Description
This Red, White, and Blue Patriotic Poke Cake is a festive and visually striking dessert perfect for celebrations like Independence Day. A moist vanilla cake is baked, then poked with holes to be filled with luscious strawberry and blueberry gelatin and fruit mixtures. Topped with fluffy whipped cream and fresh berries, this cake cleverly showcases the colors of the American flag in every bite.
Ingredients
Cake
- 3/4 cup Cold Butter, plus soft butter for greasing pan
- 1 2/3 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
- 3 whole Eggs
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 1/4 cup All-Purpose or Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- 1 1/2 cups Buttermilk
- 1/3 cup Water
Strawberry Gelatin Filling
- 1 package Unflavored Gelatin
- 3 cups Strawberries, finely diced
- 3 tablespoons Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1/3 cup Water
Blueberry Gelatin Filling
- 1 package Unflavored Gelatin
- 3 cups Blueberries
- 3 tablespoons Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1/3 cup Water
Whipped Cream Topping
- 1 1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 tablespoons Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Garnish
- Additional Strawberries
- Additional Blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9″x13″ baking pan and line it with parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper well, then set aside.
- Cream butter mixture: In a mixing bowl, cream together the cold butter, sugar, and lemon zest until fluffy and well combined.
- Add eggs: Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add flavorings and leaveners: Stir in the vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly mixed.
- Add dry and wet ingredients: Alternate adding the flour and buttermilk to the batter, mixing until just combined. Add the 1/3 cup water and gently mix through.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and poke holes: Let the cake cool for 20 minutes. Then, with a 1/4 inch wooden cooking handle, poke holes all over the cake.
- Make strawberry gelatin: In a small bowl, mix the water with one package of unflavored gelatin to bloom for 5 minutes.
- Puree strawberries: Puree 2 cups of the strawberries in a blender or food processor until smooth.
- Cook strawberry mixture: Heat the pureed strawberries with sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in the bloomed gelatin and remaining diced strawberries. Set aside.
- Make blueberry gelatin: Bloom the second package of unflavored gelatin in a small bowl with water for 5 minutes.
- Puree blueberries: Puree 2 cups of blueberries in a blender or food processor.
- Cook blueberry mixture: Bring the blueberry puree, whole blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the juice darkens. Remove from heat and stir in the bloomed gelatin until fully combined. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
- Fill cake holes: Alternate spooning strawberry and blueberry fillings into the holes in the cake, gently working the fillings into the holes without over mixing to keep colors distinct.
- Chill cake: Refrigerate the cake for 8 hours or overnight until the gelatin fillings are fully set.
- Prepare whipped topping: Beat the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until medium peaks form. Taste and add more sugar as desired.
- Top cake: Spread the whipped cream evenly over the top of the chilled cake.
- Garnish: Decorate with additional strawberries and blueberries arranged to resemble an American flag or serve individual slices garnished with a half strawberry and a few blueberries.
Notes
- Make sure to cool the cake before poking holes to avoid breaking the cake.
- For best color separation, do not over mix strawberry and blueberry fillings after adding to the holes.
- The cake can be prepared a day in advance to allow flavors to meld and gelatin to fully set.
- Use cold butter and room temperature eggs for optimal cake texture.
- If whole wheat pastry flour is used, the cake will have a slightly nuttier flavor and denser texture.
- Chilling time is important to allow gelatin fillings to firm up properly.
- Whipped cream can be sweetened more or less based on personal preference.
