With dazzling pops of red and blue cake tucked under a layer of colorful whipped topping and sprinkles, this Red, White & Blue Patriotic Poke Cake is an easy patriotic dessert that will be the star of the 4th of July!
Guys! Another holiday, another poke cake. If you haven't notice, I am sort of obsessed with poke cakes. They feed a crowd, can be made in about a bazillion different flavor combos and can be prepared a day or two in advance. Is that no-fuss food or what?! This red, white and blue version is the 7th variety of this almost fail-proof dessert and is just in time for all of your patriotic parties!
Red, White & Blue Cake
As you may have guessed, every good poke cake starts with a cake. The cake is the delicious sponge for the colorful Jell-0 🙂
This particular variation of a poke cake starts with a regular ol' white cake mix from a box. Feel free to bake your favorite cake from scratch. Either way, once the cake is completely cool, use the handle of a wooden spoon or a straw to poke holes allllllll over the surface of the cake.
Then, mix up a box of blue Jell-o and a box of red Jell-o. Remember to use ½ cup less cold water when preparing the Jell-o for a poke cake.
Now, use about ⅔ of each color of Jell-o to pour over the surface of the cake. (I made homemade Jell-o cups with the rest of the Jell-o.) For this poke cake, because I wanted distinct areas of blue and red, I used a spoon to direct the Jell-o. Remember to focus on getting the liquid into the holes - that creates the bloom of color in the white cake.
It may look a little ragged and wet, but magic happens in the refrigerator, so trust me here. Refrigerate the cake for at least a few hours or even overnight. This allows the Jell-o to jell or set up within the cake. The liquid Jell-o firms up and makes quite possibly the softest, most delectable cake of all time. Yep. Obsessed 😉
Anyway, now it's time to spread whipped topping over the surface of the chilled cake. You can also use homemade whipped cream if you are so inclined.
This is where you can get creative with your Red, White & Blue Poke Cake ... that whipped topping is a blank canvas. Add maraschino cherries, strawberries and blueberries, patriotic sprinkles or go wild like me and add swirls of food coloring and red, white & blue jimmies!
I was feeling a fireworks vibe with the swirls of color and those colorful sprinkles ...
I just love seeing the pop of bright blue and red when I cut a piece of this patriotic cake!
Kinda cool, right?!
Here is the step by step recipe so you can make your own Red, White & Blue Cake for the 4th of July!
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Red, White & Blue Poke Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- One white cake mix + ingredients to prepare it
- One 3 oz. box of Berry Blue Jell-o
- One 3 oz. box of Cherry Jell-o
- One 8 oz. tub of whipped topping (thawed)
- Red & blue food coloring (optional)
- Patriotic sprinkles or jimmies (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare cake mix according to package directions and allow cake to cool completely.
- Using a straw or the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the surface of the cake.
- Prepare each box of Jell-o using 1 cup of boiling water + ½ cup of cold water. (This is ½ cup less cold water than what is called for on package instructions.)
- Carefully pour or spoon the blue Jell-o over a portion of the cake. Take care to get the liquid into the holes.
- Carefully pour or spoon the red Jell-o over the rest of cake. Take care to get the liquid into the holes.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 3-4 hours or overnight - this allows the Jell-o to set up within the cake.
- Top the cake with the whipped topping.
- Just prior to serving, use a toothpick dipped in food coloring to add swirls of red and blue in the whipped topping.
- Add patriotic sprinkles or jimmies.
- Cut and serve!
- Refrigerate any leftover cake.
Keywords: Patriotic poke cake
Hip, hip, hooray for more Patriotic Party Food!
- Red, White & Blue Jell-o Ice Cubes
- Cherry Berry Patriotic Pudding Pies
- Shortbread Sparklers (Chocolate Drizzled Shortbread)
Sammi says
Your photos are just gorgeous!! What a simple recipe and so festive for any patriotic holiday. Thank you for the fun recipe. Pinning!
Mel says
What size is your cake pan?
★★★★★
Keri says
Hi Mel - it is a standard 9x13 pan 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Rose says
Do you pour the jello in the cake while it’s still warm or do you let the jello cool first?
Keri says
Hi Rose - You can pour the jello on while it's still warm. That actually helps it soak into the cake 🙂 Thanks SO much for stopping by!
Melanie says
Couldn’t find white cake, so used yellow. Hope the blue doesn’t turn green. Ha ha.
★★★★★
Melissa Riker says
How did it turn out Melanie?
Andrea Hazuda says
So excited to make this. Grew up in the Midwest and this was at all the summer parties. Spent the last 19 years in Vermont until 6 months ago when I moved to NM. Told my husband I was making it and he had never heard of it and he is from NJ. In all those years I forgot about it until this recipe popped up out of nowhere. So nice to have a fun reminder of my summers as a kid! Thank you for this lovely recipe
Melissa Riker says
You're welcome, I hope it went over well!
Jerilea says
I'm ashamed to admit, I've never made a poke cake. I grew up in Minnesota and have spent a good portion of my life in the Midwest and poke cake is a staple. We're having friends over for July 4th so, I'm going to give it a go. I already have patriotic sprinkles in stock so I'm ready.