Poke Cake

So an old friend, one who knows too many secrets and is liable to start spilling the beans, has asked once again for my poke cake recipe. So Masked Marauder, this one is for you.

This recipe is not really mine, but one my husband shared with me many moons ago. Way back in the days of our loooooooooong courtship. I think he was trying to impress me, it worked. This was pre-conversion for me, so no silly jokes about being Mormon and jello! Poke Cake is a nice refreshing cake, perfect for a hot summer evening or even a chilly winter evening.

You will need to gather:

• 1 White Cake Mix, WHITE, not yellow but WHITE, it's a texture thing
• Ingredients to make the cake
• 1 - small** package of your favorite flavor of Jell-O, we like it with lime jello and I have never tried another flavor. I dream about it, but I am too chicken, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Feel free to experiment
• 1 8oz. tub of Cool Whip **DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT be tempted to use whipping cream and make your own....it is not pretty, just use the cool whip**
• 1 package of instant vanilla pudding
• Milk to make the pudding
  
• green food coloring

**The night I made this cake I used the bigger size box of Jell-O....big mistake, the texture of the cake was off. The taste was good, but the texture was way wrong. If all you have is a large box of jello, use only half on the cake and use the other half to make another salad or dessert.

Mix and bake the cake in an 11x13 pan as instructed on the box. While the cake is baking prepare the jello as instructed on the box, do not use the quick set directions. Put the jello in the refrigerator.

When the cake comes out of the oven, let it cool for about 30 minutes. Then take either a straw or the handle of a wooden spoon (if it is the about the same diameter of a straw) and poke holes into the cake.

You want to put plenty of holes into the cake, but not so many that it just crumbles. It is up to you whether you poke each hole to the bottom of the pan or if you do varying depths.

Take your jello out of the refrigerator and pour it onto the cake, all over the cake. (Masked Marauder, here is where I have gone wrong. How long have Phillip and I been together? Almost 17 years, and just tonight he told me that I have been making it wrong all these years! I had been setting aside about 1/2 cup of the jello for the frosting...guess you aren't "supposed" to do that. Thanks for letting me know sweetheart!)


Mix the pudding as instructed on the package. Since Miss M is still drinking whole milk we mix ours with about 1 1/2 cups whole milk and 1/2 cup skim milk. But do it how you do it in your kitchen for your family. Place the pudding in the refrigerator to let it set up. I mix my pudding in a bigger bowl than necessary to make it easier to add the Cool Whip. Fold the Cool Whip into the pudding. Notice I said fold, you don't want to beat all the air out of your whipped topping. Once the pudding and Cool Whip are folded nicely together add a few drops of the green food coloring. We are looking for a soft green not Chernobyl (nuclear) green. If your cake has not completely cooled by this point, put the frosting in the refrigerator until the cake is cool. Once the cake has cooled completely, frost it with your pretty soft green frosting.

This cake needs to chill in the refrigertar until the jello has had time to set up before you eat it. My rule of thumb is to make it the night before or at the very latest the early morning of the day you need it.

Store any uneaten cake in the refrigerator...as if there would be any left! HA

Once we cut into the cake tomorrow night, I will post pictures of what it looks like on the inside.

Enjoy