Coconut Poke Cake Recipe With Cream of Coconut

Coconut poke cake starts with a box cake mix and soaks up a cream of coconut filling while it cools. It comes out of the refrigerator cool and light, and one bite will take you right back to your grandmother’s coconut cake. Perfect for any summer party.

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This is the kind of recipe that looks like you fussed all afternoon. Most of the work is waiting for it to chill.

Why I Started Bringing the Cake

We have a card party with friends once a month, and there is almost always a birthday to celebrate.

Have you looked at bakery cake prices lately? A sheet cake from our local grocery store costs more than the whole rest of the party put together, and it is not even very good.

So I took over cake duty.

It is cheaper, it is better, and I get to decide what goes in it. This month I wanted something light for summer. Jim has always loved coconut cream pie and coconut cake, so I went that direction.

He took one bite and told me it was the best cake I have ever made. Coming from a man who has eaten a lot of my cakes over the years, I will take it.

People went back for seconds. I think I am the official dessert baker from here on out.

Why You Will Love This Coconut Poke Cake

• It costs a fraction of a bakery cake. Under ten dollars for a 9×13 that feeds fifteen people.
• It travels beautifully. Make it the night before, cover the pan, and carry it right out the door.
• It is lighter than it looks. Real whipped cream instead of a tub of frosting, and light olive oil instead of vegetable oil.
• The box mix does the hard part. You are really just poking holes and pouring.
• It gets better overnight. One of the few cakes that actually improves sitting in the refrigerator.

What Is a Poke Cake, Exactly?

A poke cake is just a baked cake with holes poked all through it while it is still warm.

You pour something sweet and pourable into those holes, and it soaks down into the crumb instead of sitting on top.

Poke cakes have been showing up at church suppers and potlucks since the 1970s, usually with Jell-O. The coconut version came later and stuck around because it is so much better.

The result is a cake that stays moist for days. That is the whole trick.

Ingredients You Will Need

For the Cake

• 1 box Pillsbury Moist Supreme Coconut Cake Mix
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup Fairlife skim milk
• 1/2 cup light olive oil
• 3 large eggs

For the Soak

• 1 can cream of coconut, 15 ounces, I use Coco Lopez
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

For the Whipped Cream Topping

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, very cold
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
• Most of one 7-ounce package sweetened shredded coconut

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Cream of coconut is not coconut milk. This one trips people up constantly. It is thick and sweet, and you will find it in the drink mixer aisle next to the margarita mix, not in the baking aisle. Coco Lopez is the one I buy.
• The coconut box mix matters. Most recipes online use plain white cake mix. I found the Pillsbury coconut flavored mix and the batter alone tasted so good I knew the cake was going to work. If your store does not carry it, white cake mix is fine, you just lose a little coconut flavor.
• Light olive oil instead of seed oils. I have swapped olive oil into almost all my baking. Use light olive oil, not extra virgin, because you do not want it tasting like a salad.
• Fairlife skim milk in place of some water. I have discovered over the years that swapping milk for part of the water gives box mixes a richer crumb.
• Vanilla bean paste. Worth buying once. You get the little flecks and a deeper vanilla flavor. However, you can use vanilla extract 1 teaspoon.

Pro tip: Only use half the can of sweetened condensed milk. The cream of coconut is already very sweet, and the whole can makes the cake heavy.

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Equipment Needed

• 9×13 inch baking pan
• Large mixing bowl
• Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
• Wooden spoon handle or a thick straw for poking the holes
• Medium bowl for the soak mixture
• Rubber spatula
• Offset spatula for frosting, a butter knife works fine

How to Make Coconut Poke Cake With a Box Cake Mix

1. Mix and bake the cake. Preheat to 350 degrees. Beat the cake mix, water, Fairlife milk, light olive oil, and eggs together for about 2 minutes until smooth. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
   Pro tip: Taste the batter. If it tastes good going in, it will taste good coming out.
2. Let it rest 10 minutes. Set the pan on a rack and walk away for exactly ten minutes.
   Pro tip: Warm cake soaks. Cold cake does not. Do not skip this window.
3. Poke the holes. Use the handle end of a wooden spoon and poke holes about every inch, all the way to the bottom of the pan.
   Pro tip: Wiggle the handle a little as you pull it out so the hole stays open.
4. Mix the soak. Stir together the cream of coconut, the half cup of sweetened condensed milk, and the vanilla bean paste until smooth.
5. Pour it in slowly. Spoon the mixture over the cake a little at a time, nudging it into the holes with the back of the spoon.
   Pro tip: You do not have to use every drop. If the top starts to pool and look soupy, stop there.
6. Chill 1 to 2 hours. Cover the pan and put it in the refrigerator. This is where the cake actually becomes what it is supposed to be.
7. Whip the cream. Right before serving, beat the cold heavy cream with the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla bean paste until it holds firm peaks.
   Pro tip: Chill your bowl and beaters in the freezer for ten minutes first, and it whips in half the time.
8. Frost and finish. Spread the whipped cream over the cold cake and cover the whole top with shredded coconut. Slice and serve cold.

Tips and Tricks

Toast the coconut if you have five extra minutes. Spread it on a sheet pan at 325 degrees and stir every two minutes until it is golden. It adds a nutty crunch against all that soft creaminess.

Make it the night before. This cake is better on day two. Frost it the morning of, or frost it the night before and keep it covered.

Warm the cream of coconut. If the can has separated or gone solid, set it in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes and stir. It pours much easier.

Do not frost a warm cake. The whipped cream will slide right off. Make sure the cake is fully cold.

Variations

• Pineapple coconut: Spread a drained 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple over the soaked cake before you frost it. This is the version my friends ask about most.
• Almond joy: Scatter mini chocolate chips and toasted almonds over the whipped cream.
• Lime coconut: Add the zest of one lime to the whipped cream. Very refreshing in August.
• Rum coconut: Stir 2 tablespoons of dark rum into the soak mixture. Strictly for the grown-up parties.
• Lighter still: Use fat free sweetened condensed milk and top with whipped topping instead of heavy cream.

Storing Leftovers

Cover the pan tightly and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It never lasts that long here.

I do not recommend freezing it once it is frosted, because whipped cream turns weepy when it thaws.

You can freeze the baked and soaked cake unfrosted, though. Wrap it well, freeze up to 2 months, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator and whip fresh cream the day you serve it.

What to Serve With This Cake

• Baked Mushroom Swiss Burgers (Easy Oven Recipe
• Classic Greek Salad Recipe with Homemade Dressing
• Easy Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Slider Sandwiches

A pot of coffee is really all it needs. As my Aunt Lois always said, if you have a pot of coffee and a box of cake mix, you can make a party.

Frequently Asked Questions

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