Gingerbread Poke Cake
Looking for a special holiday treat? Try this gingerbread cake!
Recipe of the Day
Discover a New Recipe Every Day. Give Back With Every Bite.
Every day, we feature a hand-picked recipe for you to discover, cook, and share. The best part?
Every recipe you read helps feed the hungry.
Looking for a holiday dessert that’s a little out of the ordinary? I’ve got just the thing! Usually we think of Christmas cookies, candy canes, and fuge when it comes to sweets over the holidays, but this cake will make you rethink all of that!
Gingerbread cookies are popular this time of year, but what about gingerbread cake? This unique dessert is just what you need in your life if you’re already getting tired of the same sweets being passed around. Not that I’d ever pass up a sugar cookie or Christmas fudge, but still. Variety is the spice of life, right? And this cake has plenty of spices to go around!
What I love even more about this recipe is that it’s a poke cake. What’s a poke cake, you ask? It refers to a method of preparing the cake, where you poke holes with the end of a wooden spoon into the baked cake and then pour a filling over everything. The cake then chills in the fridge for a few hours to let the liquid soak in. When all is said and done, you have one very delicious, very moist cake without hardly any work at all!
Another thing that makes this recipe so easy is using a box spice cake mix. You’ll start with that as your base, then add a few spices, buttermilk, molasses, eggs, and oil into a bowl and mix until combined. Pour into a prepared dish and bake for about half an hour at 350.
Once cooled, go ahead and poke holes in the top of the cake and pour sweetened condensed milk over everything. Cover, and chill for at least 4 hours. Then, spread some Cool Whip on top and sprinkle with gingerbread cookies (or gingersnap cookies), and return to the fridge for 2 more hours. Finally, top with a caramel drizzle and a cookie!
Gingerbread Poke Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box spice cake mix
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 4 large eggs
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 8 oz tub Cool Whip - thawed
- Caramel ice cream topping
- 12-15 gingersnap cookies, crushed (plus more for garnish)
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 7 x 11 cake pan and set aside.
- Add dry cake mix, spices, buttermilk, molasses, eggs, and oil to a large mixing bowl, stirring to combine.
- Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for 30-32 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to completely cool.
- Using a straw or wooden spoon handle, poke holes into the cooled cake.
- Pour the sweetened condensed milk all over the top of the cake and into the holes. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Spread an even layer of Cool Whip over the cake and then sprinkle with crushed gingerbread cookies. Return to refrigerator and chill for an additional 2 hours.
- Top with caramel sauce and a gingersnap cookie!
Recipe adapted from Crafty Morning.