Pumpkin Poke Cake (with real pumpkin!)
Posted: 10/07/2020
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Pumpkin poke cake is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth, oozing with sweet cinnamon filling and smothered with tangy cream cheese frosting.
Never dry or boring, poke cake is a unique dessert experience. Take an ordinary 9 x 13 cake, poke a bunch of holes in it, pour a sweet concoction into the holes, allowing that sweet filling to seep all throughout the cake, and top it all with frosting. Oh, man, it’s so good! Our friends at Kitchn have a good looking recipe collection of ten poke cakes that I can’t wait to try.
Pumpkin poke cake is made with fresh pumpkin, scented with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, and oozing sweet cinnamon filling. Topped with a tangy cream cheese icing, it’s pretty much irresistible.
Pumpkins are so plentiful right now, although I can’t say the same for canned pumpkin. That stuff seems to have just disappeared from the grocery stories lately. No worries, buy a fresh pumpkin, shred it, and bake up this pumpkin cake. You’ll love it!
About this pumpkin poke cake:
Pumpkin poke cake begins with a packaged white cake mix. If you prefer, you could also make a white cake from scratch. Up to you, but cake mixes are super easy and cheap. Buy a plain white cake mix, not the kind with pudding.
The cake batter is enhanced with three cups of shredded pumpkin and a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. All that pumpkin has to make this cake good for you, right? Vitamin A and all that.
It’s a little bit of a hassle to grate the pumpkin but that’s the only hard part of this recipe. After peeling and cutting the pumpkin (save the seeds to roast!), just push the pumpkin through your food processor, using the shred blade. You could also grate it using a box grater.
PS: This is perfect if those cans of pumpkin are hard to come by at your grocery store!
Stir the pumpkin right into the cake batter and pour all into a 9 by 13 cake pan. Bake the cake and let it cool.
When the cake is cool, poke holes in it! Use a metal skewer, a chopstick, or the handle of a wooden spoon to just poke a whole bunch of holes in your freshly baked cake. When it’s good and holey, pour a can of sweetened condensed milk spiced with a teaspoon of cinnamon, all over the cake.
We recommend drizzling the filling right into the holes to make sure it really gets down there into the cake. Some of it will run off the sides and that’s just fine. If it seems like quite a bit of the filling is still on top of the cake, give the cake a half hour or so to absorb the filling.
Meanwhile, whip up the easy cream cheese frosting. A block of softened cream cheese, a cup of powdered sugar and a bit of heavy cream is all it takes to make this creamy, tangy frosting. Swirl it onto the top of the cake, and then refrigerate the cake for a couple of hours.
Don’t worry if you can’t wait. It’s good right away, too, but your poke cake is a little better if it sets for a bit and has a chance to absorb the filling.
Cut into squares and enjoy. Pumpkin poke cake is really good with a cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk.
How to make this pumpkin cake your own:
- Like nuts? Sprinkle toasted chopped pecans or walnuts over the cream cheese frosting. Or sprinkle on crushed chocolate toffee candy bars.
- For a caramel pumpkin cake, use a jar of caramel topping instead of sweetened condensed milk.
- Instead of cream cheese frosting, spread a container of whipped topping on the cake, or even better, homemade whipped cream.
Storage Tips
Pumpkin poke cake will keep up to four days in the fridge. Make sure the cake is covered well.
Pumpkin passion
It’s that time of year when everything is pumpkin! Try:
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
Pumpkin poke cake is sure to satisfy your sweet tooth, oozing with sweet cinnamon filling and smothered with tangy cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 white cake mix and ingredients needed as written on the package (you’ll likely need 3 eggs, ½ cup oil, and water)
- 3 cups finely grated fresh pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon [pumpkin pie spice]
Filling
- 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Frosting
- 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese (full-fat is best)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Additional cinnamon for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch cake pan or spray lightly with cooking spray.
- Prepare the cake, following package directions. Stir grated pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice into batter. Pour evenly into prepared pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake is done (toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean). Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In small bowl (or right in the can), blend together condensed milk and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Frosting: Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and heavy cream in medium sized bowl with electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
- When the cake is cool, using a metal skewer, a chopstick, or the handle of a wooden spoon, make holes evenly all over the cake. Pour the condensed milk mixture into the holes and all over the cake, as evenly as possible. If possible, let the cake set a half hour or so before frosting so it has a chance to absorb the filling.
- Spread the frosting over the cake.
- Refrigerate, covered, for about 2 hours before serving. If desired, garnish with additional cinnamon.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, substitute 1½ teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon cloves.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1square, Calories: 242kcal, Carbohydrates: 41g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 94mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 37g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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Verdict: So yummy! We love this cake!
Husband’s take: No complaints from anyone with this cake.
Changes I would make: None are necessary.
Difficulty: Easy.
denise says
love a good poke cake
Rachel Gurk says
Same!!!
Denise says
Can this be made with canned pumpkin?? If so how much?? Thanks!
Rachel Gurk says
I haven’t tested this with canned pumpkin, and I think it would change the recipe quite a bit. Let us know if you give it a try, though!