Sunday, May 1, 2011

Jell-O Poke Cupcakes

When we were kids my mom would make us a refrigerator cake called Jell-O Poke Cake and we loved it!  White cake with strawberry Jell-O drizzled all over it and then topped with a whipped cream frosting. 
It was so fun to take a fork and make holes all over the freshly baked cake so the Jell-O could sink in.  My brother, Greg, really loved this cake, so I surprised him on Easter Sunday with my cupcake version of Jell-O Poke cake. 

One bite of this cupcake and I was back home in 1975 wearing my bell bottom pants and listening to the Captain and Tennille and the Bee Gees on the radio.  Good times!

Strawberry Jello Poke Cupcakes



















Strawberry Jell-O Poke Cupcakes

1 box White Cake Mix, plus eggs, water and oil
1 cup boiling water
1 pkg. (3 oz.) Strawberry Flavored Jell-O
1/2 cup cold water

Place 24 cupcake liners in a muffin tin.  Prepare cake as directed on package.  Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 15-18 minutes.  Cool completely.  Take a fork or bamboo skewer (that's what I used) and poke about 6 six holes in each cupcake.  Prepare Jell-O as directed above.  Place the cupcakes on a pan with an edge because some of the Jell-O will overflow.  Now here's the tricky part.  Instead of spooning the Jell-O over each cupcake, I put it into a squeeze bottle and squeezed some Jell-O into each hole.  You will still have some overflow, but I don't think it was quite as bad as just pouring it from a cup would have been.  Now place the cupcakes in the fridge for a few hours to chill.

Frosting:
1 small pkg.Vanilla instant pudding
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. container Cool Whip

Whisk instant vanilla pudding, milk and vanilla until smooth.  Fold in Cool Whip.  I placed the prepared frosting in the fridge for about 30 minutes to let it thicken up before I place it into a piping bag to frost the cupcakes.
Frost as desired.  I used a Wilton 1M tip when frosting these cupcakes.

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11 comments:

  1. I love poke cake! This used to be my request for every birthday, BBQ and family reunion...so cute in cupcake form!

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  2. I have never had poke cake. Sounds delicious!

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  3. Jello poke cake was a childhood favorite of mine! Love your cupcakes!

    Kerri

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  4. Love this recipe brings me back in years when I was small. It adds a little twist to plain ole cake or cupcakes.

    Thanks
    Aline
    recipe club

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  5. These sound amazing! I'm wondering though how long they can be left out at room temperature (indoors) due to the cool whip in the frosting?

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  6. I found that using a large straw and poking into the cupcakes made it so that there was almost no mess!

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  7. Do you have to keep them refrigerated or can you put them on display for party dessert table?

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  8. Does the jello need to be thickened when inserting into cupcake or is it a liquid? Thanks!

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  9. Have you tried other flavors? We are having a 'Georgia Peaches' party and I found peach flavored jello Thought I would try that and top with a slice of fresh peach. Thoughts?

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