This red velvet poke cake stands out as a scrumptious and classic dessert all throughout the year. Combining the rich flavors of a classic red velvet cake with a creamy cream cheese frosting, this dessert is perfect for special occasions, holiday festivities, or simply as an indulgent treat to enjoy any time of year.

A slice of red velvet poke cake topped with cream cheese frosting.

This Red Velvet Poke Cake is perfect for Christmas, Valentine's Day, or for someone special that loves red velvet. This cake is also a delicious dessert to make any time of year.

If you're a fan of red velvet, these Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies are delicious for Valentine's Day.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
Storage
Top tip
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📖 Recipe
Red Velvet Poke Cake
Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

To make a delicious Red Velvet Poke Cake, you'll need the following ingredients:

Side view of slices taken out of Christmas red velvet poke cake.

For the Red Velvet Cake:

Red velvet cake mix: This is the base of your cake. You can use a store-bought mix or make it from scratch. Depending on the brand of cake mix you use you will need different ingredients as described on the back of the box.
Eggs: Eggs provide structure and volume to your cake. Depending on the cake mix you use or if you make it from scratch, you'll need a couple of eggs.
Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil adds moisture and a tender texture to the cake.

For the frosting and filling:

Sweetened condensed milk: This ingredient helps create an extra layer of moisture and flavor the cake. It is poured into the holes of the cake.
Unsalted Butter: Unsalted butter is beaten into the cream cheese frosting to create a buttery flavor that balances the sweetness of the confectioners' sugar.
Cream cheese: Cream cheese adds a rich and tangy flavor to this red velvet cake.
Powdered sugar: Also known as confectioners' sugar, this provides sweetness and helps make the frosting smooth and creamy.
Vanilla extract: A touch of vanilla extract enhances the overall flavor of this cream cheese frosting.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

To make a delicious Red Velvet Poke Cake, follow these simple steps:

First, preheat your oven to the temperature directed on the back of the cake mix box. While the oven is preheating, prepare a 9x13-inch baking pan by greasing the bottom or lining the baking pan with parchment paper.

Next, prepare the red velvet cake mix according to the package instructions. If you're making the cake from scratch, start by combining the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl.

Once the cake batter is made, pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and use a spoon to smooth the cake batter evenly into the pan.

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for the time specified on the package for a 9x13 pan. Once baked, remove it from the oven and cool the cake for 5 minutes.

After five minutes, poke holes every ½ inch over the entire cake with the handle of a wooden spoon or a similar utensil with a round handle. Make sure to press the back of the spoon all the way into the cake. This allows the cake to absorb the sweetened condensed milk.

Open the can of sweetened condensed milk and carefully pour it evenly into the holes of the cake. Make sure to aim for the holes so that the sweetened condensed milk fills the holes well.

Finally, place your Red Velvet Poke Cake in the refrigerator to set and cool while the cream cheese frosting is made.

To make the cream cheese frosting:

Cream the softened butter and softened cream cheese together until smooth and creamy.

Beat in the vanilla extract and add the powdered sugar a little at a time to create a smooth and creamy frosting.

Once the cream cheese frosting is made, use an icing spatula to carefully spread the frosting evenly over the entire cake.

Allow this red velvet poke cake with sweetened condensed milk to chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.

Red Velvet Cake with holes poked in it to make poke cake.

Bake the cake according to directions and poke holes ½ inch apart over the entire cake.

Sweetened condensed milk poured into the holes of the red velvet poke cake.

Cool the cake for 5 minutes and then pour the sweetened condensed milk into the holes.

A 9x13 red velvet cake with homemade cream cheese frosting.

Allow the cake to cool completely and frost it with homemade cream cheese frosting.

Red Velvet Cake decorated with red and green sprinkles.

Decorate the frosting with sprinkles and chill for 2 hours before slicing.

Hint: use a creamer pitcher or measuring cup to make it easier to pour the sweetened condensed milk into the holes in the poke cake.

Substitutions

When making a red velvet poke cake, there are a few substitutions you can use to change the ingredients in this recipe.

Pudding - instead of using sweetened condensed milk, prepare vanilla pudding according to the package directions and use a spoon to press the pudding down in the holes.
Milk - use milk in place of vegetable oil in the cake mix if desired.

Birds eye view of red velvet poke cake frosted and sliced into squares.

Variations

Here are a few variations that you can try experimenting with to make this red velvet poke cake your own.

This recipe makes a great Red Velvet Christmas Poke Cake but if you want to make this cake for another occasion or want something other than red velvet, use a chocolate or white cake mix for a different flavor profile.

To make this poke cake for Christmas, decorate it with red and green sprinkles.

See this Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe that has marshmallow filling in the center.

Equipment

To make a delicious red velvet poke cake recipe, you'll need the following equipment:

Stand mixer: A stand mixer is a great tool to make this cake. It will ensure your ingredients are thoroughly combined, and takes away the manual labor, resulting in a soft and moist cake. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer in its place.

Mixing bowls: You'll need a few mixing bowls and using bowls that have a nonslip grip on the bottom prevent the bowls from sliding around on the counter while mixing.

Spatula: A spatula is a perfect tool for scraping the cake batter off the sides of the bowl to incorporate the scrapings back into the cake mix.

An icing spatula is a great tool for spreading the cream cheese frosting evenly over the cake.

9x13-inch baking pan: For this recipe, we use a 9x13 baking pan.

A slice of red velvet poke cake with a fork on a decorative white plate.

Storage

To maintain maximum freshness and flavor for this red velvet cake with condensed milk, the following information will help you store your poke cake properly, so you can enjoy it for days to come.

This cake should be stored in the refrigerator because of the use of cream cheese in the frosting.

Wrap the cake tightly with saran wrap or an airtight lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For the best enjoyment, eat the poke cake within 3 days.

To serve, remove the cake slices from the pan and set them out for a few minutes to allow the cake to come to room temperature.

Top tip

To slice the cake, run a knife under hot water and wipe it down with a paper towel. Slice the cake with the warm knife, wipe the knife, and dip it in hot water between slices. This will give clean edges when cutting the cake.

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 12 slices

Red Velvet Poke Cake

Name: Red Velvet Poke Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 2 h 50 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 15.25 ounce box red velvet cake mix + ingredients needed to make cake - eggs, oil & water; 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk; 8 ounces cream cheese, softened; 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature; 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Chilling Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients