Blackberry Poke Cake marries sweet, tangy blackberries with a moist, fluffy vanilla cake. It starts with a box of cake mix and takes just 10 minutes to prepare.
Blackberry and White Chocolate Poke Cake
Our White Chocolate Blackberry Poke Cake is so easy to make using only a cake mix (plus ingredients called for on the box), blackberry preserves, a packet of instant pudding, milk, whipped topping, and white chocolate chips and fresh berries to sprinkle on top.
This poke cake recipe starts by baking a simple sheet cake from a box. It’s poked with a wooden spoon handle, topped with warm preserves that sink into holes, and then covered with a creamy pudding mixture so that each poked piece is filled with white chocolate and blackberries in every forkful.
The versatility of this cake makes it a perfect fit for any event. Whether it’s a summer barbecue, a family dinner, or a festive celebration, this cake is sure to be a hit. Its vibrant color and fruity flavor make it a refreshing treat on a hot day, while its comforting creaminess makes it a satisfying dessert for a cozy dinner.
What Is A Poke Cake?
A poke cake is a freshly baked cake, either from a box or from scratch, poked with holes and filled with a liquid or creamy filling to infuse flavor. Popular fillings include condensed milk, pureed fruit or preserves, pudding, chocolate cream, caramel or chocolate sauce, or jello.
Poke cake dessert recipes can be customized with your favorite cake mix and filling flavors.
Why We Love White Chocolate Blackberry Poke Cake
- Quick and easy to make using a box vanilla cake mix base.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Moist cake, fruit filling, fluffy topping, fruity flavor in every fresh berry-filled bite.
- Poke cake recipes make the most moist and delicious desserts.
- Perfect for Mother’s Day, summer parties, potlucks, or holiday celebrations.
White Chocolate Blackberry Poke Cake Ingredients
- French vanilla boxed cake mix (plus the ingredients called for on the box: water, vegetable oil, and eggs): I used Betty Crocker brand but feel free to use your favorite.
- Seedless blackberry preserves
- Instant white chocolate pudding mix
- Whole milk
- Extra creamy whipped topping
- White chocolate chips
- Fresh blackberries
Substitutions and Additions
- Fill With Another Fruit Flavor: You can change the flavor of the fruit for this recipe to a strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, or even a mixed berry version.
- Make With A Different Cake Mix: I love the flavor of the French vanilla cake mix for this recipe. However, any vanilla, butter, or white cake mix will also work. You will follow the directions on the back of the box for whichever brand of cake mix you choose.
- Choose Your Chocolate: You can swap out the white chocolate chips for chopped or shavings of a good quality white chocolate bar. Be sure that you are choosing a high-quality white chocolate chip. I like using the Ghirardelli brand.
Recommended Tools
- 9×13-inch baking dish
- Baker’s spray
- Wooden spoon
- Microwave-safe bowl
- Offset spatula
How to Make White Chocolate Blackberry Poke Cake
- Bake The Cake: Whisk together the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 27-30 minutes.
Pro Tip: The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. - Poke: Cool the cake for 20 minutes and then poke holes over the surface.
Pro Tip: Do not poke all the way to the bottom of the cake, only poke about ¾ of the way down. - Pour On The Preserves: Microwave the preserves to a pourable consistency and pour over the cake and into all the holes.
Pro Tip: You can use an offset spatula to spread the blackberry preserves evenly over the surface. - Prepare The Pudding: Whisk together the instant pudding and milk until thickened. Fold the whipped topping into the pudding until completely combined and spread the mixture over the the cake.
Pro Tip: Try not to mix the blackberry preserves into the pudding as much as possible. - Cover The Cake: Sprinkle the white chocolate chips over the surface of the pudding layer and garnish with fresh blackberries.
- Chill: Refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours up to overnight.
- Serve: Serve chilled and enjoy!
Tips For Making The Best White Chocolate Blackberry Poke Cake
- Make sure you use instant pudding mix and not the cook-and-serve kind.
