Fireball Poke Cake transforms a simple boxed cake mix into a spicy cinnamon delight, offering a perfect balance of warmth and sweetness in every bite.
Our Fireball Poke Cake is packed with sweet and spicy flavors, so easy to make using a cake mix (plus ingredients called for on the box), a packet of butterscotch pudding, milk, fireball whiskey, and whipped topping.
A soft yellow sheet cake is baked from a box, poked and infused with pockets of cinnamon whisky-spiked pudding, covered with a fluffy whipped cream topping, and decorated with sanding sprinkles if desired.
With the perfect combination of moist cake, cool and creamy pudding, and whipped topping in every boozy bite, these poked pieces have the best fireball cake flavors in every forkful.
What Is A Poke Cake?
A poke cake is a freshly baked cake, either from a box or from scratch, poked with holes and filled with a liquid or creamy filling to infuse flavor. Popular fillings include condensed milk, pureed fruit or preserves, pudding, chocolate cream, caramel or chocolate sauce, or jello.
Why We Love This Fireball Cake Recipe
- Quick and easy to make.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Fireball is full of warming flavors, which makes it fun to mix into fall and winter desserts.
- Great for grown-up gatherings where you can taste your cake and cocktail simultaneously.
- Fun way to chew your booze by turning an innocent slice of sweet cake into an alcohol-infused treat.
- Perfect for adult parties, and can be made appropriate for kids without alcohol.
Fireball Poke Cake Ingredients
- Yellow cake mix: I used Betty Crocker Super Moist brand but feel free to use your favorite.
- Ingredients called for on the box (water, vegetable oil, eggs)
- Cook & serve butterscotch pudding mix
- Whole milk
- Fireball cinnamon whiskey
- Whipped topping
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- Make With A Different Cake Mix: I love the flavor of the yellow cake mix for this recipe. However, a vanilla or butter pecan cake mix will also work. You will follow the directions on the back of the box for whichever brand of cake mix you choose.
- Pick Your Pudding: If you prefer not to use butterscotch pudding in your poke cake, you can substitute vanilla pudding or white chocolate pudding.
- Tasty Toppings: You can decorate your dessert with red and orange sugar sanding sprinkles and chopped nuts, red hot candy, or replace the whipped topping with a cream cheese frosting.
How to Make Fireball Poke Cake
- Bake The Cake: Mix together the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and water. Spread the batter into the baking pan and bake according to the box directions or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Poke: Cool the cake for 5 minutes, then poke holes over the entire surface.
Pro Tip: I like to use a round-handled wooden spoon to poke the holes. - Prepare The Pudding: Cook the pudding mix, milk, and Fireball cinnamon whisky on the stovetop. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and continue whisking until the mixture starts to thicken.
- Pour The Pudding: Pour the hot pudding into the poked holes and spread the rest of the pudding over the entire surface of the cake.
- Cover The Cake: Cool on the counter for 20 minutes to allow the pudding to firm up. Spread the whipped topping over the top of the cake and garnish with sugar sanding sprinkles if desired.
- Chill: Chill for a minimum of 8 hours or up to overnight.
- Slice And Serve: Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Tips For Making Fireball Poke Cake
- I used Betty Crocker brand Super moist yellow cake mix. I followed the directions on the box for mixing and baking. Using a different brand of cake mix may call for slightly different ingredients or proportions, so you just need to follow the directions according to the box brand you are using.
- To poke holes, I recommend using a large round wooden spoon handle or another similar-sized object so that the holes are fairly big and the pudding mixture has plenty of room to seep in between.
- Refrigerating before serving allows the flavors to meld together and the pudding layer to set, making the cake easier to slice and serve.
- If you substitute regular whiskey for Fireball in this recipe, I recommend using a whiskey that is on the sweeter side.
- This Fireball poke cake is best served chilled.
How to Store Fireball Poke Cake
- To Store: This Fireball poke cake can be stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.
- To Freeze: I do not suggest freezing this cake as the texture becomes too soft and mushy the longer the cake sits.
More Easy Fireball Recipes
Other Easy Poke Cake Recipes
- Raspberry Poke Cake
- Death By Chocolate Poke Cake
- Strawberry Crunch Poke Cake
- Cookies And Cream Poke Cake
- Chocolate Mint Poke Cake
If you tried this Sour Cream Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!
