Description
This Easter Poke Cake is a colorful and festive dessert perfect for spring celebrations. Made with a moist white cake base, instant vanilla pudding in pastel hues fills the holes poked into the cake, topped with whipped cream and dyed coconut ‘grass,’ and decorated with pastel candies or chocolate eggs. It’s an easy yet charming cake that brings a burst of color and flavor to your holiday table.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 1 box white cake mix (plus eggs, oil, and water as per box instructions)
Pudding Filling
- 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 2 cups cold milk
- Food coloring in pastel shades (pink, blue, yellow, purple)
Topping and Decoration
- 1 container whipped topping, thawed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- Pastel-colored candy melts or pastel sprinkles (about 1 cup)
- Jelly beans or mini chocolate eggs (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Cake: Preheat your oven according to the cake mix package directions and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish to prevent sticking.
- Bake the Cake: Prepare and bake the white cake following the package instructions. Once baked, allow the cake to cool for about 10 minutes to make it easier to poke holes without crumbling.
- Poke Holes in Cake: Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes evenly all over the surface of the warm cake, ensuring the holes are spaced to absorb the pudding filling well.
- Prepare and Color Pudding: In separate bowls, prepare the instant vanilla pudding with cold milk according to the package directions. Divide the pudding evenly into several portions and tint each with different pastel food coloring shades.
- Fill Holes with Pudding: Spoon the colored pudding mixtures into the holes all over the cake, gently spreading to fill each hole and create a colorful infusion throughout the cake.
- Chill Cake: Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour, letting the pudding set and saturate the cake for enhanced flavor and texture.
- Apply Whipped Topping: After chilling, spread the whipped topping evenly over the entire cake surface to create a creamy layer for decoration.
- Color and Sprinkle Coconut: Tint the shredded coconut green using a few drops of food coloring and then sprinkle it liberally over the whipped topping to simulate Easter grass.
- Decorate and Garnish: Finish by decorating the cake with pastel candy melts, sprinkles, jelly beans, or mini chocolate eggs for a festive Easter look before serving.
Notes
- For a different flavor twist, substitute the white cake mix with lemon or strawberry cake mix.
- Keep the cake refrigerated until just before serving to maintain the pudding’s texture and creaminess.
- This cake is best enjoyed within 2-3 days of preparation.
