top of the cake, almost an inch apart, then allow it to cool completely.
- In a bowl, combine the white chocolate pudding and milk, whisking until the pudding is dissolved. Before the pudding sets completely, pour it over the cooled cake, trying to fill all the holes completely. Spread remaining pudding on top and place in the fridge to set completely.
- When the pudding is set and the cake is completely cooled, top the cake with whipped cream. Mix chilled heavy cream and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and mix until stiff peaks form. Spread over the pudding layer.
- Garnish with sprinkles before serving.
- Store in the fridge.
47 comments
What kind/brand of sprinkles did you use? I can’t find this particular combination and it is so darn cute.
I combined confetti and sprinkles.
Would cheesecake pudding be good in this cake? Can you use the sugar free puddings?
Is there a way to make this sugar free?
Why not take it a step farther and divide the pudding into four separate bowls and color it four different pastel colors.Walmart has Easter sprinkles.
sugar free cake mixes are on the grocery shelves, look for Pillsbury has a few choices
Granddaughter made this and was such a fun baking project! Thanks for the great recipe!!
You quote that we fallow the directions on the white cake mix but then you say to do all the mixing but how can you do that when you fallow the directions on the bo.
Yum I Will Try This Recipe Looks Fun/Delicious
Can you make this in 2 8inch layers?
I can’t wait to try these recipes when i get back home to Arizona!!
Going to make for family at Easter!! Hum, Hum
Going to try these cakes.
I’m wondering if this would work with cupcakes.
I’m going to make this wonderful cake!! Forget Easter!!!
What do you do with the powdered sugar ? It dose not say anything about it in the instructions.
It is step 7. Add it into heavy cream
Do you put the powdered sugar and heavy cream mixture on top of the whip ?
Homemade whipped cream(mixture of heavy cream and powdered sugar)
Can I use.jello instead of pudding just one color.?
Baking this cake now – found some really awesome Easter sprinkles at Walmart. Thanks so much for sharing a really pretty (and pretty tasting) recipe! 🙂
Thanks so much!
Can I use this exact recipe but put buttercream frosting instead of coolwhip?
Yes, of course, you can adjust it to your own taste.
Can I use chocolate pudding
Looks amazing thank you for sharing im gonna make one but I’m gonna try to make a sugarfree one.
Made this for Easter tomorrow. I used chocolate pudding on one side and vanilla on the other.
I was so excited to find a fun Easter cake, that I didn’t read about the pudding. 🤪 Will it taste good with Cool Whip on top, seeing how it will now just be a cake?
It’s cute!! I messed up the cooling/pudding timing, and honestly there’s WAY too much pudding. I made 2x 1 oz jello pudding mixes using 3 c milk and i feel like it could have used half the pudding.
That being said it was fun to make & is super cute!
can you make it the day before? even the whipped cream?
Can I put the whipped topping on the night before serving it?
You’d have to add alot of food colouring to get the rainbow colours shown in the photo. We thought we added alot, but once baked, the colours were barely distinguishable.
I’m confused. It saids after cake is cooled, spread whip cream on top, then mix heavy cream and van. until peaks form, add 10x sugar then spread over cake. So am I using cool whip plus the heavy whipping cream mixture both?
No. Use Cool Whip or make homemade whipped cream by mixing heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla. not both,
Can you use cooked pudding? I don’t like instant.
Yes you can use it just spread it warm before it sets.
Where do you find white chocolate pudding?
Can I use Vanilla pudding? We don’t have white chocolate pudding around here, I’ve looked everywhere!
Can I make this 2 day ahead of time?
You quote that we fallow the directions on the white cake mix but then you say to do all the mixing but how can you do that when you fallow the directions on the bo.
You mix the cake mix by following the directions on the box then you split into 4 bowls and add food coloring to each bowl.
i did it for a first communnion it was a success
Would vanilla pudding be ok instead? I wasn’t able to find white chocolate pudding
Hi Jennifer, it will be ok, too.
Could I use regular food coloring liquid found in a box of 4 or do I need to get the fancy Wilton type?
I just used the regular food coloring in a box of 4 and it worked out great, so I don’t think you need to get the Wilton type.
I am so excited to make this cake! It looks delicious! I am 14, almost 15, and I love to bake! Baking is one of my favorite things to do, so I am really excited to make this cake!