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My Favorite Strawberry Poke Cake

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Strawberry Poke Cake happens to be one of my new favorite cakes! Every hole in this cake is filled with creamy and decadent sweetened condensed milk and strawberry sauce! Then there’s a layer of whipped topping! It’s made with a cake mix, which means it’s super easy, and it’s best if it’s made ahead of time! #winning

pink strawberry poke cake with holes filled with sweetened condensed milk and topped with a layer of white whipped cream and sprinkled with white chocolate curls. Little Dairy on the Prairie
This cake is the PERFECT recipe for Valentine’s Day dessert!

Today has been a crazy day of being stuck in the office. I have no idea what I’ll come up with for a quick dinner idea. It has to be something easy…I’m looking at you Pizza Sliders or Microwave Beef Burritos! Who cares what we are having for dinner anyway, the important question is what are we having for dessert?

Easy Strawberry Poke Cake that’s what on tap for dessert and I couldn’t be more excited!

Usually, I’m a chocolate dessert only kind of girl. Let’s be honest for a minute if a dessert has fruit it should really be called breakfast! Please don’t judge me! This cake though, it’s so luscious it truly does count as dessert and a dang good one at that!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. How to video
  2. Ingredients
  3. Step By Step Instructions
  4. Pro Tips
  5. Fun Topping Ideas
  6. Printable Recipe and More Ideas

How to make poke cakes video

a can of sweetened condensed milk, a jar of strawberry sundae topping, and a cake mix
It’s easy to keep the ingredients for poke cakes on hand.

Strawberry Poke Cake Ingredients

  • Strawberry Cake Mix + Ingredients to Make It– any brand, if you don’t have a strawberry cake mix use vanilla or white cake mix. Chocolate cake mix would make a delicious Chocolate Strawberry Poke Cake! I use Duncan Hines or Pillsbury {affiliate link}
  • Sweetened Condensed Milk – be sure to use sweetened condensed milk and not evaporated milk. I used Eagle Brand
  • Strawberry Topping – find it near the ice cream toppings or from Amazon {affiliate link}. You can also use strawberry pie filling {affiliate link}
  • Heavy Whipping Cream – I’m a dairy farmer so I always use the real stuff. If you really need to you can use frozen whipped topping.
a graphic with four images showing step by step how to make a poke cake
Here’s the step by step instructions on how to make a poke cake.

How to make a strawberry poke cake

  1. Make and bake the cake in a 9 x 13 pan according to directions on the box.
  2. Mix sweetened condensed milk and strawberry topping together.
  3. While the cake is still warm, poke holes in about an inch apart with the end of a wooden spoon.
  4. Pour sweetened condensed milk mixture over the cake making sure it fills the holes as much as possible.
  5. Let the cake cool.
  6. Whip cream with sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped topping over cake.
  7. Garnish as desired.
  8. Refrigerate for 2 or more hours. My family likes this cake best the next day.
  9. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
a piece of strawberry cake with a bit on a fork, a fresh strawberry in the background
This dessert is even better the next day!

Tips for making and storing poke cakes

  • Poke cakes are best if they are made ahead of time! Yay! The sauce has time to do its thing and helps make the cake extra moist!
  • Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the top of the cake. Make sure the handle of the spoon is thick, at least 1/4 inch in diameter. I’m not exactly sure what happened to my wooden spoon so I use a plastic one. It works fine too. Just make sure it’s a fat one!
  • Poke holes in the cake while it’s still warm. Pour the sweetened condensed milk, Jello, or pudding over the cake while it’s still warm.
  • For sweetened condensed milk poke cakes, let the cake sit at room temperature while it continues to cool. The runny mixture will set up as it cools and if you put the cake in the fridge it will cool too quickly before the runny mixture has a chance to settle in all the little nooks and crannies. Jell-O poke cakes need to be refrigerated to set up properly.
  • Always use real whipped cream. That frozen stuff isn’t really cream! It’s worth the little extra effort in my opinion!
  • Keep leftovers in the refrigerator.
  • I’ve never tried freezing a poke cake. It’s so quick and easy to make I think it’s worth making fresh!
a 9 x 13 pan with baked cake topped with whipped cream and white chocolate curls
Let your imagination go crazy and top this cake however you want!

Toppings for poke cakes

If you want to customize your own poke cake here are some fun suggestions!

Topping

  • Whipped Cream – easy and delicious
  • Pudding – mix prepared pudding with whipped cream
  • Cream Cheese – for a cheesecake version mix 8 ounces softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and 2 cups whipped cream together

Garnishes

  • Chocolate curls – use a vegetable peeler to make curls, white or milk chocolate
  • Chocolate shavings – grate on the fine side of a cheese grater
  • Sprinkles – red, white, and blue for the 4th of July, heart-shaped sprinkles for Valentines Day, or red ones for Christmas
  • Fresh Fruit – fresh strawberries, raspberries, lemon slice, etc.
  • Chopped Nuts – match them to the flavor of your cake (almonds, pistachios, walnuts, peanuts, pecans)
  • Candy Pieces – toffee chips, mini candy-coated chocolate pieces, mini chocolate chips, chopped candy bars
  • Chopped Cookies – chocolate sandwich cookies, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, etc.
  • Dessert Sauce – drizzle chocolate hot fudge sauce, homemade raspberry sauce, or caramel sauce
A square of pink cake with holes poked in it, then filled with strawberry and cream filling, and topped with whipped cream layer.
This gorgeous cake is perfect for Valentine’s Day!

printable recipe for strawberry poke cake

Like I said earlier, who cares what’s for dinner. The important thing to know is what is for dessert! This tasty cake is a crowd-pleaser, perfect for a weeknight, or pretty much any time of the day or night! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!

