Strawberry Crunch Poke Cake

5 from 2 votes

This Strawberry Crunch Poke Cake is moist and soft with a cool whipped topping and crunchy cookie crumble. Light and fluffy with pretty pink stripes, it has the perfect sweet taste and creamy texture in every poked piece.

Prep Time15

Cook Time55

Chill Time2

Total Time3 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 298kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

Cake:

15.25 ounces box white cake mix
3 large eggs
2½ cups heavy cream divided
⅓ cup vegetable oil
3 ounces box strawberry gelatin powder
1 cup boiling water

Topping:

8 ounces tub whipped topping
20 vanilla sandwich cookies
2½ tablespoons strawberry syrup
Fresh strawberries and additional whipped topping optional garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl beat together the cake mix, eggs, 1 ½ cups of heavy cream and vegetable oil with a hand or stand mixer until fully smooth.
Spread the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top bounces back when gently tapped or a toothpick comes out of the middle of the cake with only a few crumbs. Do not overbake
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 20 minutes.
Once the cake has cooled for 20 minutes, poke several large holes all over it with the bottom of a stirring spoon. Do not poke all the way to the bottom of the cake, only poke about ¾ of the way down.
Pour the strawberry gelatin powder into a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk in the boiling water until dissolved.
Gradually add in the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream, whisking constantly, until it is all added and combined. You should have a dark pink, creamy liquid.
Pour the warm mixture over the cake slowly, being sure to fill the holes as much as possible and avoiding the edges of the cake.
Spread any remaining liquid sitting on the top of the cake into the holes.
Cover well and place in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours or overnight.
When ready to cut and serve the cake, remove from the refrigerator, uncover and spread the whipped topping all over the top.
Place the cookies in a food processor and pulse 1-2 times to begin to crush them.
Pour in the strawberry syrup and pulse several more times until the cookies are roughly crumbled and the syrup is mixed in. You will have a white and pink crumble mixture.
Sprinkle the topping evenly over the whipped topping, spreading gently if necessary to reach all the edges, and then cut and serve with fresh strawberries and whipped topping, optional.

Notes

Storage:

To Store: This Strawberry Crunch Poke Cake should be chilled in the refrigerator and will stay fresh for 3-5 days. Be aware that the crumble will soften the longer it is stored and may become mushy.
To Freeze: You can cut and wrap the cake in individual pieces and store them in the freezer for about 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and serve chilled. Note: the whipped topping may get watery if frozen and thawed.

Tips:

Don’t over mix your batter and don’t over bake your cake. In either case, you will end up with a dry, crumbly cake that doesn’t taste nearly as good as it will if mixed and baked properly.
When poking holes in your cake, you want holes larger than a chopstick would make but not huge. And avoid poking the hole all the way through the cake or your strawberry liquid will go right through and you won’t have stripes in your cake but rather a layer of liquid on the bottom.
Don’t skip the cooling period if you want those beautiful poke holes all over your cake. If the cake is too warm, the gelatin liquid will simply sink to the bottom and you’ll have a bottom layer of strawberry but not the lines that you want in a poke cake. You can even allow the cake to cool completely but you may end up with a layer of the strawberry liquid remaining on top because it doesn’t all get soaked up by the cake.
Be sure that your whipped topping is allowed to thaw in the refrigerator for several hours before you attempt to spread it on the cake. If it is thawed too quickly or is stirred while still frozen it may get liquidy and not stay fluffy.

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