Jell-O Through the Years
Delicious St. Patrick’s Day Dessert, try this Jell-O poke cake. The Jell-O Poke Cake was introduced around 1970, while Jell-O also introduced the Jell-O Pudding Poke Cake around 1981. Both cakes are fun to make and eat.
If you are a child of the sixty’s, like I am, you know all about Jell-O. Growing up, we often had Jell-O for dessert. I remember one of my older brothers refusing to eat Jell-O. He would complain that nothing on his plate should wiggle. But between you and me, that’s the fun of Jell-O to make it wiggle. I remember they even came out with a Jell-O that you mixed the Jell-O powder with the boiling water, stirred it, then poured it into small glasses, and the mixture would separate into three layers. For a youngster, it seemed like magic.
The Idea
I wanted to make a dessert that would be fun to eat on Saint Patrick’s Day. I remembered one treat that my mother made with Jell-O as one of my favorites. The treat combined cottage cheese and pineapple chunks mixed into lime Jell-O. A very refreshing treat when warm outside. I decided to create this St. Patrick’s Day Poke Cake with this idea. Moist, delicious white cake dotted and striped with green lime Jell-O. Cake topping of cream cheese and pineapple folded into whipped topping. I decorated the top of the cake with Shamrock and gold sprinkles. I placed a gold foiled chocolate coin made of Belgium chocolate on top of each cake serving.
Start with Draining the Crushed Pineapple
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees or per your cake mix directions. A white cake will let the green Jell-O stand out. Drain the can of crushed pineapple through a Fine Mesh Strainer. Use a tablespoon to help squeeze out the juice from the pineapple. Set aside both the reserved pineapple juice and strained pineapple pulp.
Enhancing a Boxed Cake Mix
To enhance the flavor of the boxed cake mix, you will substitute melted butter for the oil and pineapple juice/milk for water. If the pineapple juice does not equal the amount needed, add milk to bring the liquid to the amount stated on the cake box. Pour the cake batter into the prepared 9″ x 13″ pan and level out the batter as best as possible. You want the cake to rise level, and then the Jell-O will spread evenly. See Picture.
Cooking the Cake
Cook the cake according to the directions on the cake box. Check the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, then the cake is cooked. Take the cake out of the oven and allow the cake to cool for approximately 15 to 30 minutes. If using a glass pan, like the one in the picture, you will need to let the pan cool off for about 45 to 60 minutes. Once the cake has cooled off, proceed using a fork and poking holes into the cake at approximately ½ inch apart over the whole cake. See picture.
Making the Jell-O
While the cake is cooling, make the Lime Jell-O. Take two cups of boiling water and pour them into a 4-cup glass measuring cup. Immediately pour the lime Jell-O powder and stir continuously until the Jell-O dissolves completely. Once this step is complete, add a cup of ice water to the hot Jell-O and stir. Set the Jell-O aside for the cup and liquid to cool off. I let my Jell-O set out with the cake to cool, and both were ready simultaneously.
Ladling the Jell-O Over the Cake
Cake and Jell-O are cooled down, so start ladling the lime Jell-O over the previously poked cake. I use a ladle instead of pouring straight from the measuring cup because I have better control of where the Jell-O will be absorbed. I want the Jell-O to go down the poked holes and not the sides of the cake. If you get too much Jell-O down the sides of the cake, it tends to make the cake soggy. See photo.
When finished with the lime Jell-O, cover the cake with tin foil and place the cake into the refrigerator for the Jell-O to set up. It will take two to four hours for the Jell-O to set up. It depends on how warm the cake is, how many items you have in the refrigerator and how cold your refrigerator is set.
Making the Topping for the Cake
While the Jell-O is setting, make the topping for the cake. Add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla to a mixing bowl. Mix all until thoroughly combined. Add the drained crushed pineapple to the mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Gently fold the Tru-Whip into the mixture. You want to mix it all thoroughly but need to be gentle to save the fluffiness of the whipped topping. At this point, the topping can be refrigerated and wait for the Jell-O cake to set.
Adding Topping to Cake
Take the cake out of the refrigerator once Jell-O has set along with the already-made topping. Make six mounds of topping onto the cake for ease of spreading the topping.
Spread out the topping onto the cake in an even layer. Bring the topping out to the side of the pan and smooth it out. You will have some lumps because of the pineapple in the topping.
Garnish the Cake
To garnish the cake. I used St. Patrick’s Day shamrocks and sprinkles.
Complete Cake Garnish with Gold Foil Chocolate Coins
And the last thing I did was add golden foiled coins to each serving. That way, everyone could enjoy a piece of Belgium chocolate from the Leprechaun’s pot of gold.
