Incredibly moist lemon poke cake made with only eight ingredients including boxed cake mix, lemon extract, and lemon juice.
This lemony cake is perfect for a quick dessert and is a great option for potlucks and cookouts.
Quick and Easy Dessert
This lemon poke cake is super easy to make and is made with very common ingredients. This cake does use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the glaze but it can easily be substituted for bottled lemon juice if that's what you have on hand!
However, the lemon extract is essential for the bold lemon flavor in this cake. But, if you don't have lemon extract on hand - it CAN be substituted for 2 tablespoon of lemon juice. Either way, it will be delicious!
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Only A Few Ingredients
Simple desserts are perfect when there isn't a lot of time or you're limited on ingredients. This cake only has eight common pantry staples and this lemon poke cake comes together quickly and easily!
Whether this cake is whipped up for a quick and easy dessert for after dinner or for a potluck party - it's a great choice!
- boxed yellow cake mix
- eggs
- all-purpose flour
- vegetable oil
- lemon pudding mix
- lemon extract (or lemon juice as a substitute)
- water
- confectioner's sugar
- lemon juice (for glaze)
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Poke Cake
One of the best things about poke cake other than how easy poke cakes are to make, it's also how deliciously moist they are.
Once the cake is hot out of the oven, the back of a wooden spoon is used to poke holes into the cake.
The confectioner's sugar and the freshly squeezed lemon juice (or bottled lemon juice) are then combined together to create a glaze that is then poured into the holes of the lemon poke cake and drizzled onto the surface.
When serving the cake, I always use my handheld sifter to get an even coating of powdered sugar over the entire cake.
📖 Recipe
Lemon Poke Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Poke Cake
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 box lemon pudding mix
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract - or 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup hot water
Lemon Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice - freshly squeezed or bottled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Lightly grease and flour a 9x13 baking dish.
- Dissolve the lemon pudding mix into the hot water. Allow the mixture to sit.
- In a bowl, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, and the lemon extract.
- Add in the pudding mix.
- Beat in the yellow cake mix and the flour.
- Pour into the greased and floured baking pan.
- Bake for 35 minutes.
- Prepare the glaze by combining the 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar and the ¼ cup of lemon juice. Mix until smooth.
- Remove from the oven and poke holes into the cake.
- Pour the glaze over the holes and drizzle over the entire cake.
- If desired, garnish with additional powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate based on third-party calculations. Actual values may vary due to ingredients, measurements, and serving sizes.
© Mama Needs Cake
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Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
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