Red, White & Blue Patriotic Poke Cake
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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!
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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?!
Like our Christmas Poke Cake, this red, white and blue version is a fail-proof dessert and is just in time for all of your holiday parties!
Red, White & Blue Poke 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 1/2 cup less cold water when preparing the Jell-o for a poke cake.
Now, use about 2/3 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 4th of July 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!
If you try this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
Red, White & Blue Poke Cake
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
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 + 1/2 cup of cold water. (This is 1/2 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.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 477
- Sugar: 45.7 g
- Sodium: 458.2 mg
- Fat: 23.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 63.2 g
- Protein: 5.3 g
- Cholesterol: 37.7 mg
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)
Your photos are just gorgeous!! What a simple recipe and so festive for any patriotic holiday. Thank you for the fun recipe. Pinning!
What size is your cake pan?
Hi Mel – it is a standard 9×13 pan 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
Do you pour the jello in the cake while it’s still warm or do you let the jello cool first?
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!
Couldn’t find white cake, so used yellow. Hope the blue doesn’t turn green. Ha ha.
How did it turn out Melanie?
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
You’re welcome, I hope it went over well!
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.
Do I need to leave the cake in the pan? Can i use a silicone mold pan, and remove the cake and put on platter?
I made this cake for Independence Day today. It was so easy and turned out beautifully and deliciously. My husband and sons loved it. For the topping, I divided the Cool Whip into three portions and made one blue and one red and marbled the three colors on the cake.
I’m so glad you liked it!