Delicious St. Patrick’s Day Dessert – Extra Pictures of Cake
Delicious St. Patrick’s Day Dessert
Course: DessertCuisine: American15
servings30
minutes35
minutes20-60
minutes2-4
hoursIngredients
1 Box White Cake Mix, I used Duncan Hines Classic White Cake Mix*
1 Cup Pineapple Juice*, from drained crushed pineapple
3 Eggs Large, Whites Only*
1/3 Cup Butter, unsalted, melted, cooled*
1 6 oz Box Lime Jell-O
1 10 oz Tub Truwhip Whipped Topping, defrosted – optional Coolwhip
1 20 oz Can Crushed Pineapple, drained**
2 8oz Block Cream Cheese, softened
1 Cup Powdered Sugar, add by tablespoons to measuring cup – level
1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla
1 Can Pam for Baking
3 Cups Water, 2 cups boiling, 1 cup ice cold water
- Equipment Needed
1 Mixer – Hand or Bowl Mixer
2 Cups – Glass measuring cups, a two-cup, a four-cup or bowls that size
1 Spatula – Offset Spatula for spreading topping on the dessert
1 Pan – 13″ x 9″ Glass Pan, optional metal pan. I use a glass pan***
1 Strainer – Fine Mesh Strainer to strain the crushed pineapple
1 Ladle – Ladle the Jell-O into the holes and across the cake
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees or per your cake mix directions. Always follow your cake mix directions on amounts and temperature. Substitute melted butter for the oil and pineapple juice/milk for the water.
- Melt the butter and let it cool to the touch. Add the melted butter, pineapple juice, egg whites, and cake mix. Beat the ingredients at medium speed for two minutes; scrape down the sides of the bowl once during the two-minute mixing.
- Spray a 13” x 9” cake pan with Pam for Baking. Pour the batter into the cake pan and level out the batter. When cooked, your cake will pull away from the sides and be a 12” x 8” cake.
- Place the cake pan into the oven and bake according to the cake mix directions. To check doneness, insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake; you want it to come out clean for the cake to be done. Take the cake out of the oven and cool it off for approximately 15 to 30 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, you can get the Jell-O ready. Bring two cups of water to a boil. In another measuring cup, add two cups of water and ice to get the water chilled. Set aside.
- Take the boiling water and pour 2 cups into a 4-cup glass measuring cup. Stir the package of lime Jell-O in the boiling water until thoroughly dissolved. Pour one cup of the chilled water into the 4-cup glass measuring cup, making sure to not get any ice in the water. Now you have a total of 3 cups of lime Jell-O. I used the glass measuring cup to make the Jell-O, so I let the Jell-O sit out to cool along with the cake. Once cool, you may place it into the refrigerator to chill. Chill the Jell-O for 10 to 15 minutes.
- While the Jell-O is chilling, prepare the cake. Use a fork and poke holes around one inch apart into the cake. Try not to poke all the way through to the bottom of the cake because the Jell-O won’t absorb into the cake but spill out of the holes into the bottom of the pan. See photo.
- Take the Lime Jell-O out of the refrigerator, and using a ladle for easy disbursement, slowly pour Jell-O over the top of the cake and into the holes you just poked. Go slow and let the cake absorb the Jell-O before pouring more Jell-O onto the cake. Do this step until all the cake top is covered and Jell-O is gone. Try not to get the Jell-O down the sides of the cake where it will pour under the cake, or your cake could become soggy.
- Cover the cake with tin foil and place it into the refrigerator for the Jell-O to set up. It will take two to four hours for the Jell-O to set.
- While you wait for the Jell-O to set up, prepare the cake topping. Add the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla to a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Add to the mixture the drained pineapple and again mix thoroughly.
- Gently fold in the defrosted tub of tru-whip into the mixture. You want to maintain the fluffiness of the whipped cream. The topping can now be refrigerated and wait for the Jell-O to set.
- Once the Jell-O has set, bring the cake out of the refrigerator along with the already-made topping. Drop the topping onto the top of the cake in 6 mounds to have an easier time spreading the topping and leveling it out. You do not want to tear the top of your cake.
- The last thing to do is garnish the cake. I used St. Patrick’s Day sprinkles and chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil to decorate the cake’s top.
Notes
- * Use a white boxed cake mix so the jello color will pop. I used a Duncan Hines Classic White boxed cake Mix. The amounts listed are for that mix. You need to change out the following items on your cake mix to achieve a delicious cake: Change out the vegetable oil into melted unsalted butter that has cooled down. Change out the water into pineapple juice or milk. I used the drained crushed pineapple juice instead of water and added a small amount of 2% milk to bring the amount to 1 cup needed for this boxed cake.
- ** Scoop out the crushed pineapple from the can and place it inside a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl to catch the juices. Push the pineapple against the bottom of the strainer to force out additional juice. Set aside until ready for use for making the topping.
- *** The cool-off period depends upon the type of pan used and the temperature of your house. I used a glass 13 X 9 pan and let my cake cool for approximately 1 hour before adding the Jello-O.
