For almost fifty years, we've been enjoying jello poke cakes! What could be a better Valentine cake than this pretty red and white cake with festive red sprinkles on top? Fluffy white cake poked with red jello (we picked cherry this time) is topped with creamy whipped topping and garnished for the holiday.
General Foods Kitchens are the makers of Jell-O. It is a grocery item so universally popular that the term "jello" became a generic household name for all gelatin dessert mixes, much like "kleenex" became the common name for all kinds of tissues we use to wipe our noses!
General Foods Kitchens are powerful and clever marketers, always inventing new recipes to sell more of their products! This recipe for jello poke cake was created in the late 1970s to sell more Jell-O, and their Pillsbury and Betty Crocker cake mixes. It was introduced to the public in 1976!
A jello poke cake is easy and quick to make. It begins with a white cake mix made according to the directions on the box. For the whitest cake, use the "egg whites only" instructions. Save the yolks to make a yummy homemade vanilla pudding, or add them to your next batch of scrambled eggs!
Mix a 3-ounce box of your favorite red jello with a cup of boiling water. When the jello is completely dissolved, add 1/2 cup of cold water.
When the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes in it with the round handle of a wooden spoon. If you don't have a wooden spoon with a round handle, use a fork to poke holes all over the warm cake.
Next, pour the jello mixture all over the cake; slowly and carefully, pour some into the holes or craters! Make sure you cover the entire cake with jello. The cake will look bright red on top, but never fear; it's still pretty and white inside!
Now chill the cake in the refrigerator until it is completely cool, and the jello is set. Plan on about an hour in the fridge.
Top the cake with a full 8-ounce tub of whipped topping and sprinkles to make it pretty and festive. As usual, I went overboard with the garnish, adding sprinkles and red sanding sugar!
This cake is tasty, light, and refreshing. It keeps well in the refrigerator and cuts into twelve to fifteen nice servings. Everyone seems to love this easy, tasty dessert. Of course, changing the flavors and colors of the jello is simple, making it perfect for any season!
Strawberry or raspberry jello works great, too. If you decide on strawberry jello, you can easily garnish this dessert with fresh strawberries and really "bougie it up!"
To make heart-shaped strawberries, cut a v-shape in the top of the berry as you remove the hull, then split them in half lengthwise like I did to garnish this jelly roll! (Recipe coming soon!)
When you cut into the cake, you see pretty tunnels of red jello, which make it not only pretty but also tender and moist. This is a light dessert, and you can shave even more calories off using sugar-free jello and light or sugar-free Cool Whip.
The possibilities are almost endless! For example, you could use orange jello in a yellow cake for fall, cherry and lime for a Christmas poke cake, or berry blue and strawberry for a Fourth of July poke cake!
It's so much fun to do little things to celebrate the holidays any time of the year, especially when we have kids at home. But remember, we are really all kids at heart! 💘
This dessert is easy to make, keeps well in the refrigerator, and is a pretty and light dessert perfect for the holiday!
** Use the "egg whites" only directions on the boxed cake mix for the whitest white cake.
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Love GB (Betty Streff)
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