This Strawberry JELLO Poke Cake recipe is one of those old fashioned vintage recipes that will never go out of style.
Fun to make and impressive to serve for any occasion.
A dessert recipe that will have everyone excited to bite into a piece of strawberry flavored cake smothered in a layer of Cool Whip frosting.
If you poke around on my site you will see how much I love old vintage recipes.
I even have a Vintage Recipe Project where I remake old family recipes from my collection of recipe cards and cookbooks that my mother-in-law has passed down to me.
We all have recipes that bring back fond childhood memories. Jello played a big part in my childhood.
I can remember how excited I would get when my mom made Jell-O. Sometimes it would be plain Jell-O and whipped cream.
Other times it might be a beautiful jello dessert with fruit cocktail mixed in and I would dig around in my bowl hoping I got a cherry half.
What a disappointment it was when there was no cherry to be found in my bowl!
What fun Jell-O dessert did you eat as a child?
Ingredients
- 1 box of white cake mix or your favorite homemade white cake recipe
- ingredients to make cake
- 2 - 3 oz. boxes of Strawberry Jello
- 2½ cups of water, divided
- 1 tub Vanilla Kraft Cool Whip Frosting
Poke Cake Directions
- Bake the white cake mix as directed in 2 eight inch round cake pans.
- Cool for 1 hour.
- Using a wooden spoon poke holes all around the top of each of the cakes.
Jell-O Filling
- After the cake has cooled boil 2 cups of water.
- Stir in the two boxes of jello.
- Stir until Jello has dissolved.
- Add the remaining ½ cup of cold water and stir.
- Pour the jello over the cooled cake.
- Chill at least 3 hours or overnight.
Frosting the cake
- Frost the poke cake with Vanilla Cool Whip Frosting or vanilla cake frosting.
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Strawberry Jello Poke Cake
Ingredients
Ingredients to make boxed white cake
- 4 whole egg whites
- 1 box Pillsbury Cake Mix Moist Supreme Classic White cake mix (or your favorite homemade white cake recipe)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cups water
Ingredients needed to make JELLO Poke Cake
- 2 3 oz. boxes of Strawberry Jello
- 2 ½ cups water (divided)
Ingredients to make Cool Whip Frosting
- 1 cup Cool Whip
- 16 oz. can Vanilla frosting
Instructions
Make the Cake
- Make the cake mix as directed on the box.
- Bake in two 8 inch round cake pans following the directions on the box.
- Cool for 1 hour.
- Using the handle of a wooden spoon poke holes all around the top of the cake.
Jello Portion of recipe
- After the cake has cooled boil 2 cups of water.
- Stir in the two boxes of jello.
- Stir until Jello has disolved.
- Add the remaining ½ cup of cold water and stir.
- Pour the jello over the cooled cake.
- Chill at least 3 hours or overnight.
Cool Whip Frosting
- Scoop the can of frosting into a bowl.
- Add the Cool Whip to the bowl and whisk or mix together until combined.
Frosting the cake
- Unmold one cake layer and place it on a plate or cake stand.
- Spread a thick layer of frosting over the top of the cake.
- Unmold the second cake layer and place it on top of the bottom cake layer on the plate.
- Spread a thick layer of frosting over the top of the cake and on the sides of the cake.
- Chill the cake until ready to serve.
- Cut the cake and serve.
- 10 to 12 servings.
Recipe Expert Tips
- Nutritional values do not include the boxed cake mix.
Nutrition
Alaiyo Kiasi
What a beautiful cake! A stunner. As a child, I loved jello squares.
Flour On My Face
Alaiyo
Thank you. Jello is such a fun dessert when we were kids.
TheNinjaBaker
Your Jello Poke Cake recipe is a keeper! Thank you for sharing this gem.
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen
That´s such a pretty cake, and fun to make! It is a great recipe to make with kids. Great idea for a party!
Flour On My Face
Paula thank you. It would be great for a kid party.
Jenne
Very pretty! I like to use whipping cream and powdered sugar for ice cream cakes just like cool whip basically. I didn't know they have the new product out.
Flour On My Face
Jenne thank you. You have got to try the new Cool Whip frosting. It is so good.
Karen Hartzell (@InTheKitchenKP)
7 days on South Beach with no sweets and I was fine until I saw this cake! Holy flashback batman! The thought of that gooey jell-o soaked bottom of the cake is making me twitch. lol Gorgeous photos!
Flour On My Face
Karen thank you so much! Your comment cracked me up. Good luck with the diet.
Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
I have never made a poke cake before. Looks so pretty with the different colors!
Sarah
Oh, this just brought back so many memories of the Corn Roast our school used to hold. Good times! I always liked the lemon/cherry one
BusyWorkingMama
The presentation is just to die for. Love the white frosting on the colorful interior!
Flour On My Face
Thanks so much for visiting!
Katie
Yum! Your cake is such a gorgeous pink color...it would be perfect for Valentine's Day!!!
Flour On My Face
Katie
Thank you!
Tara
I made this in the summer for the first time and it was a huge hit for Canada Day. Your cake looks divine!!
Flour On My Face
Tara
Thanks so much. It does taste so good!
Jen @JuanitasCocina
I STILL make this during the summer for 4th of July...every year! So classic and so good!
Heather@girlichef
I don't know if I should admit it, but I STILL love Jello Poke Cake! This totally takes me back...but it's much taller and prettier than the 9x13's of my childhood... 😉
Renee - Kudos Kitchen
You brought back a flood of memories to me with you jello poke cake! Love your pictures too. Very retro looking1 Well done 🙂
Flour On My Face
Thank you Renee.
Nicole @ The Daily Dish
Such a fun retro recipe. My kids and I still make this all the time, because well - I just don't think it's ever going to stop being a fun cake for kids (and adults... I will admit).
Yours looks delicious!
Flour On My Face
Thank you Nicole. Anything with Jello is fun for the kids. My grand daughter loved it.
Sherron@SimplyGourmet
I remember jello poke cakes. I had a friend and her Mom always made them. I could never get my Mom to try them though. When I had sleepovers at this friends home we would try and convince her Mom that this cake was necessary. Some times it worked and some times it did not. Thanks for reintroducing a childhood favorite back into my line up recipes to make this year.
Flour On My Face
Sherron
You're welcome. Sounds like your friend had one of those moms everyone loved to visit!
Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb
Such a gorgeous looking cake, the pink/red shades are to die for. The recipe sounds easy when using cake mix. Unfortunately we don't get cake mixes here. Thanks for sharing!
Flour On My Face
Helene
A homemade cake mix would work great! Thanks for stopping by!