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You Asked For It

Take a stab: Make some poke cakes

By ELLEN FOLKMAN
Published December 14, 2005

Robin May wanted a recipe for poke cake, something she remembers from her childhood. Many readers also enjoy it. There are many variations, and most recipes mention that any flavor of Jell-O can be used. Reader favorites include raspberry, strawberry and orange. Barbara Leary and Donna Ohlerking enjoy luscious lemon poke cake, and Barbara sends a recipe for fluffy lemon pudding frosting.

Julie Lozano, Bev Jester, Jocelyn Zimmet and Gail Kunkel share the recipe for Christmas rainbow poke cake, which uses two flavors of Jell-O. Cynthia Shea shares two variations: The first is a pudding poke cake and the second, a bit fancier, a cherry-almond poke cake.

For: Robin May of Crystal Beach

From: Barbara Leary of Ruskin and Donna Ohlerking of New Port Richey

Recipe: Luscious Lemon Poke Cake

2 baked 8- or 9-inch round, white cake layers, cooled completely

2 cups boiling water

1 package (8 ounce) or 2 packages (4 ounce) Jell-O lemon flavor gelatin dessert

1 tub (8- or 12-ounce) tub whipped topping

Lemon Pudding Frosting:

1 cup cold milk

1 4-ounce package Jell-O lemon instant pudding and pie filling

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

1 8-ounce tub of whipped topping

To make, place cake layers, top side up, in 2 clean 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. Pierce cake with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.

Stir boiling water into gelatin in medium bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Carefully pour 1 cup of the gelatin over 1 cake layer. Pour remaining gelatin over second layer. Refrigerate 3 hours.

Dip one cake pan in warm water 10 seconds. Unmold onto serving plate. Spread with about 1 cup of whipped topping. Unmold second cake layer; carefully place on first cake layer. Frost top and sides with remaining whipped topping. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Can also be frosted with fluffy lemon pudding frosting.

To make frosting, pour cold milk into large bowl. Add lemon instant pudding mix and confectioner's sugar. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes. Stir in whipped topping that has been thawed. Frost as you would a two-layer cake.

For: Robin May of Crystal Beach

From: Susan Namath of Palm Harbor, Jeanne Alvarez of St. Petersburg, L.G. DuPont of Ocala, Janet Amos of Dunnellon, Brenda Helton of Seminole, Carmela Kiely of Clearwater, Maggie Phillips of Hernando, Susan Walsh of Treasure Island and many others

Recipe: Jell-O Poke Cake

1 two-layer white or yellow cake mixed, baked and cooled

1 cup boiling water

1 4-ounce package Jell-O gelatin, any flavor

1/2 cup cold water

Thawed whipped topping

Place cake layers, top side up, in 2 clean 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. Pierce cake with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add cold water and spoon over cake layers. Chill 4 hours. Dip one pan into warm water for 10 seconds. Unmold onto serving platter. Frost with thawed whipped topping. Unmold second layer; place on first layer. Frost with remaining thawed whipped topping. Refrigerate.

For: Robin May of Crystal Beach

From: Julie Lozano of Palm Harbor, Bev Jester of St. Petersburg, Jocelyn Zimmet of Palm Harbor and Gail Kunkel of Dunnellon

Recipe: Christmas Rainbow Poke Cake

1 package white cake mix

1 small package of raspberry Jell-O

1 small package of lime Jell-O

2 cups boiling water

1 8-ounce container whipped topping, thawed

Prepare cake mix as directed on package. Pour batter in 2 round pans, 8- or 9-inch pans. Bake as directed; cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely. Place cake layers, top sides up, back in 2 clean pans; prick each layer with fork at 1/2-inch intervals. Pour 1 cup of the boiling water over raspberry Jell-O; stir until dissolved. Spoon raspberry Jell-O over 1 cake layer. Repeat with lime Jell-O and spoon over remaining cake layer. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Dip cake pan into warm water for 10 seconds. Invert onto plate, gently shaking to loosen. Remove pan; spread layer with 1 cup of whipped topping. Remove remaining layer from pan as above. Invert onto first layer. Frost with remaining topping. Refrigerate. Before serving, garnish with flattened gumdrops cut to resemble holly.

For: Robin May of Crystal Beach

From: Cynthia Shea of Spring Hill

Recipe: Pudding Poke Cake

1 cake mix, any flavor

2 packages (4 ounces each) Jell-O instant pudding, any flavor

1 cup confectioner's sugar

4 cups cold milk

Prepare cake mix as directed on package, baking in a 9- by 13-inch inch pan. Remove from oven. Poke holes at once, down through the cake to the pan, with the round handle of a wooden spoon. Holes should be 1 inch apart. Only after poking holes, combine pudding mix with sugar in large bowl. Gradually stir in milk. Then beat at low speed for not more than 1 minute. (Do not overbeat.) Quickly, before pudding thickens, pour half of thin pudding evenly over warm cake and into the holes to make stripes.

Allow the remaining pudding to thicken slightly; then spoon over the top of the cake, swirling to "frost" the cake. Chill at least 1 hour.

For: Robin May of Crystal Beach

From: Cynthia Shea of Spring Hill

Recipe: Cherry-Almond Poke Cake

1 18.5-ounce white cake mix with pudding

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup boiling water

1 3-ounce package of cherry Jell-O

1/2 cup cold water

Frosting:

2 teaspoons cherry Jell-O

1 cup boiling water

2 cups heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks, or 1 (12-ounce) container of whipped topping, thawed

Maraschino cherries for garnish

Slivered almonds for garnish

Grease 2 8- or 9-inch round cake pans and set aside. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Beat in the almond extract. Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake according to package directions.

Remove the cake layers from the oven and let cool in the pans on a rack for 15 minutes. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the boiling water with Jell-O and continue stirring until dissolved, about 2 minutes. Stir in the cold water. Place the cake layers, top side up, in 2 clean cake pans. Pierce the cake with a fork at 1/2-inch intervals. Carefully pour half the gelatin mixture over each cake layer. Cover and refrigerate 3 hours.

To make frosting, in a small bowl stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water until dissolved, about 2 minutes. Chill until slightly thickened, about 1 hour. In a large bowl, blend chilled gelatin mixture with the whipped cream until well combined.

To assemble cake, dip one cake pan into warm water for 10 seconds, then unmold the cake onto a serving plate and turn right side up. Spread the top of the cake with 1 cup of the cream mixture. Unmold the second layer and carefully place on top of the first. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining whipped cream. Garnish with maraschino cherries and almonds. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

[Last modified December 13, 2005, 10:11:05]