Fresh Strawberry Poke Cake

This Fresh Strawberry Poke Cake is light, refreshing and bursting with fresh strawberry flavor.  It’s an easy dessert that’s always a crowd favorite.

Why This Strawberry Poke Cake Works

This easy Strawberry Poke Cake makes you dream of warm summer breezes and fun family get togethers. Every spring we head to our local strawberry farm and stock up on all of the fresh strawberries we can carry. I use them to make jam, pies, Strawberry Salsa and this Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing.

This Strawberry Cake recipe works so well because it is easy. It starts with a box cake mix! But you would NEVER  know it because adding all the fresh ingredients give it that homemade taste that always impresses and it tastes incredible.

How to Make Fresh Strawberry Poke Cake – Step by Step

This strawberry cake takes only a few ingredients and comes together really fast so you can make it in a jiffy.

• Step One: First, preheat oven to 350 ºF. Then grease and flour a 13×9-inch pan. Next, prepare the cake following the package instructions. (Photo 1 below)
• Step Two: Then, place the Cake batter in the pan and bake following the package directions. (Photo 2 below)
• Step Three: Once the cake has completely cooled. Then poke holes in the cake roughly one inch apart with the back of a wooden spoon or drinking straw. (Photo 3 below)

•  Step One: Meanwhile, in a food processor, place the thawed strawberries.(Photo 1 below)
•  Step Two:  The next step is to puree strawberries until they are smooth. (Photo 2 below)
• Step Three: Spoon the pureed strawberry mixture over the make, allowing it to soak into the holes.(Photo 3 below)

• Step One: Finally, for topping, prepare pudding mix according to package directions using 1 cup milk.
  (Photo 1 below)
• Step Two: Place the whipped topping into pudding mixture. (Photo 2 below)
• Step Three: Next, fold whipped topping into pudding mixture.Spread over cake. Lastly, garnish with fresh strawberries.Refrigerate at least 4 hours.(Photo 3 below)

What is a Poke Cake?

A poke cake is a regular cake that you poke holes into after baking and then pour a liquid onto it and into the holes. It can be anything from puree, pudding, jello, syrup or even alcohol. Not only does it visually look appealing, but it also infuses extra flavor and moisture into each bite!

How Can I pick the Best Strawberries for this Fresh Strawberry Cake Recipe?

I hate getting strawberries and they are hard, tasteless and not ripe. In other words, not very tempting.
But it is easy to find the best fruit if you follow these tips to pick the best berries.

•  Look for the right color. Bright red and plump. Don’t worry about the size. If you see white at the top, it probably was picked before its prime.
• Buy local. Check your area for farmers markets, fruit stands or even pick our own farms.
• Use fruit that is in season. It will be fresher and wont be shipped in from far away.

Expert Tips for Making the Best Easy Strawberry Cake Recipe

This cake is amazing.  Nevertheless, there are ways to change it up if you like.

• Freeze Dried Fruit: Try chopping up pieces of Freeze Dried Strawberries and add them to the mix before baking, or grind them into a powder and add to the pudding layer to make this cake extra special.
• Use Different Fruit: This is a great recipe for any fruit cake. Use whatever is in season, Try adding Blueberries for a festive 4th of July cake.
• Add Chocolate: Dip some of the strawberries in chocolate and drizzle a little melted chocolate on top!
• Use Fresh: This cake recipe is great because it uses fresh strawberries and frozen strawberries. You can, however, swap out the frozen strawberries for an equal amount of fresh strawberries that have macerated in sugar for a little while.

Recommended Tools for Making this Fresh Strawberry Poke  Cake

• Cake Pan
• Strawberry Slicer
• Strawberry Huller
• Rubber Spatula <= MY FAVORITE!

More Recipes You Might Like

• Strawberry Amaretto Pastries
• Strawberry Pecan Quinoa Salad
• Balsamic Grilled Chicken with Strawberry Salsa
• Strawberry Chiffon Pie
• Chocolate Covered Strawberry Pie

Looking for more? Check out all of the Fresh Strawberry Desserts on It Is a Keeper.

Recipes You May Have Missed

• Best Sloppy Joe
• Green Goddess Dressing
•  2 Ingredient Smoothie
• Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

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4.2 from 5 votes

Fresh Strawberry Poke Cake

This Fresh Strawberry Poke Cake is light, refreshing and bursting with fresh strawberry flavor.  It's always a crowd favorite.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Chill Time4 hrs

Total Time45 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake, poke cake, strawberry

Servings: 12

Calories: 212kcal

Author: Christina Hitchcock

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 box Strawberry Cake Mix
• 10 ounces frozen sliced strawberries - thawed

Topping

• 1 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding
• 1 cup milk
• 3 cups frozen non-dairy whipped topping
• Fresh strawberries

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 ºF. Grease and flour 13x9-inch pan.
• For cake, prepare, bake and cool according to package directions.
• Poke holes 1 inch apart in top of cake using handle from wooden spoon (or a drinking straw).
• Puree thawed strawberries in blender.
• Spoon evenly over top of cake allowing mixture to soak into holes.
• For topping, prepare pudding mix according to package directions using 1 cup milk.
• Fold whipped topping into pudding mixture.
• Spread over cake.
• Garnish with fresh strawberries.
• Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Notes

This cake is amazing. Nevertheless, there are ways to change it up if you like.

Freeze Dried Fruit: Try chopping up pieces of Freeze Dried Strawberries and add them to the mix before baking, or grind them into a powder and add to the pudding layer to make this cake extra special.
Use Different Fruit: This is a great recipe for any fruit cake. Use whatever is in season, Try adding Blueberries for a festive 4th of July cake.
Add Chocolate: Dip some of the strawberries in chocolate and drizzle a little melted chocolate on top!
Use Fresh: This cake recipe is great because it uses fresh strawberries and frozen strawberries. You can, however, swap out the frozen strawberries for an equal amount of fresh strawberries that have macerated in sugar for a little while.

Nutrition

Calories: 212kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 265mg | Potassium: 81mg | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 13.9mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 0.7mg

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• Want to scale a recipe up or down? Simply type in a new serving amount and the recipe will automatically adjust! 
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• The nutritional information provided in this recipe is an estimate.  Learn more on how I calculate nutritional information for my recipes.