Big Red Poke Cake

Last week I shared with you one of the birthday cakes I made for my niece and nephews’ 14th birthday. This week I am sharing another cake I made for them – Big Red Poke Cake.

Before the kids came for a visit I asked them what they wanted in terms of snacks and birthday cakes. Jacob was the most specific and asked for Big Blue, big pineapple and ingredients to make egg toast. When they arrived I told Jacob I had bought his big pineapple. He was excited and asked where it was. I pointed to the counter and said over there. He asked again where? I again pointed and he looked at me and said “Dede. Big Pineapple is a drink. You know like Big Red, Big Blue.” Doh! And here I bought him the biggest pineapple I could find.

For their cakes, Sydni and Jacob were specific in what they wanted and Caleb was not. So he got the cake I have been wanting to try. Sydni had the same cake as last year – a vanilla and strawberry layered cake – only this year we added coloring. Jacob wanted a pound cake which I am still dreaming about.

The first time I had Big Red Cake was at the local farmers market. I couldn’t wait to try it because when I used to drink soft drinks back in the day (two months ago), Big Red was one of my go to drinks on my frequent road trips.

I remember at the time liking the cake because it was moist but there wasn’t a whole lot of flavor to it. But the moistness of the cake makes it a winner in my book. And my coworkers all enjoyed it. I mean what remained was a sliver of the cake so it was definitely a hit. With three cakes in three days, we were all on cake overload.

 

Big Red Poke Cake

Ingredients:

1 – 16.5 oz Yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 c water
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/3 c mayonnaise
Pam spray
1 – 3 oz package Cherry Jello gelatin
1/2 c boiling hot water
1/2 c Big Red
1 large tub Cool Whip

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, oil, 1 cup water and mayonnaise. Mix with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined.

Prepare a 9×13 cake pan by spraying with Pam spray.

Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Place in the oven and bake for 23-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the middle of the cake.

Once cake is out of the oven, boil water.

In a small mixing bowl, add gelatin, 1/2 c boiling hot water and Big Red. Whisk together until smooth and combined.

Poke holes in the cake by using the end of a wooden handle. Pour the gelatin mixture over the cake ensuring all the holes get some of the gelatin.

Let cool. If not eating the same day, place in the refrigerator to set.

Before topping with Cool Whip, allow Cool Whip to thaw out for about 20 minutes. Top with Cool Whip and enjoy!

Note: traditional Big Red Cake calls for vanilla pudding to be mixed into the Cool Whip. I knew the kids probably wouldn’t care for that so I went with straight Cool Whip. However, you can add either some vanilla extract, almond extract or Cream of Coconut to give the topping a little zing.