White Raspberry Poke Cake tastes just like white wedding cake but is so much easier to make!
My favorite wedding cake flavor combination is white cake with a hint of almond flavor with raspberry filling. It is amazing!!
This White Raspberry Poke Cake recipe was based on that combination, so you can enjoy wedding cake without all of the work.
The cake itself is light and tender, and the pie filling is the perfect topping. I love that the raspberry filling is the perfect combination of sweet and tart!
Then the cake is topped with a vanilla/almond cream cheese frosting, more raspberries, and almonds. The cake is a cinch to make, but it is so ridiculously good that no one will guess just how easy it is.
Do yourself a favor, and make this cake!
How to make white raspberry poke cake
In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, milk, water, butter, and extracts on low for 30 seconds. Turn speed up to medium, and mix together for 1-2 minutes, or until combined.
Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Using the handle of a wooden spoon (or similar instrument), poke holes in the cake (I poke about 35).
Pour the fruit filling over warm cake, gently spreading as necessary. Let cake cool to room temperature.
To make the frosting, beat together cream cheese and butter until combined.
Add powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and extracts. Beat together until well-combined.
Mix in milk to reach desired consistency.
Spread frosting over room temperature cake. The easiest way to do this is to drop frosting evenly over cake and then gently spread to combine.
Chill until ready to serve. Just before serving, top with fresh raspberries and sliced almonds.
Cover and chill any leftovers.
Tips
- Cake mix: This is just the dry mix.
- Milk: You can use any milk from skim milk to whole milk.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe.
- Almond extract: For the cake, use 1 teaspoon for a mild almond flavor or up to 2 teaspoons for a more pronounced almond flavor.
- Cream cheese: Regular, reduced-fat, or Greek yogurt cream cheese will work. I don't recommend fat-free.
Storage
Store the cake, covered, in the fridge. The cake will last for up to 4 days.
More recipes that begin with a cake mix!
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White Raspberry Poke Cake
Equipment
- 9x13 pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 15.25 oz. white cake mix
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoon(s) almond extract
Filling
- 21 ounce can raspberry pie filling
Frosting
- 8 ounce package cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- Raspberries
- Sliced Almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish; set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, milk, water, butter, and extracts on low for 30 seconds.
- Turn speed up to medium, and mix together for 1-2 minutes, or until combined.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Using the handle of a wooden spoon (or similar instrument), poke holes in the cake (I poke about 35).
- Pour the fruit filling over warm cake, gently spreading as necessary.
- Let cake cool to room temperature.
- To make the frosting, beat together cream cheese and butter until combined.
- Add powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and extracts. Beat together until well-combined.
- Mix in milk to reach desired consistency.
- Spread frosting over room temperature cake. The easiest way to do this is to drop frosting evenly over cake and then gently spread to combine.
- Chill until ready to serve.
- Just before serving, top with fresh raspberries and sliced almonds.
- Cover and chill any leftovers.
Notes
- Cake mix: This is just the dry mix.
- Milk: You can use any milk from skim milk to whole milk.
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe.
- Almond extract: For the cake, use 1 teaspoon for a mild almond flavor or up to 2 teaspoons for a more pronounced almond flavor.
- Cream cheese: Regular, reduced-fat, or Greek yogurt cream cheese will work. I don't recommend fat-free.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.
Nutrition
Originally published 6/19/16. Updated with additional photos and tips 1/26/21.
Sarah
This cake turned out great. Disclaimer that we didn’t make the frosting (was for my husband’s birthday and he doesn’t like cream cheese frosting, so we just did cool whip on top). We also couldn’t find raspberry pie filling anywhere near us, so used a jar of Smucker’s Red Raspberry preserves, heated slightly on the stove so that they were a bit more pourable.
Kate
Thank you so much!
Maija Johnston
Do you know if I could make it as cupcakes?
Kate
I haven't tried to make this recipe into cupcakes, but I think it could work. It might be easier to fill the cupcakes instead of poking holes in them. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it works out!
Bruce M Brant
DLICIOUS!and so easy to make!
Kate
Thank you so much!
Adele
Is it possible to make this as a layer cake or is it too "moist"?
Kate
Unfortunately, I haven't tried to make this cake as a layer cake, so I'm not sure how well it will hold up.
Diane
Oh my gosh, this was so good. The raspberry filling and white cake was amazing together with the cream cheese frosting. Adding this cake to our regular cycle.
Lisha Grigsby
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I made your White Raspberry Poke Cake for a friend’s birthday and it was a huge success. My son had told me to bring home any leftovers, didn’t happen. Guess it didn’t help that his dad had 3 pieces!! Thanks again!!
Kate
I'm so glad!! It must have been good then! ;) Thanks for taking the time to come back to comment! =)
Tommie Linares
I was thinking about adding 1 box of white chocolate pudding and some finely chopped white chocolate chips!! I have made before the white chocolate raspberry bundt cake and I love the flavor combination. Do you think it would work in a sheet cake/ poke cake
Kate
That sounds delicious! I think if you found a cake mix without the pudding that it would. I'm just not sure how it would work to add pudding to a cake mix that already has the pudding in it (might work, but I've never tried it). Good luck! I hope it's just as tasty as it sounds! =)
Adrianne Dyer
I made two of these cakes this weekend...one for a function at my extended family's church and one we kept at our house. WOWZER!! This cake is uh-may-zing! While I consider myself much more a cook than a baker, it was super easy and turned out delicious. My uncle (who ate it at the church function) told me, "I have a new favorite cake thanks to you!" Since food and affirmation are my love languages and he's my favorite uncle, I will take that!! The only note I'd make is this: the pie filling I bought was *very* gelatinous, so I thinned it down slightly by adding a bit of water and warming it. I still had to smoosh it down into the holes. When I make it again, I'm going to really thin out half of the can and pour it into the holes and then warm the second half and spread/smoosh. This may be a moot point with another brand of filling, however. Thank you for sharing such an amazing and impressive (yet so easy) cake :-)
Kate
Yay!! I truly love to hear stories like this, and I'm so glad that they were a hit! I appreciate your note! I've only tried this with one brand of filling, and I'm sure your tips will help anyone else who has that issue. Thank you!
Jess
Fantastic! This was one of the best cakes I've made.
Amy
Anyone familiar with the filling? I have never used raspberry filling before. Does it have seeds in it? That would be a deal breaker for my picky eaters.
Kate
It has pieces of mashed raspberry in it, and there are some seeds. I'm not sure whether or not any other brands are seedless. If the seeds will be an issue, you could try putting the filling through a fine mesh strainer to remove them. Hope that helps!
Carrie
Is it possible to make this cake a day in advance?
Kate
It is! The cake keeps well in the fridge.
caitlin low
I'm hoping you see this and can respond. I plan to make this for Easter tomorrow (along with 3 other items). Could I make this today and refrigerate it all overnight? I really want for it to taste super fresh! Thanks!!
Kate
Yes, you can make it and refrigerate the cake for tomorrow. We have leftovers when I make it, and I think that it still tastes just as good the second day. Happy Easter! =)
Dee
hi Kate,
This recipe is exactly what I was looking for.. Can't wait to make this for my weekend get together with Family,,,, Have a great Day,,,
Dee
Kate
Yay! I'm so glad that you found it then! Hope you enjoy it, and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! =)
Elaine @ Flavour and Savour
That's gorgeous! Raspberries and almonds are a winning combo!
Kate
Thank you so much!