The best part about holidays is get-togethers with family and friends! The downfall can often be that there is a plentiful amount of unhealthy food! For that reason, I always like to bring a dish to pass that is ‘surprisingly’ healthy, and most of the time I keep the ‘healthy’ part my little secret until after people have tried it, (because let’s face it some people won’t even try a dish if they hear the term healthy!) The best part is then watching peoples faces when they are pleasantly surprised that they actually enjoyed something healthy!
This poke cake is one of my favorite dishes to pass at get-togethers because not only is it simple to make and delicious, but it is also stunningly beautiful when you cut into it! I took a traditional ‘poke cake’ recipe and made it healthy by replacing jello with real fruit and natural unflavored gelatin. I also topped this beauty of a cake with my ‘famous’ light and fluffy whipped frosting that always gets rave reviews, and is so easy to make! Gather friends and family to celebrate this Fourth of July with this Strawberry Blueberry Poke Cake!
This whipped frosting tastes best when cold! I recommend keeping the cake refrigerated until ready to serve!
25 Comments
Jyl said:
This is so pretty! you have a way with making foods look gorgeous and taste great too!
Kasey Shuler said:
This looks amazing! Love the festive sparkler. It’s so hard to make desserts healthy AND tasty, but seems like you have this skill down. Thanks for sharing!
Kati Mora, MS, RD, Kellogg's FiberPlus(R) Wellness Advocate said:
Looks delicious! I love healthified desserts – especially ones that are simple to make. Thanks for sharing such a timely recipe with us!
Lindy@ItsyBitsyPaper said:
Oh wow, this is beautiful and so is your blog. First time visitor. I hope you will link this cake up to my Patriotic Project Parade!
http://www.itsybitsypaperblog.com/2012/06/patriotic-project-parade-linky-party.html
Katie said:
Looks delicious, but I find that with your recipes, you tend to view “low-cal” as “healthy,” when that’s not always the case. While this cake recipe is healthier, it is not truly healthy or nutritious by any means. I am an avid fan of your site, but I would really enjoy it if you focused more on making dishes wholesome (natural, whole ingredients as opposed to a boxed cake mix, cool whip, and gelatin) rather than low calorie. It’s about quality, too!
Dashing Dish said:
hi katie i definitely agree, and actually i dont see low cal as ‘healthy’ at all!
I simply believe 2 things… 1. everything in moderation is key, so if you want to have a quick box cake, at least making it a healthier version is really more realistic every now and then than making one from scratch, which btw i do have a homemade all natural chocolate cake recipe on my site! and 2. I always give natural options if I do use something like a box cake mix, such as organic box cake mix or tru whip for this recipe (both natural alternatives i listed if you didnt want to use cool whip or box cake mix) :)
Monique @ Ambitious Kitchen said:
We always make poke cake for the 4th! This is beautiful!
Dashing Dish said:
thanks so much monique!
Katrina Dingle said:
This is so pretty! Love the sparkler :)
Brandi said:
This looks delicious, I can’t wait to make it next week. My friends expect a dessert at holiday parties and I like that I can take one that won’t totally ruin my diet :) Happy fourth!
Rachel S. said:
If I use a gluten free cake mix- do I need to change any measurements since a regular cake has more oz.?
Dashing Dish said:
how many oz?
Rachel S. said:
The regular cake mix is 1 lb 2.25 oz (18.25 oz) and Gluten free is 15 oz.
Dashing Dish said:
I would use one less egg white, and 3/4 cup water
Sarah said:
this looks really yummy! Is there some way I could make a vegetarian version of this?
Dashing Dish said:
i’m so sorry, not sure how to sub eggs in a cake recipe :(
Melissa Klotz said:
Sarah — you could use 12 oz of club soda mixed with 1 box of white cake mix for the cake. As for the gelatins (since those aren’t vegan), I’m not really sure, but maybe just divide your cake batter into two and add fresh chopped strawberries to one and whole blueberries to the other. It’s not a “poke cake” then, but similar!
Nikki said:
Looks so fresh and delicious! Two questions though – Do you think this would work if I used frozen blueberries? And regular yogurt instead of greek yogurt?
Dashing Dish said:
yes and yes :)
Nikki said:
Thanks for the quickie response! I might be making this for my Mom’s Birthday cake that she takes to work – but I am going to make both layers blueberry for lack of strawberries!
PS. Love your blogg… just wish you didn’t have to have a membership to view sooo many of the amazing looking recipes :(
Dashing Dish said:
hey nikki… sorry…its the only way to keep my website ad free and clean and make this a full time job! :) i do post 1-2 free every week though!
Nikki said:
Well, that’s alright.
So, I had a few different cakes I was deciding between and showed my momma, and she chose this one! So I shall let you know how it turns out once I’ve made it!!
kriston said:
Can you add strawberries /blueberries to the cake mix to guide it exttable flavor?
kriston said:
Sorry for the typos! It should say…. to give it extra flavor!
Dashing Dish said:
you could try! :) havent tried but i dont see why not!