What's a 4th of July celebration (or Memorial Day) without a gorgeous red, white, and blue dessert? Can you have a summer party without one?
I think not.
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Red, white, and blue colors make this the perfect summer dessert
- Decorate it like the American flag with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries - then garnish with homemade white chocolate stars.
White cake is infused with strawberry and blue raspberry gelatin then covered with a creamy whipped white chocolate frosting and garnished with fresh berries.
This patriotic Jello poke cake recipe is quick and easy to make, as well as make-ahead, so you can spend your time enjoying the day right along with family and friends.
Red, white, and blue; it's the perfect dessert for all your summer parties.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients I used. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
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- strawberry Jello
- blue raspberry Jello
- white cake mix (including the ingredients used to make it)
- powdered sugar
- white chocolate or vanilla instant pudding mix
- heavy cream
- strawberries
- blueberries
- white chocolate
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Bake cake and cool. Poke holes in the cake at ½-inch intervals, poking about halfway through the cake and twisting gently with a small dowel or handle of a wooden spoon.
- Put the red Jell-O powder in one bowl and the blue in another.
- Pour ½ cup of boiling water in each and stir until gelatin dissolves.
- Carefully pour the liquid Jell-O randomly in the holes and refrigerate.
🥫 Storage
You can make this a day ahead of time if you wish.
Keep it in the refrigerator. Be sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap because the whipped frosting will take on refrigerator odors and weird flavors.
Store leftover poke cake in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. After that it will tend to get soggy and have a weird texture.
📖 Variations
You can use other flavor combinations of gelatin to create Jello poke cakes for almost any occasion!
- Cherry and lime with vanilla whipped topping for Christmas.
- Black cherry for Valentine's day with white chocolate or chocolate whipped topping.
- Lime for a St. Patrick's Day green Jello poke cake.
- Make a lemon poke cake with a lemon cake mix and lemon gelatin.
- Strawberry sheet cake with strawberry gelatin.
- Try a whipped cream cheese frosting instead of the pudding frosting.
- Just cover the top with Cool Whip frosting.
There are so many different flavors of jello that there are ALL kinds of possibilities!
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: You can make this even quicker and easier by buying an unfrosted white cake at the bakery or bakery section of your store.
- Be sure not to go all the way through the cake with the wooden spoon but vary the depth of the holes from about half way to about ¾ths of the way down.
- Twisting the dowel (or spoon handle) a little will help the cake hold more of the filling.
- Make the holes when the cake is still a little warm.
- Make sure the holes aren't too close together - keep them even all over the cake.
- Be sure to allow plenty of time for the cake to chill or it will be soggy. Give it at least 3 to 4 hours.
👩🍳 FAQs
A poke cake is any cake that you poke holes into to allow pudding, fruit puree, or gelatin to seep into the cake. This isn't the same as poking a cake with a thin toothpick so that it will soak up condensed milk or other liquid. The holes in a poke cake tend to retain some of what you've put in it making pockets of filling throughout the cake.
A small dowel or handle of a wooden spoon is used to poke holes in the cake.
Most poke cakes need to be refrigerated whether they are covered in pudding, Jello, or something else.
📚 Related recipes
Here are some other great patriotic recipes for your summer parties.
- Cream Cheese Coffee Cake with Berries
- Plain Cheesecake
- Star Shaped Zebra Cake Copycat
- Margaritas by the Pitcher
🍽️ Serve with...
- Grilled chicken is always perfect for summer.
- This watermelon basket is a classic and it's so easy.
- You can't go wrong with a fruit salad, either.
- Macaroni salad is a classic summer side.
🥄 Equipment
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
One nice thing to have is a sheet pan with a plastic cover. That way the cover stays up off the top of the cake and you don't run the risk of the plastic sticking to the fruit and moving it around.
I like this sheet cake pan from Wilton.
If you want to make the white chocolate stars this mold is great...
📞 The last word
I absolutely love an easy summer dessert.
This easy cake is extra yummy because of the whipped white chocolate topping. You can make white chocolate stars for decoration freehand or in star shaped chocolate molds
You may also like this Boston cream poke cake.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Patriotic Jello Poke Cake
Print Pin Recipe SaveIngredients
Cake
- white cake, baked in a 13x9-inch pan
- 4 ounces red Jell-O, 4 serving size
- 4 ounces blue Jell-O
Frosting
- 1 quart heavy cream
- ¼ cup Confectioner's sugar
- 3.9 ounces white chocolate instant pudding
- 1 pint ripe strawberries, hulled and halfed
- 1 pint blueberries
- ½ pint raspberries, optional
- ½ pint blackberries, optional
White Chocolate Stars
- 6 ounces white chocolate
I earn a commission from Instacart from qualifying purchases.
Instructions
Cake
- Poke holes in cooled cake at ½-inch intervals, poking about halfway through the cake and twisting gently with a small dowel.
- Put the red Jell-O in one bowl and the blue in another.
- Pour ½ cup of boiling water in each and stir until gelatin dissolves.
- Pour the red Jell-O in some of the holes in the cake randomly and finish filling the other holes with the blue Jell-O.
- Chill overnight.
Frosting
- Add the heavy cream, pudding mix, and Confectioner's sugar to the bowl of a mixer.
- Using the whisk attachment beat until light and fluffy - with the texture of thick whipped cream.
- Cover the chilled cake thickly with the topping.
- Add the fruit in any design you prefer.
White Chocolate Stars
- Melt white chocolate and either fill star shaped candy molds or create stars freehand on waxed paper.
- Chill until firm.
- Use to decorate cake.
- Store in the refrigerator
Notes
- Be sure not to go all the way through the cake but vary the depth of the holes from about half way to about ¾ths of the way down.
- Twisting the dowel a little will help the cake hold more of the filling.
- Make the holes when the cake is still a little warm.
- Make sure the holes aren't too close together - keep them even all over the cake.
- Be sure to allow plenty of time for the cake to chill or it will be soggy. Give it at least 3 to 4 hours.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.
My parents always celebrated big on 4th of July with themed pool parties that ended with watching fireworks explode and spew color across the nighttime sky.
I have so many great memories!
We have never entertained on a grand scale like that but I still like to celebrate with all of the traditional foods! Macaroni salad, potato salad, burgers, and easy desserts like this patriotic Jello Poke Cake.
First published June 28, 2018. Last updated May 16, 2023 for readability and more tips.
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