Strawberry Pudding Poke Cake
Strawberry Pudding Poke Cake is an easy dessert recipe made with strawberry cake mix, instant vanilla pudding, and Cool Whip! This pudding poke cake recipe takes 15 minutes of prep time and is a great make-ahead dessert.
Over New Years we went to the cabin for a bunch of skiing, relaxing, sauna-ing, and family time. Oh, and eating. Lots of eating! I always like to make a fun dessert when we are at the cabin and this time, it was called Death by Chocolate Pudding Poke Cake. Um, yeah. YUM! After finishing off the pan (it, sadly, didn't take long), I couldn't stop thinking about all of the different flavor varieties I could make of pudding poke cake. First up - Strawberry Pudding Poke Cake!
Looking for desserts with fresh strawberries? Check out my Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp and Strawberry Dump Cake!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Easy - only 15-20 minutes of total prep.
Minimal Ingredients - this recipe only requires four ingredients (plus the ingredients required to make the boxed cake mix)!
Crowd Pleaser - everyone loves this moist pudding poke cake!
Ingredients
Strawberry Cake Mix - The cake is simply a prepared boxed strawberry cake mix. In this recipe, I used strawberry cake mix for the strawberry flavor. You will likely need eggs, oil, and water to make the cake, but be sure to look at the specific brand instructions.
Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix - this is the pudding part of this pudding poke cake. Vanilla pudding adds a great neutral flavor and adds moisture to the cake texture. Be sure you grab instant pudding, not cook and serve!
Milk - the pudding mix is combined with milk before pouring it over the baked cake.
Cool Whip - I use Cool Whip for the frosting of this cake, which I love for ease and flavor.
Sprinkles - optional, but fun for decorating! You can use seasonal sprinkles like heart sprinkles for Valentine's Day or bunnies for Easter!
Variations
Homemade Cake - have a favorite homemade strawberry cake recipe that you love? You can definitely use that instead of a cake mix!
Strawberry Jello - many poke cake recipes use jello instead of pudding. Both are delicious, but I prefer the pudding. If you like strawberry jello, you can use that instead. Simply use 1 box of strawberry jello and combine it with 1 cup of boiling water. Pour it over the cake like directed to do with the pudding. Many times when people use strawberry jello, they use a white cake mix instead of strawberry.
Different Type of Cake Mix - not in the mood for strawberry? Check out my Lemon Poke Cake, Caramel Banana Poke Cake, and Pumpkin Poke Cake recipes! You could also do a variation with chocolate cake mix which I think would be incredible.
Different Pudding Mix - instead of vanilla instant pudding mixes, you can use cheesecake pudding, French vanilla pudding, or white chocolate pudding.
Homemade Whipped Cream - you can make homemade whipped cream to use instead of Cool Whip.
Step by Step Instructions
Photo 1. In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix along with the rest of the ingredients called for on the box. The one I used called for eggs, vegetable oil, and water.
Photo 2. Mix the cake batter until combined.
Photo 3. Grease a 9x13" baking dish with cooking spray and then pour batter into the dish.
Photo 4. Bake the cake according to package directions. Once the cake is baked, poke holes in the warm cake with the end of a wooden spoon. This will help the pudding soak into the cake.
Photo 5. In a large bowl, mix together one of the pudding mixes with 2 cups of the milk.
Photo 6. Immediately pour this milk and pudding mixture all over the cake. Note: it's important to do this immediately, before the pudding has time to set up. Otherwise it won't soak into the cake very well.
Photo 7. Mix together the remaining 2 cups of milk with the remaining pudding mix and wait a couple of minutes until it begins to set up.
Photo 8. Fold in the whipped topping.
Photo 9. Spread it all over the cake to ice the cake.
Photo 10. Lastly, decorate with sprinkles and/or fresh strawberries on the top of the cake and then refrigerate. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or a lid and chill. This pudding poke cake needs a couple of hours to chill and set up completely, so don't get too antsy. Once it sets up, cut into slices and enjoy!
It's safe to say, this pudding poke cake dessert was thoroughly enjoyed! The pudding mixture poked into the cake makes it super moist and also really flavorful. I loved the combination of the strawberry and vanilla flavors. I can't wait to dream up another pudding poke cake flavor combination!
Expert Tips
- Store leftover cake covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. After 2-3 days, the cake will get soggy from the pudding and Cool Whip.
- Feel free to use other flavors of cake mix and pudding.
- Work quickly after mixing together the pudding mix and milk so the pudding does not set up before you pour it over the milk.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. In fact, this cake is best made ahead of time, as it needs a couple of hours to chill and set up. You can make this cake up to one day in advance.
Definitely. I have made numerous combinations of pudding poke cakes including Pumpkin Pudding Poke Cake, and Caramel Banana Pudding Poke Cake. You could really use any time of cake mix combined with any type of pudding mix.
A poke cake is typically a cake that is baked in a baking dish and has holes poked in it to soak up jello or pudding that is poured over it before it has set. It creates a very moist and flavorful cake.
Due to the addition of pudding, I would not recommend freezing this cake.
Other dessert recipes to consider
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #greensnchocolate.
Strawberry Pudding Poke Cake
Ingredients
- 1 strawberry cake mix
- 4 cups milk
- 2 packages instant vanilla pudding (3.4 ounces each)
- 1 container Cool Whip thawed
- sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- Prepare the cake mix according to package directions.
- Once the cake is out of the oven, whisk together 2 cups of milk with one of the pudding mix in a bowl.
- Poke the warm cake with the end of a wooden spoon 30-40 times.
- Pour the pudding mix over the warm, poked cake.
- Cool the cake completely, about 1 hour.
- In a large bowl, whisk together remaining 2 cups of milk with pudding mix.
- Fold in Cool Whip. Spread over top of cake and decorate with sprinkles, if desired.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Notes
- Store leftover cake covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. After 2-3 days, the cake will get soggy from the pudding and Cool Whip.
- Feel free to use other flavors of cake mix and pudding.
- Work quickly after mixing together the pudding mix and milk so the pudding does not set up before you pour it over the milk.
Hello, I can't find where the poked cake should be cool before applying the whipped frosting. It's clear to poke the cake while still warm, but there's no mention of cooling the cake before frosting. Wouldn't the frosting melt on a warm cake? Shouldn't step 5. be cool cake before frosting? Common sense may dictate one cools a cake prior to frosting, but when writing a recipe, even the obvious must be stated. Thank you for a yummy sounding recipe. I look forward to trying it! I'll be cooling my cake before frosting 😉
That's a great point and I will add that step to the instructions! Thanks for pointing it out 🙂
Your Strawberry pudding polk cake had an error with directions. 2 cups of milk does not work with one box of pudding and the your instructions are to use the remaining milk with a second box of pudding. 2 cups of milk is too much to pour over the cake. Please correct. Maybe it was one cup of milk with each box of pudding.
This is not a mistake. I have made this cake numerous times using the written amount of milk.
Wow. So I just made this with my kids as dessert for Father's Day. It looks and smells incredible. So much fun to make. Your steps and measurements were super easy to follow. Thank you so much!