Description
Unicorn Poke Cake is a whimsical pastel-swirled sheet cake filled with creamy vanilla pudding, topped with fluffy whipped topping, and finished with sparkling unicorn sprinkles for a magical party dessert.
Ingredients
- 15 oz (425 g) white cake mix
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- Blue gel food coloring
- Purple gel food coloring
- Pink gel food coloring
- Filling: 6.8 oz (193 g) French vanilla instant pudding mix
- Filling: 3 3/4 cups cold whole milk
- Topping: 8 oz (227 g) whipped topping, thawed
- Topping: 2.8 oz (79 g) unicorn sparkle candy sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, prepare the cake batter by mixing the white cake mix with water, vegetable oil, and egg whites until smooth and fully combined.
- Divide batter evenly into 3 bowls. Tint one bowl blue, one purple, and one pink using gel food coloring, stirring gently until evenly colored.
- Drop spoonfuls of each colored batter randomly into the prepared pan, alternating colors. Use a knife or skewer to gently swirl once or twice (do not overmix) to keep colors distinct.
- Bake 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes evenly across the cake, about 1 inch apart.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the instant pudding mix with cold milk for about 2 minutes, until slightly thickened but still pourable.
- Slowly pour pudding over the cake, encouraging it into the holes. Spread gently if needed to distribute evenly. Refrigerate 1 hour to set.
- Spread the whipped topping evenly over the chilled cake. Sprinkle generously with unicorn sparkle sprinkles.
- Refrigerate 30 minutes more before slicing and serving.
Notes
- For bright pastel swirls, use gel coloring and avoid over-swirling the batter.
- Make-ahead friendly: prepare the day before and chill overnight for best texture.
- Homemade whipped cream swap: whip 1 1/2 cups heavy cream with 1/4 cup powdered sugar to stiff peaks and use instead of whipped topping.
- Hole spacing: about 1 inch apart helps pudding distribute evenly throughout the cake.
- Keep refrigerated: pudding and topping require chilling; this cake is not meant for reheating.
- Freezing is not recommended because pudding texture can change after thawing.
- Flavor swaps: try vanilla, strawberry, lemon, or white chocolate instant pudding.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/15 cake)
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 320 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
