Rainbow Poke Cake Recipe
Rainbow Poke Cake is the answer when you want a dessert that looks impressive, tastes amazing, and doesn’t require hours in the kitchen.
If you’ve ever needed a fun, colorful treat for a birthday, classroom party, holiday, or last-minute get-together—and felt stuck between “cute but complicated” and “easy but boring”—this is the kind of recipe you’ve been searching for.
Poke cake recipes are loved for a reason: they’re incredibly moist, full of flavor in every bite, and practically foolproof, even if baking isn’t your thing.
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What are the ingredients for rainbow cake?
- White cake mix – This creates a soft, fluffy base that lets the rainbow colors really stand out.
- Liquid food coloring – This adds bright, fun rainbow colors throughout the cake.
- Instant vanilla pudding mix – This fills the poked holes with extra flavor and moisture.
- Whipped topping – This adds a light, creamy layer on top of the cake.
- Rainbow sprinkles – These give the cake a festive, eye-catching finish.
- Oil, water, eggs, and milk – These simple ingredients are used to prepare the cake and pudding.
How to Make Rainbow Poke Cake
- Make the cake mix according to the box directions and then divide the batter evenly into 5 bowls.
- Add food coloring to each bowl to make red, yellow, green, blue, and purple batter.
- Drop spoonfuls of each color randomly into a greased baking pan and gently swirl the colors together using a knife.
- Bake and then let the cake cool for about 10 minutes.
- Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the cake.
- Mix the pudding mix with milk until smooth and slowly pour the pudding over the cake, letting it soak into the holes.
- Cover and refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before spreading the whipped topping over the top.
- Decorate with rainbow sprinkles, slice, and enjoy!
Nope! You can use fewer colors if you want to keep things simple.
Yes! This cake is even better after chilling and can be made a day in advance.
While it’s still warm. A warm cake absorbs the pudding or filling better, which helps spread the flavor evenly without sitting on top.
You may have added too much pudding or poured it on too quickly. To avoid this, make sure the pudding is mixed to the correct consistency and pour it slowly so it fills the holes instead of soaking the cake around them.
Don’t Forget To…
- Scroll down to print the full recipe with step-by-step instructions and exact measurements.
- Check out my Kitchen Essentials for the pans, mixing bowls, and baking tools I use to make this recipe a breeze.
- Save or share this recipe on Pinterest!
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If you love fun, colorful dessert recipes that are perfect for celebrating, you’ll definitely want to check out these extra sweet ideas too—they’re great for parties, holidays, and anytime you want something a little more festive.
- Cake recipes like a Rainbow Unicorn Cake or these Birthday Party Cake Recipes are perfect for special celebrations!
- A Rainbow Fruit Salad is a fresh, colorful option that’s easy to make and perfect for balancing out sweeter treats.
- St Patricks Day Dessert Recipes are fun and festive treats that are perfect for celebrating!
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Rainbow Poke Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 15.25 oz white cake mix 1 box
- Ingredients to prepare cake (usually oil, water, and eggs)
- Liquid food coloring
- 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix 1 box
- 2 cups milk
- 8 oz whipped topping thawed
- rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions.
- Divide the batter evenly into 5 bowls (about ¾ cup batter per bowl).
- Color each bowl using liquid food coloring to make red, yellow, green, blue, and purple batter. Use 5 drops each of red, green, and blue. Use 8 drops of yellow. For purple, mix 2 parts red to 1 part blue (6 drops red, 3 drops blue)
- Spoon small dollops of each color randomly into a greased baking pan. A 2-tablespoon portion scoop helps, but a spoon works too.
- Gently swirl the colors together using a knife.
- Bake according to the cake mix package directions. If using a glass pan, bake at 325°F and check for doneness.
- Let the cake cool for 10 minutes.
- Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the warm cake.
- Whisk together the pudding mix and milk until smooth.
- Slowly pour the pudding over the cake, filling the holes as evenly as possible.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Spread whipped topping over the chilled cake and finish with rainbow sprinkles.
- Slice and serve. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.