When I was growing up there was hardly ever a day when there was not a cake in my house, usually chocolate of some variety unless there was a special occasion for something festive. The cake ALWAYS came from a box mix, baked by me or my sister, and topped by a homemade frosting. Prepared frostings and the powdered sugar varieties were not allowed ~~ it had to be a creamy boiled frosting. So I learned to make it with my eyes closed, until I went away to college and found out that asparagus was delicious fresh and crunchy, not everyone had to eat jarred beets, and perfectly acceptable frosting could be found in a can.
The recent popularity of jello poke cakes reminded me that often our festive cake was a jello cake, so much fun to create with a box mix, a fork, and a package of jello. The huge range of jello colors lends this cake to every possible celebration, but it is especially excellent on hot days, as the cake must stay cool in the fridge.
I have been thinking of making a cake with “real” frosting, so when I found out that Cuisine Kathleen’s 8th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Blog Crawl was green for go, I decided that this would be the time to try it again. So, instead of the typical Irish boiled dinner, I am serving you a poke cake with boiled frosting, tinted the color of Ireland.
Of course, the cake itself must also have a color, and when I was considering a green and white interior, Mr. Fun brought home these lovely Alstroemeria,
and I saw the Irish flag ~~ green, white and orange ~~ with a touch of Leprechaun gold ~~ and so I made you an Irish Flag Poke Cake.
To create the proper flag atmosphere I chose these napkins with the green, white and orange of the flag, and more leprechaun gold.
(Yes, the napkins are indeed orange, and NOT pink. I wonder what color they are on your screen? Orange, or pink? You must trust me that on my table, they are orange.)
I will spare you excessive instructions for making the cake as they are easily found anywhere on pinterest, and I will just say: bake a white box cake (don’t forget to use just the egg whites or you will have a yellow cake!), cool, poke holes in it with a fork or skewer (be creative), mix the jello package with a cup of boiling water, let it cool but not gel, then pour over cake. Put cake in fridge to cool, then assemble and frost.
The real fun comes in choosing the color and flavor of jello or jellos and then seeing what kind of masterpiece you have created. Once the cake is baked and assembled and cooled, you hold your breath and make the first cut. What will the cake look like? You don’t know until you slice it! Let’s take a peek!
Our cake is very citrusy as I used lime and orange jellos. (my writer won’t let me write “jellos” and keeps changing it to “jello,” so I suppose the proper plural of jello is jello, but I did use two different flavors.)
Usually one box of jello is enough for one cake. If you want more jello in the finished product that’s ok, but not too much or the cake won’t hold together. After I poured mine I realized that I had used an entire jello package for each of my two layers, and while it was fine, you can use less for a different look.
Yum ~~ cool, moist and delicious, and you can see how creamy the frosting is! Yes, it is worth the trouble. You can find a similar version here. Just cook flour and milk until thick, cool, cream sugar and butter, add flour mixture and vanilla extract. Tint as required for the occasion!
(btw, I also have an ornament for almost any occasion)
Of course, I would never serve you cake without offering ice cream, but today instead of a scoop we are having shamrock shakes.
These are healthy so go ahead and indulge! I used skim milk, ice milk for the ice cream, a drop of peppermint extract and a drop of green food coloring. Whip it up in the food processor and it will taste delicious.
I had been thinking we would have a picnic and that cool cake and cold shakes would be appropriate. Our temps were near 80 last week but we are expecting snow showers again this weekend. Today it is overcast but just warm enough to have a quick snack on the deck (no pink blossoms yet but I will let you know when they come in!).
Of course, when we are outside the wildlife is always a threat.
There are actually some birds above the table fighting it out for this prime nesting spot, so eat up quickly.
If you try a poke cake for your next holiday, let me know what flavors you choose and how your design looks. And before you are off to see all the wonderful Irish posts, let’s have a toast to Cuisine Kathleen for bringing us this blog crawl:
~~ and an old Irish blessing ~~
May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life’s passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!
