I took another deep dive into obscure American baked goods this week. This poke cake traditionally uses Jello as the pour-over but I wanted a more natural fruit flavour and chose to use a fruit puree and loved how it turned out! If you do not want make your own you could water down a jar of Jam with some lemon juice and pour that over too. Or be brave and use that jello! The reason its called a poke cake is because typically large (almost scarily large) craters are poked into the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon so that the fruit pour-over can soak in and, when sliced, you get these deep pits of fruity goodness! Think of it as a more extreme lemon drizzle cake but the aim with this is to see the rivers of fruit in the cake. The addition of the condensed milk gives me vibes of tres leches cake, rich and milky but also light and flavourful. This cake truly is delicious! 

I’ve seen this cake made with various fruits with custard used as the pour-over, or even caramel or chocolate. So get out there and give it a try!

Ingredients 

Vanilla Sponge - 

400 g cake flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

180 g unsalted butter, softened

325 g sugar

50 ml vegetable oil

5 large egg whites

300 ml whole milk

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Strawberry sauce - 

500 g frozen strawberries

50 g sugar

Juice of half a lemon (optional); if not, 50 ml water

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream - 

425 ml double cream, cold

100 g powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

300 g cream cheese, room temperature

To decorate - 

Strawberries, for topping (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 9x13” cake pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. 

1 -

In a separate bowl, add the softened butter, sugar and oil and beat together until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. To this, add the egg whites and mix until well combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are well incorporated.

2 -

Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined. To this, add the milk and vanilla extract, mix until well combined, and then add the remaining dry ingredients before doing a final mix. Everything should be well combined. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are well incorporated but be careful not to over mix.

3 -

Once done, transfer the batter to your prepared cake pan and spread evenly.

4 -

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick, when inserted, comes out clean. You can cover the cake with foil if the top is browning too fast. Once baked, remove from the oven and using the handle of a wooden spoon or the wide end of a chopstick, poke holes all over the cake. Pour the entire tin of condensed milk over the cake and spread it evenly so that it can soak into the holes. Set this to one side to allow it to cool. In the meantime, prepare the strawberry pour over.

5 -

In a large saucepan, add your frozen strawberries, sugar and lemon juice and gently cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until it begins to boil and break down, approx. 2-3 mins. Once the fruit is soft and can be mashed into a smooth sauce (you can blend with a stick blender), remove from the heat and pour it over the cake, spreading it evenly and letting the juices soak down into the holes. Allow to cool fully, cover and place in the fridge while we prepare the topping. You can make this ahead and store in the fridge for a day before serving. 

6 -

For the cream cheese topping, add the cream cheese into a large bowl and whip for 2-3 mins until light and fluffy. Add your vanilla extract and icing sugar and whisk for another minute to combine before adding your cold double cream and whipping it until soft, fluffy and spreadable. Be sure not to over mix.

7 -

Using a spatula or pallet knife, layer all of the cream mixture over your cooled cake in a thick even layer. Top with sliced fresh strawberries and slice and serve. 

This cake can be stored for 2-3 days, but once topped with the cream, it is best to eat as soon as possible. Make sure you keep it chilled before serving. If making ahead, wait until the day of serving to add the topping for best results.