This Easter Poke Cake is a colorful, festive cake that feels both old-fashioned and totally fun. Made with cake mix, pudding, and fluffy Cool Whip, it's an easy Easter dessert that's always a crowd-pleaser-especially once the bunny and Peeps come out.
Why This Recipe is the Best
This recipe keeps things simple while delivering maximum color, flavor, and nostalgia in every bite. The vanilla pudding soaks into the cake perfectly, keeping it moist and light, while the rainbow colors and Easter decorations turn it into a festive dessert that everyone gets excited about.
For more Easter recipes, try our Easter Punch, Easter Dirt Cake, and our Cadbury Egg Easter Cookies.
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Key Ingredients
This recipe has the best Easter colors and tastes! You don't want to skip these key ingredients.
- White Cake-Using a white cake mix creates the perfect blank canvas for bright, colorful layers without muddying the colors.
- Vanilla instant pudding- Adds moisture and that classic old fashioned poke cake texture without making a soggy mess like sweetened condensed milk.
- Cool Whip- Keeps the topping light and fluffy instead of a heavy frosting.
- Easter decorations-Peeps, Robin's Eggs, and coconut grass make this cake extra festive and kid-friendly without adding much extra work.
How to Make Easter Poke Cake
Use these process shots to help get the results you want. The pictures can be a visual guide for the best results.
- Start by making the boxed cake according to the packaged directions.
- Divide the batter into three separate bowls. Add a small amount of food coloring to each bowl. Start with a little and add more to get the desired color.
- Put all three batter colors in a greased pan. With a knife, swirl the batters around to make a tie-dye look. Too much swirling will mix it too much and create a brown color.
- Once the cake is baked and cooled, poke holes in the cake. Spread vanilla pudding on top of the cake.
- Top the vanilla pudding with whipped cream and decorate with fun Easter candies or sprinkles.
Hint: Make sure not to use too little food coloring-colors fade slightly as the cake bakes, so brighter dye gives the best rainbow effect.
Common Mistakes
Not poking enough holes can prevent the pudding from soaking evenly into the cake, so be generous when poking.
Top tip
Use neon gel food coloring and add a little more than you think you need-the colors soften as the cake bakes, and this keeps everything bright and cheerful.
Recipe
Easter Poke Cake
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce white cake mix 1 box
- ingredients needed to make cake according to package directions, eggs, oil, water.
- 3.4 ounce box vanilla instant pudding mix or white chocolate, see note 1 below
- 2 cups cold milk
- 8 ounces Cool Whip
- easter decorations, peeps, robins eggs, gel food coloring, etc.
Instructions
- Make cake batter according to package directions then divide batter evenly into 3 bowls. Add gel food coloring to each bowl until desired color is achieved. See note 2.
- Grease a 9x13 pan and spoon the batter into the pan randomly. I like to use a large spoon like a ladle, and ¼ cup measuring cups. Use a fork to slightly swirl the colors together. Only swirl it a little bit or the colors will mix and blend and not look good. See pictures above for a visual reference.
- Bake cake according to package directions. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 20 minutes. Then use the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes into the cake, about ¾ to 1 inch apart, going about ⅔ of the way down the cake.
- Whisk the cold milk and pudding mix together in a small mixing bowl for 2 minutes. Pour over the cake and spread evenly, pressing it into the poke holes. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Spread Cool Whip evenly over the top and decorate with your favorite Easter decorations. We love to use peeps bunnies, robins or cadbury eggs and edible grass. See note 3 below to make at home.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- I like the pastel yellow of the vanilla pudding, but don't dye any of the cake batter yellow. If using yellow dye for one of the cake colors, use white chocolate pudding for a white color instead of vanilla.
- While the cake bakes, the color will become slightly less vibrant, so we recommend adding a touch extra dye. We also recommend using the "neon" colors for the best results.
- To make edible grass place about ⅓ cup sweetened coconut in a bowl and add 2 drops of green liquid food coloring. Stir until evenly distributed and add more if needed.
- This is a great make ahead dessert! Make it up to 1 day in advance. Wait until right before serving to top with Cool Whip and decorate.
Nutrition
For more poke cakes, try our Strawberry Poke Cake recipe.
Storing Easter Poke Cake
Store the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. For best results, wait to add the Cool Whip topping and decorations until just before serving.
Variations & Substitutions
For fun variations, try these out.
- Pudding Flavor: Use white chocolate pudding for a brighter white base if you want to dye part of the cake yellow.
- Cupcakes: Turn this recipe into colorful Easter cupcakes using the same method and decorating them individually.
- Coconut-Free: Skip the coconut grass and use green sprinkles instead.
- Extra Festive: Add sprinkles between layers or mix pastel candies into the topping.
FAQs
An Easter poke cake is a festive dessert where holes are poked into a baked cake and filled with pudding or Jello, then topped with whipped topping and Easter decorations.
Yes, Jello works well and creates a brighter, more translucent color, but pudding gives a creamier texture and more old fashioned flavor.
Absolutely. This cake can be made up to one day in advance-just wait to add the Cool Whip and decorations until serving.
The colors fade slightly during baking, so using neon gel food coloring and adding a bit extra helps keep everything vibrant.
Andrea says
Love the fun colors of this recipe! My kids love this EasterPoke Cake.