This old-fashioned raspberry jello poke cake is made with a box cake, raspberry jello, and topped with Cool Whip. Make this raspberry version or switch it out to make any flavor you want! An easy and delicious dessert for any occasion.
When I was in college I met my husband the day I made this strawberry poke cake. We were married within six months, so I like to say that cake is magical.
But it can be a little more complicated because it uses a simply syrup and fresh strawberries. This raspberry jello poke cake is the epitome of easy desserts, and the taste is still amazing.
Plus, anything with raspberries is always a huge hit anytime I make it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Three ingredients – this literally only takes three ingredients other than water! You can top it with a few more for garnish but the base is only three ingredients; it doesn’t get simpler than that!
- Versatile – don’t like raspberry? Try this with a different flavor jello instead. I’ve made a strawberry jello poke cake, lime jello poke cake, and even a lemon jello poke cake. Just change up the jello flavor and what you garnish the cake with!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Water – you’ll need both hot boiled water and cold water for this recipe.
- Raspberries – stick with fresh raspberries, not frozen. Frozen tend to hold liquid when thawed and just aren’t as good on this.
- Cool Whip – while I like Cool Whip on this, you could always substitute it with some homemade whipped cream as well. If you wanted to do a blueberry poke cake, you could even try it with blueberry whipped cream!
- Jello – if you want a raspberry jello poke cake, use raspberry jello. Otherwise, you could really use any flavor jello you want with the same idea.
- Cake mix – I recommend white cake mix for this. You’ll also need the ingredients necessary to make the cake itself.
How to Make Jello Poke Cake
This is a pretty common recipe that’s been around for a while, so it’s likely you’ve made a poke cake before! If not, it’s super simple and this one is even simpler than say this Snickers poke cake.
First, bake your cake according to the directions in a 9×13 inch pan.
Once the cake is cooked, whisk together the boiling water and jello mix for 2 minutes, then add the cold water.
Poke holes all over the cake with a skewer, fork, or wooden spoon handle. All of them work, but I personally prefer using a wooden skewer.
Then use a measuring spoon to add the jello to the holes. The jello will spread around the cake – that’s okay. It’ll still soak in just you want!
I recommend doing this with a measuring spoon rather than just pouring the jello mixture all over the cake so that you can make sure that the jello mixture gets into every hole and saturates the entire cake.
Otherwise, you may end up with pockets of cake without as much flavor.
Once you’ve filled the holes with jello mixture, refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
Top with a layer of Cool Whip then put back in the refrigerator to continue chilling until ready to serve.
Cut carefully and served garnished with fresh raspberries and sprinkles (if you want). Tart fresh raspberries add a nice contrast to the slightly sweet nature of the cake.
Expert Tips
Enjoy the cake within two days of frosting the cake. If you don’t eat it within two days, I recommend tossing in the trash. If you need something that lasts longer, I recommend trying this striped delight instead.
Refrigerate the cake in the cake pan with a lid or covered with foil or plastic wrap.
If you want the cake to have less of a red color, you can reduce the cold water to 1/2 cup of water instead of 3/4 cup.
Recipe FAQs
Use a skewer, a chopstick, the back of a fork, or the end of a wooden spoon. All work well for poking holes in a poke cake!
Yes, you can freeze this poke cake. I recommend freezing just after you add the jello and before frosting the cake. Wrap the cake pan tightly in plastic wrap before freezing. Then just unwrap and let it thaw when ready to serve. Top with Cool Whip and garnish just before serving.
More Cake Recipes
If you like this jello poke cake recipe, you’ll love these other easy cakes!
- Oreo ice cream cake recipe – this is another three-ingredient cake that will be the hit of the party!
- Best lava cake – if you’ve ever wanted to make chocolate lava cake at home, this is the recipe you want! The best chocolate lava cake ever!
- Fresh peach cake – a delicious white cake topped with a cream cheese layer and lots of fresh peaches! A great summer dessert!
- Pumpkin crunch cake – an old-fashioned pumpkin dump cake made with cake mix, pumpkin, and butter!
- Red velvet cake – a gorgeous red-colored cake topped with cream cheese frosting or make it a red velvet naked cake, it’s still just as delicious!
Raspberry Jello Poke Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix and ingredients to make the cake
- 1 3.3 ounce box raspberry jello
- 1 cup boiling water
- ¾ cup cold water
- 1 8 ounce Cool Whip (thawed)
- raspberries and sprinkles for ganish (if desired)
Instructions
- Prepare and bake the cake according to the box directions of a 9x13-inch cake.1 box white cake mix and ingredients to make the cake
- Whisk together the boiling water and jello mix for 2 minutes, then add the cold water.1 3.3 ounce box raspberry jello, 1 cup boiling water, 3/4 cup cold water
- Poke holes all over the cake with a skewer, fork, or wooden spoon handle.
- Use a measuring spoon to add the jello to the holes, it will spread, that’s okay.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
- Top with thawed cool whip and garnish with fresh raspberries and sprinkles if desired.1 8 ounce Cool Whip, raspberries and sprinkles for ganish
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