Recipes to fulfill your poke cake craving

At the Senior Center we served an old favorite for our St. Patrick's Day dessert: Poke Cake. We did lime poke cake and it was so pretty on the tray sprinkled with green sugar on top. That dessert started a conversation about poke cakes and desserts we have not made in a long time. Then, my coworker Karen Stafford shared a recipe with me she saw posted on Facebook for banana cream poke cake. We decided to explore even more poke cakes, which resulted in this column. Be creative and try your own versions. The sky is the limit for what you can think up.

Coconut Cream Poke Cake

1 (18 ounce) box white cake mix

Ingredients needed to make cake (egg whites, oil and water)

1 (15 ounce) can cream of coconut

1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 (8 ounce) package sweetened flaked coconut

Prepare and bake white cake mix according to package directions for a 9x13-inch pan. Remove cake from oven and, while still hot, poke holes all over the top of cake using a large fork. Open can of cream of coconut, making sure to stir contents well, and pour over warm cake. Carefully evenly coat the entire surface of the cake, paying attention to the edges and corners, as well as the middle of the cake. Allow for this to soak into the cake. Let cool completely then frost with whipped topping. Top with flaked coconut, either from the package or toasted in oven. Keep refrigerated.

Banana Cream Poke Cake

1 (10 ounce) box yellow cake mix

Ingredients needed to make cake (eggs, oil and water)

2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant banana pudding

4 cups milk

1 (8 ounce) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

20 vanilla wafers, crushed

Fresh bananas to slice and serve with cake pieces

Prepare cake mix according to package directions for a 9x13-inch pan. Once cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool for just a couple of minutes. Then, with a wooden spoon handle or some other similarly-sized object, poke holes in the cake. You want the holes to be fairly big so the pudding has plenty of room to soak into the holes. Be sure to poke right down to the bottom of the cake, going along the edges and in the corners, as well.

In a bowl, whisk together instant pudding with 4 cups of milk. Stir until all lumps are gone. Let pudding sit for about 2 minutes so it has just slightly begun to thicken but not fully set; it should still be easily pourable. Pour pudding over cake, taking care to get it into the holes as much as possible. Spread it all out, and using the back of the spoon, gently push pudding down into the holes. Put the pudding into the fridge to set and cool. Once your cake has completely cooled, spread on whipped topping. If you haven't done so already, crush your vanilla wafers by placing into a resealable plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Leave some of the pieces big; it's nice to have a bit of a crunch when you eat the cake. Spread crushed wafers onto the top of the cake. You can do this part immediately before serving the cake, if you like. This will ensure the wafers are crunchy when you serve it. Serve with freshly sliced bananas. Keep refrigerated.

Red Velvet Poke Cake

1 box red velvet cake mix

Ingredients needed to make cake (eggs, oil and water)

2 (3.4 ounce) boxes instant cheesecake-flavored pudding

4 cups milk

1 (8 ounce) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

10 Oreo cookies, crushed (optional)

Prepare cake mix according to box directions for a 9x13-inch baking pan. Once cake comes out of the oven, allow to cool for just a couple of minutes. With a wooden spoon handle, or a similar-sized object, poke holes in the warm cake. The holes need to be bigger so the pudding has plenty of room to get in the holes. Be sure to poke holes all the way to the bottom of the cake. In a medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix with 4 cups of milk. Whisk until all lumps are gone. Pour pudding over cake, making sure to pour it right into the holes as much as possible. Spread it all over cake, especially the edges and corners, using the wooden spoon and gently pushing the pudding down into the holes. Put the cake into the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Cover entire surface with whipped topping. Sprinkle the crushed Oreo cookies over top of cake, if desired. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Toffee Poke Cake Recipe

1 package chocolate cake mix (regular size)

Ingredients listed on the box to prepare the cake mix

1 jar (17 ounces) butterscotch-caramel ice cream topping

1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

3 Heath candy bars (1.4 ounces each), chopped

Prepare and bake cake according to package directions, using a greased 9x13-in. baking pan. Cool on a wire rack. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes in cake. Pour 3/4 cup caramel topping into holes. Spoon remaining caramel over cake. Top with whipped topping. Sprinkle with candy. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Yield: 15 servings.

Raspberry Poke Cake

The nice thing about this cake is you can use any flavor gelatin and whatever fruit you wish to garnish with. Use your imagination and try different combinations to make it interesting.

1 box white cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box

1 box (4-serving size) raspberry-flavored gelatin

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup cold water

1 container (8 ounce) frozen whipped topping, thawed (3 cups)

Fresh raspberries, if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees, 325 degrees for dark or nonstick pan. Make and bake cake as directed on box for 9x13-inch pan. Cool completely in pan, about 1 hour. Pierce cooled cake all over with fork, poking holes along the edges and corners as well as the center of the cake. In small bowl, stir gelatin and boiling water until smooth; stir in cold water. Pour over cake. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Refrigerate 2 hours. Frost with whipped topping; garnish with raspberries. Store covered in refrigerator. Makes 12 servings

Caramel Almond Poke Cake

2 boxes Betty Crocker pound cake mix

1 1/3 cups water or milk

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

4 eggs

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

3/4 cup unblanched whole almonds, coarsely chopped, toasted

1/3 cup canned vanilla frosting

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9-inch pan with shortening. Make cake mix as directed on box, using water, 1/2 cup butter and the eggs. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes.

In 2-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream, brown sugar and 1/4 cup butter to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cool slightly.

Poke warm cake every inch with handle of wooden spoon. Slowly pour condensed milk over cake. Let stand until milk has been absorbed into cake, about 5 minutes. Slowly drizzle with most of caramel sauce, pressing slightly into holes. Sprinkle with almonds. Drizzle with remaining caramel sauce. Cool completely. In small microwavable bowl, microwave frosting on High 10 to 15 seconds. Drizzle over cake. Cut into 6 rows by 3 rows. Makes 18 servings (1 piece)

Caramel Drizzled Pumpkin Poke Cake

For a caramel rich cake, use caramel topping in place of the hot fudge topping.

Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup (from 15-ounce can) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Topping

1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk

2 jars (12 ounce each) hot fudge topping

1 container fluffy white frosting

1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

2 tablespoons caramel topping

Heat oven to 350 degrees, 325 degrees for dark or nonstick pan. Grease or spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan.

In large bowl, beat cake mix, pumpkin, water, oil, eggs and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on low speed until moistened, then on medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Bake 26 to 33 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Immediately poke cake every inch with handle of wooden spoon halfway into cake. Drizzle condensed milk evenly over top of cake; let stand until milk has been absorbed into cake, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place hot fudge in medium microwavable bowl. Microwave uncovered on High 15 to 30 seconds or until smooth. Spoon and spread over cake, pressing slightly into holes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.

Spread frosting over top of cake. Sprinkle with pecans. Just before serving, drizzle caramel sauce over each serving of cake. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator.

Makes 20 servings.

Have a great week, and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at news@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63702. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.