Boston Cream Poke Cake (2024)

Author by Amanda Davis on April 21, 2020 Updated on July 30, 2021

If you’re looking for a show-stopping dessert, this Boston Cream Poke Cake is always a good choice! Everyone will be raving over the delicious combination of yellow cake, vanilla pudding custard, and chocolate glaze.

Plan to take this one-pan dessert to your next gathering! It’ll certainly be a crowd favorite, just like the ever delicious Chocolate Lasagna.

Why This is One of Our Favorite Desserts

When I was a young child I was enamored with any and all desserts containing custard. I was particularly captivated by Boston Cream Pie because it wasn’t a pie at all, it was a custard filled cake. And that layer of glorious, shiny chocolate—yum!

Related: My all-time favorite chocolate cake!

I learned to bake at a young age, but mastering egg-based sweets like custard and Creamy Flan wouldn’t come until I was older. If only I had known about this Boston Cream Poke Cake, I could have eaten it anytime the fancy struck! It’s seriously that simple to cook with boxed cake mix and instant pudding.

While I am now an avid baker, I’m not above using boxed mixes and hacks. If they make life easier and taste just as yummy, I’m all for it. My cute Lemon Sandwich Cookies start with a cake mix and they fly off the plate every time.

If you have one component that’s completely from scratch, it gives the whole thing a homemade flavor (the cookies have cream cheese frosting).

With that in mind, I decided to make the chocolate glaze from scratch since I’m a bit of a chocoholic. You could certainly use canned chocolate frosting, chocolate buttercream frosting or chocolate fudge frostingif you want, but the chocolate ganache is simple enough that it doesn’t take much more than melting a few ingredients together.

Ingredients you’ll need for this cake

You’ll use a box of yellow cake mix, but you also need the ingredients on the back of the box.
Be sure you use instant vanilla pudding mix, not the cook and serve kind!
You will need milk and vanilla extract to mix up the pudding.
To make the ganache, you will need semi sweet chocolate chips, heavy cream, and a small amount of corn syrup. It’s a very small amount of corn syrup, but if it bothers you, use an equal amount of butter.

ONE-PAN DESSERTS COOKBOOK!

Helpful Kitchen Items:

How to Make this Amazing Cake

The rest of the Boston cream poke cake is equally quick and easy. Bake a cake according to the package instructions, then poke holes in it.

Mix up some pudding and pour it over the cake before it starts to thicken.

If you do this before the pudding has completely set, the custard can drip all the way down into the pockets.

After chilling, it all gets topped with that chocolate glaze and then sets up in the fridge.

This Boston cream poke cake definitely tastes better if you let it sit overnight. I’m an impatient person, so I usually can’t wait to dig in before something is done but trust me, the flavors come together in an amazing way. Cake, pudding, and chocolate glaze magically transform into Boston Cream Pie!

More One Pan Desserts

Don’t you LOVE one-pan desserts? Always perfect for BBQ’s, potlucks, or any gathering in general. Find more favorites below!

Strawberry Jello Pretzel Salad
Eclair Cake
Chocolate Texas Sheet Cake
Pineapple Dream Dessert
Strawberry Icebox Cake
No Bake Chocolate Eclair Cake
Lemon Lush
Cookie Skillet
Pistachio Cake
Pineapple Poke Cake

And of course, you wouldn’t want to miss my Boston Cream Cupcakes!

Boston Cream Poke Cake

Poke cakes are a fun and easy dessert that have a surprise inside! The perfect dessert for your next potluck or party.

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Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Servings: 24

1 hour hr

Calories: 202

Author: Amanda Formaro

Ingredients

▢ 16.25 ounce yellow cake mix plus ingredients to prepare
▢ 6.8 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix 2 (3.4oz) boxes
▢ 4 cups milk
▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
▢ 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 1/3 cups
▢ 1 tablespoon corn syrup or butter if you prefer
▢ 1 cup heavy cream

Things You’ll Need

Before You Begin

You’ll use a box of yellow cake mix, but you also need the ingredients on the back of the box.
Be sure you use instant vanilla pudding mix, not the cook and serve kind!
The ganache calls fora small amount of corn syrup. It’s a very small amount, but if it bothers you, use an equal amount of butter.

Instructions

Prepare and bake the cake in a 13×9 pan according to the package instructions. Let cool completely before poking holes across the cake with the bottom of a wooden spoon. Be sure to poke all the way to the bottom of the pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together pudding, milk,and vanilla, but don't let it thicken. Pour the thin pudding over cake in an even layer, poking down into the holes if necessary.
Refrigerate the cake for one hour.

Chocolate Glaze

Place the chocolate chips and corn syrup in a heat-proof bowl.
In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the cream until it simmers, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, you can microwave the cream until hot.
Pour hot cream over chocolate chips and let sit for 2 minutes to melt.
Stir until smooth. Let the glaze cool for 10 minutes.
Pour glaze over cake and smooth with a spatula. Chill cake for 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Nutrition

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This recipe was originally published on May 12, 2017 but has since been updated to include helpful tips and new photos.

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Amanda Davis

President at Amanda's Creative Studio, Inc.

Amanda Davis is the entrepreneurial mom of four grown children and four step children. She and her husband, Chef Antoine, love to cook together creating recipes for this blog. Amanda also make kid's crafts and creates decorative items for her home. She is a crafting expert and guru in the kitchen and has appeared online and in print publications many times over the years. She is also a craft book author five times over and product developer as well as the owner of FunFamilyCrafts.com. You can find her on social media by using the buttons to the left!