Fireball Poke Cake
Serves — 12
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce box of yellow cake mix plus the ingredients called for on the box – 3 large eggs, 1 cup water, and ½ cup vegetable oil – Betty Crocker Super Moist brand
- 3.5 ounce box of cook & serve butterscotch pudding mix
- 1¾ cups whole milk cold
- ¼ cup Fireball cinnamon whisky
- 12 ounces (1½ 8-ounce) tubs of whipped topping thawed
- Optional garnish -½ teaspoon each of red and orange sugar sanding sprinkles combined
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray the bottom of a 9×13 baking pan with baker’s spray. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, mix together the yellow box cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and water according to the directions on the box. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake according to the box directions for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.15.25 ounce box of yellow cake mix
- Allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes, then poke holes over the entire surface of the cake. I like to use a round-handled wooden spoon to poke the holes. Allow the cake to continue to cool on the counter while you prepare the pudding mixture.
- In a 2 quart-sized saucepan on medium heat, add the cook & serve butterscotch pudding mix, whole milk, and Fireball cinnamon whisky. Bring the pudding mixture to a boil while whisking constantly, and cook for 1-2 minutes once it has started to boil. Remove the pot from the heat and continue whisking the pudding until the mixture starts to thicken up. It will continue to thicken as it cools.3.5 ounce box of cook & serve butterscotch pudding mix, 1¾ cups whole milk, ¼ cup Fireball cinnamon whisky
- While the pudding is still hot and not fully set, slowly pour it into the holes that were poked into the yellow cake. Once you have filled all the holes in the cake with the warm pudding, you can pour the rest of the pudding over the rest of the cake. You can use an offset spatula or the back of a large spoon to spread out the warm pudding, covering the entire surface of the cake.
- Allow the cake and pudding to continue to cool on the counter for another 20 minutes to allow the pudding to start to firm up before spreading on your final layer of the thawed whipped topping.
- Spread the whipped topping evenly over the entire surface of the cake. If you choose to add the garnish of red and orange sugar sanding sprinkles, you can add them at this time.12 ounces (1½ 8-ounce) tubs of whipped topping, Optional garnish -½ teaspoon each of red and orange sugar sanding sprinkles combined
- Place the Fireball poke cake into the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of 8 hours or up to overnight. Slice and serve.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: This Fireball poke cake can be stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.
- To Freeze: I do not suggest freezing this cake as the texture becomes too soft and mushy the longer the cake sits.
- I used Betty Crocker brand Super moist yellow cake mix. I followed the directions on the box for mixing and baking. If you use a different brand of cake mix, it may call for slightly different ingredients or proportions, so you will just need to follow the directions according to the box brand you are using.
- To poke holes, I recommend using a large round wooden spoon handle or other similar-sized object so that the holes are fairly big and the pudding mixture has plenty of room to seep down in between.
- I highly recommend using whole milk when making your pudding as it will give you the best results, but I have used 2% milk when making this pudding, and I find that it just sets up a little softer. Low-fat or dairy free is not a good option for this recipe as the pudding will not set up properly.
- I prefer the cook & serve option for the pudding mixture because it is easier to pour into the holes, and I find that it sets up a bit firmer than the instant pudding. You can certainly use instant pudding, but I would suggest working very fast once your pudding starts to firm up to spread your pudding into the holes. You may need to place the firmer instant pudding into a large piping bag or a gallon-sized zip-top bag with the corner snipped off and gently pipe the pudding into the individual holes. Then you would spread the remaining pudding evenly over the surface of the cake.
- Refrigerating before serving allows the flavors to meld together and the pudding layer to set, making the cake easier to slice and serve.
- If you substitute regular whiskey for Fireball in this recipe, I recommend using a whiskey that is on the sweeter side.
- This Fireball poke cake is best served chilled.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 349mg | Potassium: 101mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 79IU | Calcium: 140mg | Iron: 1mg
I’ve made the Fireball chicken twice, and the Fireball Fudge, and my family *loved* them. Now I’ll have to try this, too! More Fireball recipes please! =)