Linda 🙂
join me for more fun at these wonderful blogs:
Oh I am drooling for a piece of that lucious looking cake! I am a fan of the “poke” cake, always so moist. Love the draft beer ornament too. Visiting from the crawl and wishing you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
Well, I’ve never heard of “poke” cake. This looks like a fun idea and perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Boiled icing???? Is that the same as 7 minute frosting? If it is, then it is my absolute favorite. I could eat it by the cup full.
The Alstroemeria are what I often buy for our home. They seem to last for a few weeks!
Your linens are green and soft orange on my screen. Definitely not pink. ‘-)
Hope you have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Looks like you are ready to celebrate!
Oh gee now I want that cake! Seeing all these recipes on the blog crawl is making me crazy! LOL… You’ve reminded me that when I was a child my aunt would make a lemon cake that you poke holes into pour a lemony drizzle over top. Always loved it. I hope you have a great St. Patrick’s Day!
Such a pretty table which is perfect for St. Patty’s Day and also for Spring. Cake looks delish. Your lovely linen towel is two shades of green and one shade each of yellow and orange. Love the green plates.
Linda, Your cake is a thing of beauty! I love the free-form design from the jello and the colors together for the Irish flag! The slice looks so good served on your pretty flame stitch plate! (your napkin stripe is salmon color on my laptop 🙂 I have never heard of boiled frosting, I must Google 🙂 Thanks for the serving of the Shamrock Shake to wet my whistle and to go with my cake! Wishing you a Happy St. Paddy’s Day. I love your cute pint of beer ornament too ♣
Your cake is very pretty and unique and clever to use the Irish flag colors.It looks so moist.
The alstroemeria is the perfect color to coordinate with your cake. Love the mug of beer ornament.
And what a nice ending to read an old Irish blessing.
How wonderfully creative of you to use TWO different colors of JellO in your poke cake & how funny that we BOTH made such a dessert for tomorrow’s celebrations. Great minds! LOL I think yours is much prettier than mine though.
Darling little hanging ornament…I haven’t been visiting much of any blogs this year but I’m so glad to be able to get back in touch with those I’ve missed, thanks to C.Kathleen’s fun party. We both also ended with an Irish Blessings, too….how nice is that!!
That cake has really caught my eye! Perfect for St. Patrick’s day. I wish I had a slice right now as I made Corned beef and cabbage but not dessert! What was I thinking…
Love your cake Linda. I made poke cakes years ago, so this brings back memories. Yours look outstanding with the two flavors. I see your fabulous white chargers. Beautiful flowers too. Have a lovely St. Patrick’s day.
Wonderful post! I think I will do a poke cake for Easter. The grandkids will love to see what the cake looks like inside! Thanks for sharing this idea. Rosie @ The Magic Hutch
Great post, Linda!! Your table looks so pretty, and I LOVE the look of that cake for St. Pat’s Day! I have seen a lot about poke cakes, but I’ve never really looked at the recipes. I can see why they would be good in the summer when it’s hot. Boiled icing is really good, but I’ve never made it. We like the buttercream frosting at our house. 🙂
Thanks for your visit and kind comments. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you and a great weekend, too!
Hugs,
Denise
What a nice post! I’m hungry just looking at that yummy cake and the float! Yummmm!
Thanks for sharing!
Happy St. Pat’s Day!
Katherine
Linda, I have missed you so. My feed is so off it is crazy. Mojo left too, for blogging. But this post, one of my faves on the crawl, wow. Love the table and ornaments, but that cake! Beautiful, my favorite colors, looks so yummy, I’d give my right arm practically, for a nice big slice! And those shamrock skinny shakes. Wow. I may just have to make one tomorrow! Glad I got to visit from Kathleen’s blog crawl. Hugs.
What a pretty cake for Kathleen’s blog crawl party, Linda. I’d love to have a big slice and a serving of your shake. Goodness, why am I hungry right now?? I have made boiled icing and also the cooked one with the milk and flour base. They’re both soooo good, and the frosting is always the reason why I eat cake. I’ve also made a poke cake, and it was with strawberry jello. I’d love to try your version. Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘
p.s. Love the Irish Blessing!
