Easy, moist and refreshing this Lemon Raspberry Poke Cake is full of fun flavors with an easy homemade raspberry sauce that you can’t resist.
Cakes are amazing. I’ve always been a cake lover, if you know anything about me, then you know that cake is my favorite dessert EVER. We absolutely are a cake family, and usually choose to have that over any other dessert out there.
But my husband and I kinda, sorta differ a little bit. He is more of a cookie fan, but since writing my cookbook I have converted into a actual desserts lover and cake is finally making his way onto the radar, THANK YOU!!! Because sometimes it gets a little hard having to eat a whole cake by yourself. Just kidding….that never happens….
WHAT IS A POKE CAKE?
So if you’ve never had a poke cake before, you are REALLY missing out. They are one of the best and easiest cakes around, and they are the ones that are perfect for crowds and potlucks. But what are poke cakes really? Well let me break it down for you a little bit.
A like cake is pretty much exactly as the name explains. It’s usually a cake baked in a 9″x13″ cake pan that is poked with holes using either a fork or the end of a wooden or plastic spoon and poured with a liquid such as pudding, sweetened condensed milk, jellies, jams, or chocolate.
I mean how can you not love a poke cake with all those options? I mean a whole cake poured in chocolate? I think I’m down for that. This Lemon Raspberry Poke Cake is more along the lines of the jellies/jam and sweetened condensed milk category.
You get a double whammy with this poke cake recipe that is for sure. You get two liquids poured over this lemon flavored cake. And lemon and raspberry together is literally such a fun and delicious flavor combination that you can’t stop at just one bite.
So I know that there are people who really like all things homemade, now I love homemade things too, but sometimes you just need to take a shortcut and go for that semi-homemade feeling.
This cake we are calling semi-homemade because although it does use a boxed cake mix, canned sweetened condensed milk and whipped topping from a container…I do make the raspberry sauce homemade!
This raspberry sauce you can actually use for multiple things if you so choose! It’s great over scones, ice cream, licking with a spoon, you name it.
There are minimal ingredients comprised in the sauce, just water, sugar, raspberries, vanilla, salt and a slurry made of cornstarch and water. I also strain my raspberry sauce where you can leave the seeds in there if you like and skip that step but we like the more smooth texture of the strained sauce.
So if you’re looking for a delicious and fun poke cake recipe with tasty Spring and Summer flavors then you need to give this Lemon Raspberry Poke Cake a try!
If you like this cake recipe you might also like:
Lemon Raspberry Poke Cake
Ingredients
- 1 15.25 oz pkg lemon cake mix, and ingredients called for on back
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 8 oz container whipped topping
Raspberry Sauce:
- 1/4 cup water
- 12 oz fresh raspberries
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 Tbs lemon juice
- 2 Tbs cold water
- 2 Tbs cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Bake cake according to package directions, once baked remove from oven and poke holes over top of cake with handle of wooden spoon, set aside.
- To make your raspberry sauce in a medium saucepan add water, raspberries, lemon juice and sugar.
- Heat for about 5 minutes over medium high heat until the raspberries break down while you mash them around with a spoon.
- Remove from heat and strain out seeds (if desired) through a fine mesh strainer.
- Return sauce to pan and place back on heat.
- In a small bowl whisk together your 2 Tbs water and cornstarch and stir into sauce for about 1 minute until slightly thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in your vanilla and salt.
- Pour your can of sweetened condensed milk over top of cake and using spatula spread over top of cake and into holes.
- Then spread over your raspberry sauce over top of cake and again spread over top of cake and into holes.
- Place in refrigerator for 1-2 hour until raspberry sauce is set up slightly.
- Remove from refrigerator and top with whipped topping.
- Garnish with lemon slices and raspberries if desired.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
PIN IT FOR LATER!
Melissa
The raspberry sauce in this recipe is exquisite!