4th of July Poke Cake

Easy 4th of July Poke Cake is the perfect dessert for all of your patriotic festivities! This Red, White and Blue Poke Cake starts with a boxed mixed, with pops of Red, White and Blue under whipped topping and sprinkles!

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Sheet cakes are essentially the easy button when it comes to desserts. I love making a sheet cake because you can serve a lot of people, and they’re always a no fuss dessert. So, turning a sheet cake into a poke cake is great since you can add more flavor that way and make theme a simple cake with fun colors!

This 4th of July poke cake is a great way to throw together a quick patriotic dessert. Boxed cake mix, jello, and Cool whip is all you need to make this recipe. What’s easier than that?

We love to have a table full of desserts of the 4th of July! We always need to have our pick of sweets after a delicious meal of burgers, hot dogs, and french fries. This red, white, and blue poke cake is the easiest themed dessert I can make!

Why You’ll Love this 4th of July Poke Cake

• Fourth of july poke cake is a super easy recipe! Great for a day filled with cooking or baking, or for novice bakers.
• This recipe uses box cake mix. You don’t have to worry about having tons of ingredients to make a cake from scratch.
• Patriotic poke cake can be adapted for any holiday. Change the colors and flavors and you’ve got a great themed cake!

Ingredients for 4th of July Poke Cake

• White cake mix – White cake mix will show the red and blue colors of jello really well. You can use a yellow cake mix if you prefer.
• Eggs – Allow the eggs to come to room temperature before mixing them into the cake batter. They will mix more easily and distribute throughout the batter well.
• Oil – Vegetable oil and canola oil are most commonly used with box cake mixes. Feel free to use any oil and check the back of the cake mix box for the correct measurements.
• Strawberry and blueberry jello mix – This will make the red, white, and blue color theme of this 4th of July cake!
• Boiling water – Use boiling water to bloom the jello!
• Cool whip – Cool whip tastes so light and yummy on top of this cake, but you can also make homemade whipped cream to use as a topping!
• Red white and blue sprinkles – Grab some fun patriotic sprinkles to put on top of your cake.

How to Make 4th of July Poke Cake

Prepare the white cake mix according to the instructions on the box, then pour the batter into a 9×13 inch baking pan.

Bake the cake according to the direction on the box. Once the cake comes out of the oven, immediately poke holes in it with a wooden spoon handle or chopsticks.

In two small bowls, stir together one cup of boiling water and the jello packets separately.

Once the jello has dissolved, carefully spoon it over the rows of holes with the strawberry on one row first, then blueberry, and keep alternating until the whole cake is covered.

Place the cake in the fridge for 5-6 hours to chill. Then, spread cool whip over the top of the cake and top it with patriotic sprinkles.

Slice and serve!

How to Store Leftover Red White and Blue Poke Cake

FRIDGE: Store leftover poke cake in the fridge for 1-2 days. You can either cover the cake pan tightly with plastic wrap, or place leftovers in an airtight container.

FREEZER: Believe it or not, you can freeze a fourth of July poke cake! Once you let the jello set in the cake, wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap. Place in the freezer and store for up to a month. Do not top the cake with Cool whip before freezing. Allow the cake to thaw, then top with Cool whip once ready to serve.

Can I use different cake flavors?

You can use whatever flavor of cake mix that you want! Keep in mind that you’ll need the cake to be a light color so that the red and blue jello can be seen. The white cake mix is what makes this a red, white, and blue cake.

Can I use different frosting?

Using Cool whip as frosting always tastes great with a jello poke cake. However, you can always use a different frosting! Make some buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting to top your chilled cake. Or, grab a can of frosting at the grocery store and use that instead! You can use whatever you would like.

This 4th of July poke cake is a crowd hit every year! It looks picture perfect and tastes absolutely delicious.

More 4th of July Desserts

• These 4th of July Sugar Cookies are so adorable! Plus, they taste even better than they look.
• I love these Red, White and Blue Mini Cheesecakes. So easy to make and a great little bite-sized dessert to serve at parties.
• Grab some extra boxes of Jello and make these super fun Jell-O Patriotic Parfaits!
• Need some more easy cake mix recipes? Check out these 4th of July Cupcakes!

Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!

 

5 from 2 votes

4th of July Poke Cake

Easy Red, White and Blue Poke Cake that starts with a boxed cake mix is so easy to make for an easy patriotic dessert.

Prep:30 minutes mins

Cook:28 minutes mins

Chill Time:5 hours hrs

Total:5 hours hrs 58 minutes mins

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12

pieces

Equipment

• 9×13 inch Cake Pan
• Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

• ▢ 15.25 ounces white cake mix plus the ingredients on the packaging to make the cake
• ▢ 2 cups boiling water divided
• ▢ 3 ounces strawberry Jell-O mix
• ▢ 3 ounces berry blue Jell-O mix
• ▢ 8 ounces Cool Whip
• ▢ red, white, and blue sprinkles

Instructions

• Prepare the cake mix into a 9×13-inch baking pan according to the directions on the packaging.
• As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, using the back of a wooden spoon or a chopstick, poke rows of holes into the cake.
• In a small mixing bowl, stir together 1 cup water and strawberry jello mix until the jello has dissolved.
• In another small mixing bowl, stir together 1 cup water and berry jello mix until the jello has dissolved.
• Carefully spoon the strawberry jello into one row of holes, then spoon the berry jello into the next row. Keep altering the jello in each row, you will have leftover jello mix.
• Place the cake into the fridge for 5-6 hours to chill.
• Spread the cool whip over the top of the cake and top it with the sprinkles.

Tips

FRIDGE: Store leftover poke cake in the fridge for 1-2 days. You can either cover the cake pan tightly with plastic wrap, or place leftovers in an airtight container.

FREEZER: Believe it or not, you can freeze a fourth of July poke cake! Once you let the jello set in the cake, wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap. Place in the freezer and store for up to a month. Do not top the cake with Cool whip before freezing. Allow the cake to thaw, then top with Cool whip once ready to serve.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 216kcal (11%), Carbohydrates: 47g (16%), Protein: 3g (6%), Fat: 2g (3%), Saturated Fat: 1g (6%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 3mg (1%), Sodium: 331mg (14%), Potassium: 44mg (1%), Fiber: 0.5g (2%), Sugar: 30g (33%), Vitamin A: 33IU (1%), Calcium: 101mg (10%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

© Julie's Eats & Treats ®

We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box is calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.