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Poke Cake Recipe with Lemon and Blueberries from Mariano’s

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I wanted to make a poke cake recipe for Memorial Day. Since I had never done this, I thought I’d better do a practice run first. Every time I shop at Mariano’s, it seems to get my creative baking juices flowing. The place is not just a grocery store, it’s an experience! That sounds funny, but you need to see for yourself. I rallied my sister, niece and a friend to take the trip to the Frankfort Mariano’s for a #cbias shopportunity.

This Mariano’s is a little bit of a cruise for us. It’s definitely not close enough for weekly shopping trips, but we love it so much that we plan dates to go. It was really funny because we ran into a guy that does the same thing! He lives nowhere near the store, and yet makes the drive to go there. We all laughed about it. #MyMarianos is just THAT awesome! Plus, the prices are great, and even more savings when you have their free rewards card. It’s like a friendly community more than just a grocery store.

blueberries at Mariano's

One look at their produce section and I was inspired. I swear everything in there is flawless. As soon as I spotted the blueberries, I knew I wanted to include them into my cake recipe. Seriously, how can you pass up these beauties?

blueberries

Since the prices were good, I went ahead and bought two containers. Blueberries will never go to waste here. In fact, I used a few right away in my new Aqua Zinger!

On to my poke cake recipe… Ever since I saw the poke cake idea on Pinterest, I had been eager to try it. I decided that lemon pudding might be delicious along with the blueberries. Yep, I was right!

poke cake recipe ingredients

Blueberry Lemon Poke Cake Recipe

To make a “poke cake” all you do is bake a cake and then poke holes into it. Then fill the holes… I have seen it done with Jell-o or with pudding. The possibilities are really endless. I chose white cake mix and baked as per the instructions.

lemon pudding poke cake

Using a wooden spoon handle, I carefully poked holes into the semi-cooled cake. I spaced them about 1″ apart. I used a divided tin because I couldn’t decide to include the blueberries IN the cake or not. I did one section with the blueberries in the batter, and one without.

Make the pudding as directed and pour over cake before it fully sets. It soaks in better if it’s not to the full “pudding” consistency. Place in the refrigerator and chill for a bit.

pudding poke cake

Once the pudding has soaked in and set a while, it’s easy to remove from the pan. I chose to serve some with just the pudding as the topping, and some with the pudding scraped off the top and added frosting. I did that with the non-blueberry cake.

Blueberry Lemon Poke Cake Recipe

It’s up to your sweet tooth which one you would prefer. Both are really tasty, but the one with the frosting is a lot sweeter, obviously. I preferred the cake with blueberries inside and only pudding topping. The blueberries sunk to the bottom while baking, so it’s nice to add some to the top, too. It was so delicious and refreshing! Mike leaned toward the one with frosting and blueberries on top.

Either way, it’s a definite “win” for a Memorial Day cake recipe!

Poke Cake Recipe with Lemon and Blueberries from Mariano's

Yield: 12 slices

Lemon Blueberry Poke Cake Recipe

Blueberry Lemon Poke Cake Recipe

Poke cake is delicious and fun to make. Try this one with lemon and blueberries. 

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Chilling time 20 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 box White Cake Mix, and ingredients as per instructions
  • 1 box Lemon Instant Pudding, and milk to make it
  • 1/4 cup Fresh Blueberries
  • Whipped Cream Frosting, optional

Instructions

  1. Bake cake as directed (I recommend mixing the blueberries in with the batter)
  2. Poke holes into semi-cooled cake - holes should be about 1" apart
  3. Make pudding as directed
  4. Pour pudding over cake with holes before the pudding fully sets
  5. Place pudding-topped cake into refrigerator for about 20 mins
  6. Either serve as is, or scrape a bit of the pudding off and frost

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 64Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 71mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 5gProtein: 2g

Nutrition facts are an estimate only.

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Cuisine: American / Category: Dessert

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and Mariano’s.


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Comments

  2. I can honestly say I’ve NEVER heard of a ‘Poke Cake’ before today! It sounds like quite an interesting recipe to try and I think you hit a big winner with the blueberries and lemon flavor mixture ^.^

  3. We don’t have a Mariano’s out here in Massachusetts, but it sounds like we need one! This cake sounds absolutely amazing!

  5. Oh yum! I made a Lemon Blueberry Bread a couple months ago and it turned out amazing. It had a lot of steps though and was a pretty intricate recipe. This looks so simple and I bet just as delicious. I pinned it so I can try it this summer!

  6. That combo of flavors sounds perfectly divine! I just had to pin this!

  8. We have made poke cake a lot but we used strawberries. This is a cool new combination. Thanks for sharing it!

  10. looks delish!! i’ve never bought blueberries at a store can you believe it? we have huge bushes outside in our yard!

  11. That looks delicious! I’m not a big fan of blueberries but I’d still like to try it. 🙂

  13. This is SUCH a pretty cake and looks YUMMY. I wonder if I tried with frozen blueberries – I have so many to use up!

  14. Hmmm YUM! I’ve yet to ever try poke cake, but yours is going to be the one! That looks SO delicious.. totally perfect for the warm weather. I need to get myself to a Marianos!

  15. That looks absolutely amazing!!…and easy too! Thanks for sharing!

  17. WOW that looks so delicious! I’ve never tried lemon pudding before but I think it sounds perfect with the white cake and blueberries. Can’t wait to try your recipe!

  18. What an easy, cool, and delicious summer cake! It would be the hit of any party.

  19. That looks pretty good.I’m going to show this to my sister,she’s the baker. Thanks for sharing 🙂

  22. I’m going to try it but use fat free pudding & fat free cool whip instead of the frosting…wish me luck!

  23. I want to make this awesome and delicious Poke Care recipe! This would be a good summertime recipe to make because I can get it cold. I love cake with lemon, and this is an easy recipe to make!

    • It’s really yummy! Let me know if you make it and how it turns out. 🙂

  24. This looks so good and sounds easy to make. I’ll definitely be giving it a try.

  25. My mom use to make poke cake with jello. Been so long. This looks like a glammed up version. I am going to have to make some.

  26. This cake sounds and looks so delicious, I have to try it. It will be a nice treat for my family.

  28. When making the poke cake with jello I find it turns out better if you let the jello chill for an hour or so to thicken up before you pour it in.

  30. I will be trying this as soon as I can get to the store and get the ingredients! I love lemon flavors and I know I would like this cake.

  32. I’ve been making poke cakes for years! So easy to make and always so full of flavor! And the best part is you can use just about any pudding flavor and any fruit!

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