In parts of our group of friends, I am “the cake guy” – mostly because the moms don’t really bake.
For a certain subset of our group of friends, I am “the birthday cake guy” and so, I found myself creating this kinda tasty combination for an eleven year old’s birthday…
A strawberry cake, made in my (now) almost constant manner – one cake mix and 12 ounces of soda (nothing else), baked, then poked and drizzled with Jell-o.
Carter’s request was a repeat of one I’d made earlier in the summer; strawberry cake mix, Mexican (all sugar, no corn sweeteners) fruit punch soda, and cherry lemonade Jell-o.
Normally, a poke cake is spread with whipped topping, but I was halfway to my friend’s house when I realized that my whipped topping was still sitting in the fridge. *sigh*
Oh well, a quick stop at a market on the way, and all the kids had a lot of fun spraying the canned whipped cream onto their own, individual slices.
A note on the whipped topping: I’ve been using this truwhip, which is in the freezer case right next to all the other 
“whips” – but – note all the “nos” on the lid. I can go for no corn syrup, hydrogentated oils, and 0g trans fats.
My husband also cannot tell the difference between this and the alternative that does have all that stuff in it, so, win, win!
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
•1 Strawberry moist cake mix
•12 oz soda – NOT diet
Jell-o:
•3 oz cherry lemonade jell-o
•1 cup boiling water
•1/2 cup cold water
Topping:
•1 tub thawed frozen whipped topping
•Sprinkles
Apply cooking spray to a 13×9 baking pan and heat your oven to 350º.
Add the soda to the cake mix in a large bowl and beat on medium high for two minutes, until well and truly blended.
Transfer the mix to the prepared baking pan and bake according to instructions on the box – traditionally for this size, 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
While the cake is cooling, pour the boiling water into the Jell-o in a bowl and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved – about two minutes.
Stir the cold water into the gelatin.
Poke holes about 1/2 inch apart all over the cooled cake – a meat fork works a treat here.
Pour the prepared gelatin evenly over the top of the cake, then cover and stash in the fridge for one hour.
Top the cake with the whipped topping (if you haven’t left it at home), then spread evenly over all. Cover and stash back in the fridge until needed.
Obviously, you do not need to use a strawberry cake, fruit punch soda, and cherry lemonade Jell-o. A white or yellow cake with orange soda or ginger ale would be nice here, and mebbe try pineapple Jell-o.
It really is all good.
Just before serving, top the cake with sprinkles…
because, why not?
It’s cake, and, as Julia Child once noted: “A party without a cake is just a meeting.”