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A thick slice of rainbow poke cake served on a plate.

Rainbow Poke Cake

Arlene Mobley - Flour On My Face
Indulge in the magic of colors with a Rainbow JELLO Poke Cake! Perfect for birthday celebrations, Easter festivities, and any holiday that needs a splash of joy. This Colorful Dessert is a delightful treat for all Dessert Enthusiasts and Holiday Party Hosts. Make your celebration a hit with this vibrant, festive Rainbow JELLO Poke Cake.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Chilling 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 50 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 Servings
Calories 385 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients  

Rainbow Poke Cake Ingredients

  • 1 box white cake mix
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 3 large egg whites or 3 whole eggs
  • 3 oz, box grape JELL-O
  • 3 oz. box blue JELL-O
  • 3 oz. box lime JELL-O
  • 3 oz. box lemon JELL-O
  • 3 oz. box orange JELL-O
  • 3 oz. box cherry JELL-O
  • 7 ½ cups water

Rainbow Frosting Ingredients

  • 16 oz. Cool Whip Topping (if making a 9x13 cake use half the amount of Cool Whip and 1 tub of frosting)
  • 2 tubs Vanilla Frosting (16 oz. each)
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Instructions 

Bake the cake

  • Line the cake pan with parchment paper to prevent the JELLO from pooling on the bottom of the cake.
  • Mix and bake the cake in a 9 x 13 baking pan or two 8-inch round layer cake pans following the directions on the box.
  • Cool the cake to room temperature.
  • Using 6 small mixing bowls pour each of the 6 boxes of JELLO powder into its own bowl.
  • Boil 6 cups of water. Pour 1 cup of boiling water into each bowl of the gelatin powder. Mix each flavor of JELLO until the powder dissolves completely.
  • Once dissolved pour ¼ cup of cold water into each bowl of the dissolved JELLO. Stir to combine.

Filling the Poke Cake

  • Use the handle of a wooden spoon or a thin wooden skewer to poke holes all over the top of the cake. For a round layer cake poke the holes in a circular pattern on both of the layer cakes.
  • Starting with the dissolved grape JELLO pour it into the center holes on each cake. Follow with the other flavors in this order-Blue, Lime, Lemon, Orange and Cherry. Leave a gap between each JELLO flavor so there are parts of uncolored cake and the JELLO flavors do not run together.
  • Cover the cake pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cakes so the JELLO sets up for about 3 hours before frosting the cake.

Frosting the 9 x 13 Sheet Cake

  • Once the JELLO had set up frost the cake. Coloring the frosting is optional.
  • Mix 8 oz. Cool Whip with one 16. oz. tub of vanilla or cream cheese frosting.
  • Spread the frosting over the top of the sheet cake. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  • The cake may be frosted using the white uncolored Cool Whip frosting or you can color the frosting rainbow colors. See directions below for rainbow frosting directions.

Optional Rainbow Frosting Layer Cake

  • For the 2 layer round cake: In a large mixing bowl using a wooden spoon mix 16 oz Cool Whip and 2 tubs of frosting.
  • First remove a small amount of the uncolored frosting to use as the filling for the layer cake.
  • Turn one of the layer cakes out onto a plate or cake stand. Be sure to remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the cake. Spread the uncolored frosting over the top of the cake for the filling.
  • Carefully turn out the second layer cake, remove the parchment paper and center the top layer cake over the cake layer on the plate or cake stand.
  • Divide the remaining frosting into 6 small bowls and color each portion with gel food coloring using the same colors of food dye as the JELLO. Purple, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red.
  • To achieve a swirl like rainbow pattern you will need to fill a large 16 inch icing bag fitted with a large star tip with all of the 6 colors of frosting.
  • Place the star tip down into the point of the icing bag. Using a large spoon or a silicone spatula hold the icing bag on an angle so the first frosting color does not fill the entire point of the bag. Spoon the first color in. Rotate the icing bag and drop the next color in. Repeat rotating and adding the next color until all colors are in the bag. Twist the top of the bag and secure it tightly with a rubber band.
  • Use a scissor to cut off the tip of the plastic icing bag.
  • Squeeze the frosting out in a swirl like circular pattern on the top and sides of the layer cakes. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve so the frosting doesn't get warm and start to run.
  • Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Recipe Expert Tips

  • 9x13 sheet cake will only need 8 oz. Cool Whip and one 16 oz tub of vanilla or cream cheese frosting.
  • 2 layer cake will use 16 oz. Cool Whip and two 16. oz tubs of frosting.
  • Coloring the frosting is optional.
  • The layer cakes are fragile. Use care when turning them out of the baking pans. It is best to turn out cold cakes which are more stable then room temperature cakes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 385kcalCarbohydrates: 76gProtein: 7gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 506mgPotassium: 81mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 58gVitamin A: 28IUCalcium: 123mgIron: 1mg
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