Other Cake Mix Recipes

Easy Strawberry Recipes

Strawberry Poke Cake Recipe

This strawberry poke cake with sweetened condensed milk and fresh strawberries is a favorite old fashioned cake recipe! It’s so easy to make and always a hit!

A square of pink cake with holes poked in it, then filled with strawberry and cream filling, and topped with whipped cream layer.

Strawberry Poke Cake

Strawberry Poke Cake happens to be one of my new favorite cakes and definitely my new favorite version of strawberries and cream! This is the cake you are going to want to serve from Valentine’s Day all throughout the summer!
3.85 from 20 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cake Mix Poke Cake, Easy Poke Cake, Poke Cake with Sweetened Condensed Milk, Strawberry Cake, Strawberry Poke Cake
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 18
Calories: 214kcal
Author: Amy

Ingredients

  • 1 15.25 ounce strawberry cake mix Made according to package directions
  • 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk
  • 11.75 ounce strawberry topping (it’s by the ice cream toppings in the grocery store)
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 Tbsp sugar

Garnish

  • Sprinkles, chocolate curls, strawberries, etc.

Instructions

  • Make and bake the cake in a 9 x 13 pan according to directions on the box.
  • Mix sweetened condensed milk and strawberry topping together.
  • While cake is still warm, poke holes in it every inch with the end of a wooden spoon.
  • Pour sweetened condensed milk mixture over the cake making sure it fills the holes as much as possible.
  • Let the cake cool.
  • Whip cream with sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread whipped topping over cake.
  • Garnish as desired.
  • Refrigerate for 2 or more hours. My family likes this cake best the next day.
  • Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Calories: 214kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 42mg | Potassium: 111mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 451IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @littledairyontheprairie or tag #littledairyontheprairie!
an image of a serving of strawberry cake with a text overlay
a collage with images of strawberry poke cake
about amy

About Amy Engberson

I live on a dairy with my husband and three boys. Although we are in the business of raising cattle, we really are in the business of raising boys. I am passionate about catching up with each other at meal times. My love language is food. And I hope that my men feel the love in every bite. Read more...

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  8. Jessaca says

    Made this today for my sons 11th birthday (he asked for a strawberry cake). Only bad part of this particular recipe is, the prep time & cook time doesn’t state the 2-3 hour set time. So I seen that and thought we would be fine to start in a couple hours before the party. 🙁 I hope it still works out good. Followed recipe to a ‘T’ except the cool whip topping. I made a cool whip-cream cheese frosting instead. Thanks for the great recipe. Cant wait to taste it!

    Reply

    • Amy Engberson says

      Cream cheese frosting sounds like a great choice. And yes, it should still taste good even if it doesn’t sit quiet as long as the recipe states! Happy Birthday to your son!

      Reply

  9. Kimberly Koehler says

    I can’t wait to try it! I made this tonight and used the correct size portions but had a lot of excess sweetened condensed milk/strawberry mixture. Is this normal? Not sure if i did something wrong, and debated whether to use it all, thinking it may soak in. I used it, so we shall see. I’m sure it will be delicious either way!

    Reply

  10. Melissa Hurd says

    I apsolutely love anything strawberry. And I love cooking. But my passion is baking. Do u have a reciepe using homemade Carmel sauce made from sweetened condensed milk??? Stuffed cupcakes/ or a filling in a poke cake or a layered cake? Thank you and GOD BLESS U ALL

    Reply

  12. MW says

    Much better the second day. Mine came out nothing like the picture – the sweetened condensed milk and strawberry topping mixture was extremely thick and I actually had to push it into the holes. It just sat there. It sort of soaked in overnight but not as much as I thought it would. Still tasted good. Made me think of strawberry shortcake. I would be tempted to try either jam or preserves next time. One, I would like flavor better than the ice cream topping (might just be the brand used) and two, would like the chunks of fruit. Overall it was quite good and will attempt again.

    Reply

    • Amy Engberson says

      I’m glad it tasted yummy! I’m wondering if the brand of topping is making the difference. My sweetened condensed milk and strawberry ice cream topping was pretty thin and did have small chunks of fruit in it. I used Smuckers. Jam might be really sweet, but then again that’s not always a bad thing! 😉

      Reply

      • MW says

        I used Coldstone. Didn’t even taste like strawberry. Will not buy again. The store was out of Smuckers but will try to find. Cake was still good despite the issue. Will make again.

        Reply

        • Amy Engberson says

          I just bought a jar of Smuckers the other day and I’m planning on making this cake again and creating a vidoe of it so everyone can see exactly what it looks like!

          Reply

  22. M Muehleisen says

    5 stars
    This was a HUGE hit! My family loved it! My daughter asked me to make this again for her cheer Christmas party. It was super simple to make!

    Reply

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