This king cake poke cake is made with vanilla pudding and yellow cake mix, then finished off with a glaze and decorated for celebration. It’s flavorful, rich, and colorful. The perfect cake for Mardi Gras season!
Mardi Gras Cake
This King Cake poke cake is a twist on the classic King Cake. Start with a yellow cake mix for ease, then fill it with vanilla pudding. It’s the best Mardi Gras cake, and easy too!
Decorating is what makes it so festive, so don’t skip the gold, green, and purple sugars!
Why You’ll Love this Easy King Cake Recipe:
- Easy Cake: This king cake recipe uses simple ingredients, making it super simple and effortless to put together!
- Mardi Gras Colors: Each slice of cake has tons of color with green, gold and purple!
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How to Make King Cake Poke Cake
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Preheat the oven and prepare the pan as instructed in the detailed recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Mix and bake the cake mix per box instructions. Allow it to cool.
- Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke small holes in the cake.
- In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients with the pudding mix. Then pour over the cake. Cover the cake and chill for a half hour.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and milk until smooth to make the glaze.
- Pour the glaze over the cake and sprinkle the decorating sugars on top of the cake.
- Serve and enjoy your king cake!
Mardi Gras (aka: Fat Tuesday) is a festive day celebrated on Shrove Tuesday, which marks the close of the pre-Lenten season. The name comes from the French custom of using up all of the fats in the house before Lent in preparation for fasting.
King cake is a traditional cake also called the three kings cake. It is served during mardi gras with a cinnamon flavor, and decorated with yellow, green, and purple sugar. The name comes from the Biblical story of the three kings who bring gifts to baby Jesus. Yellow/gold stands for power, green stands for faith, and purple stands for justice!
A baby figure is traditionally baked into king cake as a surprise. Whoever gets the piece with the baby is said to be blessed with luck and prosperity, and they get to be king or queen for the day.
A poke cake is an invention of the 1970s that features a regular cake with dozens of holes poked in the top to allow the topping (be it pudding, pastry cream, Jell-O, etc.) to sink into the cake, creating pockets of flavor.
Use the handle of a wooden spoon or a skewer to poke large, deep holes about ¾ of the way through the cake. Do not poke the holes all the way through or the filling will seep out when the cake is cut.
Yes. Pudding is a perishable product that needs to be refrigerated. King cake poke cake can be left out of the refrigerator for up to 2 hours.
Creative Decoration Ideas
You can opt to add edible mardi gras colored glitter along with the sprinkles to sprinkle on top of your mardi gras cake. Or if you have a piping bag and frosting, you can give this kings cake a royal border to outline the cake’s edges.
Make Ahead Instructions
King cake poke cake is a great make-ahead dessert, as it needs time for the pudding to set in the refrigerator. Make the cake as directed and leave it in the refrigerator overnight the day before you plan to serve it! To avoid the colors running, wait to decorate with colored sugar until ready to serve.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover king cake poke cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Enjoy cold or at room temperature.
Freezing Instructions
Freeze king cake poke cake tightly wrapped in 2 layers of plastic wrap and 1 layer of aluminum foil for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.
Substitutions
- You can use white or chocolate cake mix instead, if you prefer!
- You can swap the pudding mix for a different flavor, such as chocolate, cheesecake, or pistachio.
- If you can’t find decorating sugar, you can use colored sprinkles instead.
Tips for the Best King Cake Poke Cake
- The ingredients listed for the cake are specific to Duncan Hines brand; if using a different brand, use the ingredients and quantities specified on the box.
- It’s a king cake tradition to bake a plastic baby figurine into the cake; feel free to do this if you like!
- Do not poke the holes all the way through or the filling will seep out when the cake is cut.
I hope you enjoy this super easy mardi gras king cake! Poke cakes are always a crowd favorite!
If you make this recipe be sure to leave us a comment or rating. Enjoy!
King Cake Poke Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 15.25 ounces yellow cake mix (1 box) — Duncan Hines brand recommended
- 1 cup water
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
For the Pudding
- 3.4 ounces vanilla pudding mix (1 box)
- 2½ cups milk
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
For the Glaze
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup milk
- Decorating sugar green, gold, and purple, for topping
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
- 9×13 Baking Pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with a nonstick spray.
- Mix and bake the cake mix according to the directions on the box and allow it to cool.15.25 ounces yellow cake mix, 1 cup water, 3 large eggs, ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- Using the top of a wooden spoon, poke holes into the cake, so the whole cake is covered in holes.
- Combine the pudding mix, milk, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl just until it’s combined. Pour the pudding all over the cake.3.4 ounces vanilla pudding mix, 2½ cups milk, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Cover the cake and place it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Hide a plastic baby in the cooled cake, if desired.
- Whisk together the sugar and half of the milk in a large mixing bowl until it’s smooth; if it’s too thick, you can add in a little bit of the milk at a time. You want it to be thin enough to pour the glaze but not too thin that it just runs right off the cake.4 cups powdered sugar, ½ cup milk
- Pour the glaze over the cake in an even layer.
- Sprinkle the decorating sugars over the top of the glaze.Decorating sugar
Notes
- You can use white or chocolate cake mix instead, if you prefer!
- You can swap the pudding mix for a different flavor, such as chocolate, cheesecake, or pistachio.
- If you can’t find decorating sugar, you can use colored sprinkles instead.
- The ingredients listed for the cake are specific to Duncan Hines brand; if using a different brand, use the ingredients and quantities specified on the box.
- It’s a king cake tradition to bake a plastic baby figurine into the cake; feel free to do this if you like!
- Do not poke the holes all the way through or the filling will seep out when the cake is cut.
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