- Allow the cake to cool before poking holes. To poke holes, I recommend using a large round wooden spoon handle or other similar-sized object so that the holes are fairly big and the blackberry preserves has plenty of room to seep down in between.
- Refrigerate before serving. This allows the flavors to meld together and the pudding layer to set, making the cake easier to slice and serve.
- Store-bought whipped topping is a great time saver to make this a quick and easy dessert.
How to Store White Chocolate Blackberry Poke Cake
- Make Ahead: This cake can be made a day in advance. Simply prepare the cake as directed, then cover and refrigerate overnight. This actually allows the flavors to meld together even more, enhancing the overall taste of the cake.
- To Store: You can store your poke cake in the refrigerator, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
More Poke Cake Recipes
Even More Poke Cake Recipes
- Raspberry Poke Cake
- Strawberry Crunch Poke Cake
- Banana Pudding Poke Cake
- Rainbow Jello Poke Cake
- Fireball Poke Cake
Blackberry Poke Cake
Serves — 12
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chill Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounce box of French vanilla boxed cake mix plus the ingredients called for on the box – 1 cup water, ½ cup vegetable oil, and 3 large eggs – Betty Crocker brand
- 2 cups seedless blackberry preserves
- 3.3 ounce box of instant white chocolate pudding mix
- 1¾ cups whole milk
- 8 ounce tub of extra creamy whipped topping thawed
- ½ cup of white chocolate chips
- 12 large fresh blackberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with baker’s spray. Set it aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the French vanilla cake mix, water, vegetable oil, and eggs together for 2 minutes. You will follow the directions for baking a 9×13 sheet cake according to the package directions.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 27-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool on the counter for 20 minutes before poking holes over the entire surface of the cake using the handle of a wooden spoon.
- Add the blackberry preserves to a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 45 seconds to 1 minute. Stir to create a pourable consistency.
- Pour the warmed seedless blackberry preserves evenly over the cake. Be sure to concentrate on getting the preserves into all the holes of the cake. You can use an offset spatula to spread the blackberry preserves evenly over the entire surface of the cake.
- In another large mixing bowl, you will make your pudding layer by whisking together the instant white chocolate pudding and whole milk for 3 minutes or until thickened.
- Fold the thawed extra creamy whipped topping into the white chocolate pudding until completely combined.
- Spread the pudding mixture over the entire surface of the cake. Be sure not to mix the blackberry preserves into the pudding as much as possible.
- Sprinkle the white chocolate chips over the surface of the pudding layer.
- Garnish with a whole fresh blackberry in, what should be, the center of each of the 12 servings of the poke cake. This will give you a beautiful presentation when sliced and served.
- Refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours up to overnight.
Jenn’s Notes
Yields: 12 (3×3 inch) servings
Storage:
- To Store: You can store your poke cake in the refrigerator, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.
- Make sure you use instant pudding mix and not the cook-and-serve kind.
- To poke holes, I recommend using a large round wooden spoon handle or other similar-sized object so that the holes are fairly big and the blackberry preserves has plenty of room to seep down in between.
- You can change the flavor of the fruit for this recipe to a strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, or even a mixed berry version. You just want to make sure you are using seedless fruit preserves. Be sure to choose a good quality that is on the thicker side. You do not want to use jelly in this recipe. The texture and consistency are very different.
- I love the flavor of the French vanilla cake mix for this recipe. However, any vanilla, butter, or white cake mix will work just as well. You will just follow the directions on the back of the box for whichever brand of cake mix you choose.
- Store-bought whipped topping is a great time saver to make this a quick and easy dessert. You can certainly make a sweetened whipped cream from scratch if you prefer. A recipe that calls for 1 cup of heavy whipping cream should yield the perfect amount of whipped cream for this recipe.
- You can swap out the white chocolate chips for chopped or shavings of a good quality white chocolate bar. Be sure that you are choosing a high-quality white chocolate chip. I like using the Ghirardelli brand.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 586mg | Potassium: 158mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 159mg | Iron: 1mg
