Cherry Jello Poke Cake Recipe (Surprise Ingredient)

Surprise! Cherry Jello Poke Cake with rich vanilla cake is soaked in cherry Jello & Coke mixture, a delightful burst of Cherry Vanilla Coke flavor in every bite!

Reasons Poke Cake Is One Of My Go-To’s

Prep is super easy using a boxed cake mix; no extra steps; just make and bake. Then throw together the cherry jello and cola soak, and let the fridge do the work! I love the layered and complementary flavors, plus it’s a nice-sized cake for that party or a crowd.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• French Vanilla Boxed Cake Mix – Bake as directed, using the ingredients listed on the box, typically water, eggs, and oil.
• Cherry Gelatin – dry powder; do not prepare.
• Coca-Cola – or a cola-flavored soda. 
• Water
• Frozen Whipped Topping – thawed
• Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix – dry powder; do not prepare.
• Milk – or your favorite nut milk, cold.
• Vanilla Extract
• Optional Garnishes – Chocolate Jimmies and Maraschino Cherries

For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

How To Make A Cherry Poke Cake Recipe

When you are making this recipe, you’ll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.

Just writing about this lusciously moist Coke cake makes my mouth water! So, are you ready for a sweet dessert recipe bursting with vanilla cherry cola cake taste? I am!

• Prepare and bake a 9×13’ French vanilla boxed cake mix and partially cool.
• Poke slightly warm cake every ½ inch with a fork or end of wooden spoon handle.
• Mix Coca-Cola, water, and cherry jello until dissolved, pour over cake, and refrigerate 1/2 hour.
• Whisk vanilla pudding mix, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth; gently fold in whipped topping and spread evenly over the coke cake.
• Refrigerate for several hours and garnish with chocolate jimmies and cherries when serving.

Recipe Tips For Success

• Warm Start: If your vanilla cake is slightly warm when you poke, it helps to avoid the extra crumbing/cracking from a cold cake top.*
• The Poking: Avoid hitting the bottom of the pan so the filling won’t create a soupy sponge.
• Don’t over-poke: You want holes for the filling, not to crumble or collapse the cake.
• Cool completely: A warm cake will absorb the filling too quickly, making it soggy.
• The Soaking: I let the cherry Coke jello seep slowly over the cooled cake, filling the holes evenly.
• Chill Baby Chill: A poke cake recipe needs at least 30 minutes for the filling to set up, but the longer, the better!

Important Note!

You can just as easily find advice on when to poke holes in a jello cake, saying the cake must be cold, room temperature, or slightly warm. No worries; since there is no hard and fast rule, plus, once the cherry cola jello sets up, the whole yummy cake is topped off with a cloud of creamy vanilla whipped topping.

Storage

Refrigerate Properly: Keep Jello poke cake covered well so it doesn’t dry out. Avoid letting the cake sit out of the fridge because the jello can start to break down and the poke cake can become soupy.

Substitutions or Variations

• Sprinkles : use blue or red, white and blue jimmies for a patriotic dessert.
• White Frosting: Use clear vanilla or just omit the vanilla extract if you want a white frosting.
• Cherry Jello: No stress; several flavors pair well with Coke and cake recipes. 
• Pudding: No cherry Jello? No problem! Try a vanilla pudding and add maraschino cherry juice to make this cherry coke poke recipe.
• Fruit Syrups: Combined with plain gelatin, syrups like strawberry or lime juice are great stand-ins for cherry Jello. 
• Ice Cream: Even melted ice cream can be transformed into a decadently rich poke cake filling instead of Coke.
• Almond lovers will enjoy a cherry almond poke cake. Toss in ½ cup sliced almonds, and use 1 tsp almond extract.
• A cup of chocolate chips to the batter for a cherry chocolate chip poke cake sounds so good!
• A dark chocolate cake with cherry jello and coke makes a decadent black forest poke cake. 
• If you feel like chocolate-covered cherries (or strawberries), go with a milk chocolate cake mix.

You’ll definitely want to share this Cherry Jello Poke Cake recipe with a crowd, or you might find yourself tempted to eat the whole dish by yourself.

Like This Recipe?

I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a review below and let me know how you liked the recipe!

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Originally posted on January 23, 2015. UPDATED June 2024 with more information and new photos. No changes were made to the recipe

Cherry Vanilla Coke Poke Cake

Yield: 16 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Chill Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Coca-Cola mixed with cherry gelatin makes this rich vanilla cherry jello poke cake full of flavor in every bite.

Ingredients

• 1 package (2-layer size) French Vanilla Cake Mix (plus ingredient listed on box to prepare cake)
• 1 (6 ounce) package Cherry flavored gelatin
• 12 ounces Coca-Cola
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (3.5 ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• chocolate jimmies (optional garnish)
• maraschino cherries (optional garnish)

Instructions

1. Prepare cake batter and bake as directed on package for 13x9-inch pan. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Using a large fork or end of wooden spoon, pierce cake at 1/2-inch intervals.
2. Using a medium bowl, add Coca-Cola and water to gelatin and mix; stir 2 min. until dissolved. Pour over cake. Refrigerate 1/2 hour.
3. Combine vanilla pudding mix with milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Gently fold in whipped topping then spread evenly over cake.
4. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.  Garnish with chocolate jimmies and cherries when serving.

Notes

you can substitute French Vanilla Cake mix for vanilla, butter, yellow or white

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 16
Serving Size: 1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 158
Total Fat: 2g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Trans Fat: 0g
Unsaturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 2mg
Sodium: 273mg
Carbohydrates: 32g
Fiber: 0g
Sugar: 18g
Protein: 2g

Nutrition information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin, and freshness of ingredients used and are just estimates. We encourage, especially if these numbers are important to you, to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.