My First Poke Cake: Orange Poke Cake

I've been seeing Poke Cake recipes for quite some time now. I never considered making one because, well, why would I want to bake a cake, poke it, pour something over it, and then put Cool Whip on top of it? It just didn't make sense for me to destroy a perfectly good cake. And I prefer real frosting any day (like cream cheese frosting or buttercream).

 

There are all sorts of poke cakes out there... Creamsicle, Strawberry Cheesecake, Lemon, Snickers, etc. and you can really make any kind of poke cake that you can think of and I'm sure it would turn out just fine. All poke cakes start the same way: you bake a cake and poke it with the end of a wooden spoon while it's still hot. Then, you immediately pour your mixture over it (either the sweetened condensed milk as-is or something mixed with it). Once it cools, you pour Cool Whip over top of it. You can use the Cool Whip as-is, or you can add in a packet of pudding/Jello mix for flavor. From there you can add whatever toppings you like: candy, syrups, fruit, etc. I've read that Poke Cakes are really popular at potluck dinners and fundraisers because they're so easy to make.

 

Well, a while back, I accidentally bought sweetened condensed milk at the grocery store in place of evaporated milk... oops! It sat on my shelf for months just staring at me, so I decided to give this poke cake thing a go.

 

 

I wanted to keep my Poke Cake super simple. I love practically anything orange flavored, so I started with an Orange Supreme cake mix from Duncan Hines.



 

Once the cake was baked, I immediately poked it with a wooden spoon. The goal here is to poke the cake while it is hot and to poke the crap out of the cake. The condensed milk will be absorbed much better with a cake straight out of the oven!

 

 

Once I poked it pretty good, I poured a can of sweetened condensed milk over the cake. I aimed for the holes, but some of it ran off onto the edges (which are going to taste great!). I never had any idea of how amazing sweetened condensed milk tastes; I could probably eat it with a spoon... just sayin'

 

 

Once the cake cooled off, I topped it with Cool-Whip and I stored it in the refrigerator until it was ready to be served. I was pleasantly surprised with the results; it was very light and even refreshing! This cake only got better as the time passed and the different flavors have had time to meld together!



Have you ever made or eaten a Poke Cake? If so, what's your favorite kind?