Cherry Poke Cake (Cool and So Refreshing!)

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This Cherry Poke Cake is a cool and refreshing dessert! So moist, delicious and versatile since you can choose your Jell-O flavor.

Cherry Poke Cake

What a fun cake! I just love a good poke cake. They always turn out so moist and yummy. One of my favorite things about a poke cake is it's so versatile. Especially a Jell-O Poke Cake. You can change the flavors by choosing your favorite Jell-O and pudding flavors and switch things up.

This lightened up cherry poke cake is slimmed down by using a diet soda, egg whites, sugar-free Jell-o and sugar-free pudding mix. It comes in at only 216 calories per serving but you'd never know this is a low cal dessert!

Let's get to it. 🙂

MENU TIP: This Cherry Poke Cake recipe is from week 7 of our low calorie menu planning made easy set! 

Cherry Poke Cake Ingredients:

• white cake mix
• diet lemon-lime soda
• egg whites
• sugar-free cherry Jell-O
• boiling water
• cold water
• skim milk
• sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
• light frozen whipped topping
• maraschino cherries

How to make Cherry Poke Cake:

Preheat the oven to the temperature indicated on your cake mix box directions and grease a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Using a hand mixer, beat the cake mix, a 10 oz lemon-lime soda and 2 egg whites for 2 minutes then pour into the prepared baking dish.

You'll want to decrease the cooking time on the cake mix box by 5 minutes.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Cool for 15 minutes then use a fork or toothpick to poke holes all over the cake about ½-inch apart. Kids love to help with this part!

Mix together a .3 oz package of Jell-O and 1 cup of boiling water until the powder is completely dissolved, then stir in 1/2 cup of cold water. Pour over the poked cake and refrigerate until the cake is completely cooled.

Once the cake is cooled, combine 1 1/2 cups of skim milk and a 1 oz package of sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix. Beat for 2-3 minutes until combined and thickened.

Next, fold in about half of an 8 ounce tub of light frozen whipped topping until smooth.

Spread the pudding mixture over the cake and garnish with maraschino cherries, if desired. Be sure to drain the cherries really well so they don't bleed on the cake.

Keep cake refrigerated.

Print Recipe

Slimmed Down Cherry Poke Cake

Servings: 12 people

Calories: 216kcal

Ingredients

• 15.25 oz white cake mix
• 10 iz diet lemon-lime soda
• 2 large egg whites
• .3 oz pkg sugar-free cherry Jell-o
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 1/2 cups cold skim milk
• 1 oz pkg sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
• 8 oz container light frozen whipped topping
• maraschino cherries

Instructions

• Preheat oven to cake mix box directions and spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Beat cake mix, soda and egg whites 2 minutes; pour into prepared pan.
• Decrease cooking time on box by 5 minutes. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of cake comes out clean.
• Cool the cake for 15 minutes then use a fork or toothpick to poke holes all over cake about ½-inch apart.
• Mix together Jell-O and boiling water until the powder is completely dissolved, then stir in cold water. Pour over poked cake. Refrigerate until cooled completely.
• Once cake is cooled, combine milk and instant pudding. Beat 2-3 minutes until combined and thickened. Fold in about half a container of lite frozen whipped topping until smooth and spread over cake.
• Garnish with maraschino cherries, if desired. Keep refrigerated.

Nutrition

Calories: 216kcal

Tips for making Poke Cake:

• Using the tip of a wooden spoon or a straw are both great ways to poke holes in your poke cake.
• It's best to poke the holes in the cake while the cake is still warm, because as it cools the top of the cake becomes more crust-like and the holes will make the cake crumble.
• Make sure the holes aren't too close together or too far apart. If they're too close together, your cake could turn out too moist; if they're too far apart, there may not be enough filling dispersed throughout the cake.
• When pouring whatever type of filling you're using into the holes, tap the pan a few times on the countertop to remove any air bubbles. This will make sure the sauce fills all the holes completely.
• As the filling starts to set, the holes you just filled may become visible again as the sauce sinks further in the holes. Go ahead and spoon a little more filling into the holes to fill them again.

Why do you poke holes in a poke cake?

Looking for more yummy meals? This recipe is from week seven of our low cal menu plans, including this meal + 59 other AMAZING recipes (and 12 desserts too)! You'll also get lifetime membership in our private Facebook group, full of other families encouraging one another to make dinner each night together too.

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A HUGE thank you to Tanya, Meredith and Misty in our PPP Supper Club Private Facebook Group for sharing her picture of the Cherry Poke Cake. We all love this one! Would you love to be part of our menu planning community? Order any of our menu plans from the Passionate Penny Pincher Shop and you'll get free lifetime membership. It's the happiest meal-plan-making-corner of the internet!