Red Velvet Christmas Poke Cake

Amethyst · December 9, 2025, 11:58pm

Red Velvet Christmas Poke Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Chill time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields: 12 servings

Ingredients:

1 box Red Velvet Cake mix
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1 serving cream cheese icing can or homemade
1/4 cup Christmas sprinkles
2 tablespoons white chocolate curls

Directions:

Prepare the red velvet cake mix according to the package and bake in a 9 x 13 pan

Place the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 15-second intervals until completely melted.

Once the chocolate is completely melted, combine it with the condensed milk, stirring until completely combined and smooth.

Once the cake was cooled, poke holes with the handle of a wooden spoon in rows.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk mixture over the cake and push gently into the holes.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to set.

After the cake chills for 30 minutes, top with cream cheese frosting and return to the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Before serving, top the cake with white chocolate curls and the sprinkles.

Notes:

How Do You Store Leftover Poke Cake?

This cake is so good that it won’t last long, but if you’re lucky enough to have some leftover, you can easily store it in the fridge until you are ready for your next piece.

Due to the added ingredients, it does need to be kept cool when not being eaten. Cover the cake, and it will keep for a few days in the refrigerator.

What Other Toppings Would Go Well with a Poke Cake?

Think of this like any other cake recipe! You can easily pair this up with a scoop of ice cream to really take the sweet factor up a notch.

I also like to add on some sprinkles and even top it with some extra chocolate chips as well. If I’m feeling really froggy, I’ll drizzle on some chocolate syrup as well. Because when you’re an adult, you can eat your piece of cake however you want!

candy canes – add some peppermint flavor to this cake by crushing candy cane bits and adding them to the top like sprinkles

Sprinkles – use your favorite Christmas sprinkles on the top of the cake

Can You Make a Round Cake?

We haven’t tested this poke cake as a round cake, so we can’t recommend this. The ease of this cake is making it in a 9 x 13 pan.

The concern with a round, stacked cake is that the cake will be too moist and collapse.

This simple poke cake recipe is going to make holiday baking so much fun. It is a simple and delicious cake that’s perfect to showcase on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or anytime during the holiday season. It looks elegant, and no one will know how easy it is to make.

How Do You Make the Holes in a Poke Cake?

I use the handle end of a wooden spoon to make the wholes in the cake. I think it’s a good size, and it keeps them uniform as well. Be sure to space them out a bit (but not too far) so that they’re not too close to make a messy wet mess of the cake.

Suggestions and Alternatives:

Change the cake mix – Since a boxed cake mix is one of the main ingredients, change out the flavoring of the cake mix to change the flavor of the poke cake. If you want to keep it a holiday cake, you can try a lime mix or even a strawberry cake mix, too.

Try a different flavor of frosting – I really like cream cheese frosting, but you can easily try it with vanilla frosting.

Cool Whip – many poke cakes use a simple whipped topping like Cool Whip on top instead of a heavy frosting.

peppermint extract – add 2 teaspoons peppermint extract to make a rich chocolate peppermint cake

colored frosting – add some green gel food coloring to the cream cheese frosting to make a red and green Christmas cake

Fork – You can alternatively use a large fork to poke small holes in the cake instead of the wooden spoon.

cool cake – make sure the cake is cool when you pour the milk mixture on top. If you pour it on a warm cake, it will absorb too quickly and make the cake fall apart.

Nutritional Facts:

Recipe courtesy of Balancing Motherhood.com