A Cheater’s Awesome Cake

Of all the bad habits picked up on vacation, having dessert every day has to be the worst. It sets you up for cravings that aren’t usually there. Like something sweet to conclude every meal.

The first thing I wanted to do when we got home was to start whipping up sweet treats. Soufflés, Crème Brûlées, and even decadent Ice Cream Sundaes. Oh my! I resisted the urge to indulge making anything sweet until Easter. You can’t have Easter without something sweet.

This year it was a very differnt Easter for us. There have been a number of serious health issues within the extended family, so our customary gathering at the farm was canceled. Kiddo, Hubby and I stayed home. We’ve had Easter at home before, but this was our first ever Easter that wasn’t a day shared with others. Even when we lived in another state, away from family, we gathered with friends. Easter was meant for sharing.

Since it was just us, I had intended to keep this year’s Easter festivities small and simple. We didn’t color eggs nor have a hunt. There were no little ones for that. I did bake up a 10-pound ham. Yeah, ten-pounds for 3 people. I’ll be making ham spreads and ham Omelettes and ham and beans and only the good Lord knows what else for a long time to come. Most of the ham will be frozen. To serve alongside my baked ham, I did make Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce. We all love Hollandaise Sauce despite the fact that it’s a heart attack just waiting to happen. I make mine with 4 egg yolks and 10 tablespoons butter as the base and go from there. Which is why, most of the time when making asparagus as a side, it’s grilled and lightly seasoned. It just wouldn’t be smart to have Hollandaise Sauce except on special occasions.

Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing our Easter Supper recipes soon. Right now I’d like to to stay focused on Dessert without so much of this wandering about. Now where was I?

Oh, yeah! Since we weren’t getting together with family, I decided to skip all the appetizers that I ususally make for family gatherings. And I kept dessert simple. Which brings me to today’s share. This cake is made with all sorts of short-cuts and cheats – everything from a boxed cake to instant puddings and Cool Whip frosting. I wasn’t sure what my guys were going to think of such a cheater’s dessert. Hubby loved it. Said it was one of the best cakes ever, since it wasn’t as sweet as a buttercream frosted cake. Hum, maybe we’ll be able to work him into trying cream cheese frosting some day.

Now I know typically a poke cake is a single layer, served from the cake pan, with frosting just on the top. But I thought why not try something different. A two-layer poke cake with frosting all around. Glad I did.

French Vanilla Poke Cake with Cool Whip Frosting
French Vanilla Cake
3 Eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
1 box French Vanilla Cake Mix
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 cup Water

Heat oven to 325-degrees. Grease bottoms and sides of two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans with shortening, dust with a fine flour. Set pans aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs with oil until foamy. Add cake mix, milk and water. Beat at a low speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat for 2 minutes. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans, about 2 cups batter per pan. Tap the pans on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles.

Bake cakes on the middle rack in the heated oven for about 12 minutes, rotate pans, continue to bake another 10 minutes or until cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. While the cakes cool in the pans, make pudding (see below)

Vanilla Pudding
1 box Instant French Vanilla Pudding Mix
1-1/2 cups cold Milk

In a bowl, whisk pudding mix with milk. Refrigerate for a few minutes for a soft-pudding set.

Remove cakes from pans, level top of 1 cake. Place leveled cake on a serving platter, cut side down. Set aside. Place parchment paper on a cutting board, place remaining cake, bottom side up on the paper.

Poke holes randomly in both cake layers with the end of a wooden spoon. DO NOT poke holes all the way through but rather create small indentations for the pudding. Spread pudding out over the tops of the cakes while still warm to the touch. Allow pudding to seep into the wells to fill completely. Let cake cool.

Cool Whip Frosting
1 box (3.4 oz) Instant Chocolate Pudding
1/2 cup cold Milk
3 tablespoons Powdered Sugar
16 oz Cool Whip
Chocolate Curls, optional

In a mixing bowl, combine pudding mix, milk and powdered sugar. Beat on low speed until blended and smooth. Let stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Fold in the Cool Whip. Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.

To Assemble Cake: Spread frosting over the top of the cake on the serving platter. Spread frosting to the edge. Position second cake over the first, invert into place, bottom side down. Remove parchement paper. Frost the sides and top of the cake with frosting. If desired, sprinkle with chocolate curls. Chill until ready to serve.

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 I thirst for God, the living God; when shall I go to see Your face?