Your cake looks so festive and delicious – great idea to make it a “flag” cake! How nice of your Mr Fun to bring you flowers that you so creatively incorporated into your table décor! I remember having poke cakes at friends’ birthday parties when I was very young and loving them but never being able to figure out how how they were made. 🙂 Your green shakes look terrific as well and I especially like how you dressed up the bottles. Lots of pretty pics to pin! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Your cake is fun Linda and I love the ornament! Enjoy those fleeting pink blossoms and Happy St. Patty’s Day:@)
Looks yummy – love the bright colors!! Cute presentation of the shakes, too!
I love poke cakes. I’ve never made one for St. Patrick’s Day though. Yummy and very pretty.
I’ve never heard of poke cake but it sounds terrific! Love the colorful interior. How nice that you were able to set a table outdoors! Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here from Kathleen’s blog crawl 🙂
OK dear heart…you WIN THE PRIZE for best St. Patty’s Day post. This is just precious…and beautiful…and the cake is a work of art that I know tastes wonderful…I NEED little bottles like those…so cute…the flowers and napkins were just perfect !
When my boy was little (he’s 52 now), poke cakes were his favorite…I will make him one today…..
xoxo
hope it’s ok if i add your link to my blog post…i want everyone to see this adorable post…
This is probably the most creative I’ve seen so far, and I love the idea! Not only is it wonderfully tinted like the flag of Ireland, but the flavors look and sound delish! I really love the whole concept you’ve concocted – the shakes, the flower choice, the napkins (they’re orange on my screen). Love that Limoges lamb trinket box too. Irish perfection! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you! It’s my first time to the SPD blog crawl, and I think I’ve spent almost all day reading all the posts! This one’s one of my favorites!
Oh Linda, this is the best St. Pat’s post I’ve read this year! Love Love Love your clever cake and the touch of orange with the alstroemeria! That frosting, wow! And I love your frosted mug ornament, too cute! I wish I could join you at that pretty table for a slice of cake! I’ve got to try that poke cake technique, so much fun!
So fun stopping by to see your lovely St Patrick’s day decor and your beautiful cake! It’s been a while since I made a poke cake but they’ve never been as pretty as yours. And it sliced so nice too! Yummy shake to go along as a perfect treat.
Dear Linda, Happy St Patrick’s Day! I had never heard of a poke cake and glad you posted. We celebrate all things Irish, but I didn’t even think of dessert-hubby will probably have some Jameson’s for his. Thanks for sharing your tablescape and cake-just lovely.
Noreen
That cake looks delicious , you are tempting me big time. Love your shamrock shakes in those cute bottles too! Can’t believe you got near 80, wow! Thanks so much for hanging in with me during my blogging hiatus, and taking the time to do the SPD crawl! You are a dear! Take the ferry to Orient this summer and I’ll pick you up and we’ll do lunch!
Beautiful and happy setting. I love that cake, looks yummy. I will pin it.
All your elements for St Pat’s are perfect and lovely too.
Thank you for dropping by and visiting.
Hope you had a great celeb.
FABBY
PS: We live in the Andean part of Ecuador where it’s like Spring most of the time, mountains and all and lovely green grass where you can find three and four leaf clovers, actually, it’s fun to look for a four leaf one and save it in a book for good luck.
I don’t think I ever heard of a poke cake before but it sure looks scrumptious! I want a slice of that delicious cake along with the yummy shamrock shake! Beautiful table setting and I love how prettily the colors of the Irish flag is represented here! Lovely post! Hugs, Poppy
Linda, I would love a piece of the poke cake! I love the colors too! Pardon my lateness in visiting. Our first grandchild was born and I’m a little distracted. LOL Yes, we could have used our totes with the green handles for a St. Patty Post. How about next year? I hope you are having a nice weekend.
This looks fabulous, Linda! My sister-in-law used to make jello poke cake for my nephew’s birthdays, as it was their favorite cake. They are all adult men now so I have not had a slice of this type of cake in a long time …I will hve to make one of my own 😉
Linda, I loved your post. Oh, how I miss blogging! Perhaps soon my life will slow down again and I’ll be able to indulge. I haven’t had a poke cake in years. I think I’m due for one. Your cake looks fabulous, love the snuff box with the sheep. Is it Limoges? I sure do hope the weather warms up soon. I miss your pink blooms.