Pineapple Coconut Poke Cake Recipe

When you want a particularly moist, melt-in-your-mouth cake, it's time to make a poke cake. The concept is simple: bake a cake, poke holes in it, and pour a flavored liquid, like a pudding or jello, over the top to soak into the cake, adding flavor and moisture. The flavor combinations are practically endless, so whether you're craving a moist chocolate cake, a fruity strawberry champagne cake, or something more tropical, like this pineapple coconut poke cake, there's bound to be an option to satisfy your sweet tooth.

"I love the flavors in this cake," says recipe developer Jessica Morone of Jess Loves Baking. "It is so tropical and reminds me of a piña colada with the coconut, pineapple, and rum extract. It's a really summery cake." And there's a special ingredient that helps get the flavor so perfect: coconut cream instant pudding. "I like the flavor [of this pudding] a lot better, and it's a lot easier than having to add ingredients to something like vanilla pudding to get the right coconut flavor," Morone explains. So stock up on coconut cream pudding the next time you're at the store so you'll be ready to whip up this poke cake whenever the urge hits.

For this cake, you'll be making the cake itself, the pudding to pour into the holes you poke in the cake, and the icing, so you'll need to gather quite a few ingredients. Before you get started, be sure you have a can of crushed pineapple in juice, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coconut cream instant pudding mix, milk, heavy whipping cream, rum extract, confectioner's sugar, and sweetened coconut flakes on hand.

Before doing anything else, you have a few preparation tasks to take care of. Go ahead and heat your oven to 350 F and spray a 13x9-inch cake pan with cooking spray. 

Grab the can of pineapples and place a strainer over a bowl. Pour the pineapple into the strainer, separating the juice from the fruit. Measure out ½ cup of the pineapple juice to use in the cake batter — you can discard the rest or save it for another purpose (maybe a pineapple iced coffee to enjoy with your cake?). Set the crushed pineapple aside, as it will be added to the cake batter as well.

To get the batter started, mix together the wet ingredients for the batter in a large bowl. These include the pineapple juice, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil. Stir until well combined.

Use a separate bowl (it can be smaller), to mix the batter's dry ingredients — the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a whisk to distribute the ingredients equally throughout the flour. 

To make the batter, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. You should do this in about three passes, adding a third of the flour, mixing, adding another third, mixing, and then adding the last part of the flour. When the ingredients are well combined and smooth, pour in the pineapple and stir everything again. 

Grab the prepared cake pan and pour the batter into the pan, using a spatula to spread it evenly. Pop the pan in the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes — the top of the cake should turn a nice, golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and cover it with foil to help prevent the cake from browning further. Put the cake back in the oven and cook for 10-15 more minutes. You'll know it's done when you can poke the center with a toothpick or fork and it comes out clean without crumbs attached. 

When the cake has been baked, remove it from the oven and use a wooden skewer or the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes evenly across the cake. You can even use a fork if you want. The point here is to create the holes for the pudding mix to seep into. "A wider utensil will definitely give you bigger holes to get the pudding into, but because you are pouring the pudding mix while it is still more of a liquid, it doesn't matter too much how big the holes are," Morone explains.

Now that your cake is ready, it's time to mix together the pudding mix and milk. Simply whisk them together in a large bowl until they're well combined. It's important not to do this step too early, as you want the mix to remain liquid, rather than pudding-like. 

With the pudding and milk mixed, quickly pour the liquid evenly across the top of the cake before it has a chance to thicken up too much. Use a spatula or spoon to spread it evenly, trying to ensure it seeps into the holes you created. "Some pudding filling will definitely still end up on the top of the cake, but that just becomes another delicious layer to the cake," Morone says. 

Place the cake in the fridge to set and chill for about 2 hours.

When the cake is almost set, mix up the whipped cream icing. Beat the cold heavy cream with a stand or hand mixer until it forms soft peaks. Slowly mix in the confectioners' sugar and rum extract, continuing to beat the cream until stiff peaks form. 

"The rum extract is only going into the whipped cream for a little bit of flavoring," Morone says. "You could use regular rum and use about 1 teaspoon if you want more of an 'adult' version of the cake, or don't have rum extract." 

Pull the cake from your fridge and spread the whipped cream frosting over the top. Then, sprinkle the icing with shredded coconut. It's ready to be enjoyed immediately, but if you're not quite ready to serve it yet, store it in the fridge until it's time to dig in. 

If you and your family or friends don't devour the cake in one night, it can keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. While it's the perfect post-dinner sweet for a fun dessert, Morone says it's also a great mid-afternoon snack paired with coffee or tea.