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This 4th of July Cake is the perfect chilled dessert for your Independence Day celebrations. Fun, flavorful and colorful with red, white, and blue colors inside.
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I am so excited to share my favorite dessert for Independence Day. Get ready to wow your guests with this show-stopping 4th of July Cake! Every bite is the perfect blend of tartness and sweetness. With its vibrant red, white, and blue colors on the inside and the outside, this cake is a feast for the eyes and the tastebuds. And the best part? It is so easy to make! Who wants to be slaving away in the kitchen on a holiday? This easy dessert is made with a box cake mix rather than a cake from scratch. Yep, I admit it. And it’s delicious!
Cake and Frosting Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- White cake mix (dry, not prepared)
- Water
- Sour cream (the secret ingredient to upgrade a box cake mix)
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Blue gelatin powder (berry blue or blue raspberry Jell-O)
- Red gelatin powder (strawberry or raspberry Jell-O)
Frosting Ingredients:
- Cream Cheese
- Sugar
- Whipped Cream Topping (Cool Whip)
Suggestions for Decorating
- Craft an American flag-inspired masterpiece with fruit. Begin by generously coating the entire cake with the cream cheese whipped frosting. Then, carefully line the top of the cake with fresh berries, using blueberries for the starry field and juicy strawberries or raspberries for the iconic stripes.
- For a quick and easy touch, sprinkle festive red, white, and blue sprinkles on top, adding a playful and colorful twist.
- If you prefer buttercream or cream cheese frosting, let your artistic flair shine through by using a pastry bag and decorative tips. Create an American flag, a fireworks scene, or add writing. The possibilities are endless!
Adding the Colors to the Poke Cake
- First, wait until the cake is completely cooled after baking.
- Then, in a medium bowl, mix together blue Jell-O powder with a cup of boiling water, then stir in a half cup of cold water. It needs to be still in liquid form to insert into the cake, so don’t allow it to set up ahead of time. We like the blue raspberry flavor or any blue Jell-O you like.
- Repeat that step with red Jell-O powder. Again, any red colored Jell-O will work to make a red, white and blue poke cake.
- If you have medicine dispensers in your medicine cabinet, you can pour it into the dispenser to keep the colors from bleeding into each other. See image below.
- Condiment squeeze bottles also do the trick.
- Be sure to make nice holes in the spots you want the color to go. I used the handle end of a butter knife to make the holes in the cake, then I alternated the red and blue colors.
- If you want to make bigger holes, you can use the handle of a wooden spoon.
Serving Tips
- Be sure to make this cake well in advance of when you want to serve it, the longer it refrigerates, the better it will taste. I like to make it up the night before I plan to serve it so all the flavors have a chance to settle.
- Cover the cake with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out in the fridge.
- Serve this cake COLD. It makes it more refreshing for a hot day.
- The frosting can be made in advance as well. Keep it refrigerated, but don’t frost the cake until the day you are ready to serve it.
- Add toppings to the cake just prior to serving. Fresh fruit and sprinkles tend to bleed into the frosting over time.
Switch It Up For Different Holidays
You can easily switch the colors to make this work for different holidays- like grape and lime or orange jello for halloween. Cherry or Lime would work great together for Christmas. Purple and Pink or Yellow of Easter. Red and Pink for Valentine’s Day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! White or yellow cake mix is most common for 4th of July poke cakes because the colors of the gelatin stand out better, but you can use others based on your preference.
You can make the cake 1–2 days in advance. In fact, letting it chill overnight helps the flavors set and soak in even more.
It’s best not to freeze a finished poke cake with whipped topping, but you can freeze the plain cake layer and add Jell-O and topping later.
You don’t have to go all the way through—poking about ¾ of the way down is usually perfect to let the Jell-O soak in without making the bottom soggy.
More 4th of July Desserts
4th of July Cake
Equipment
- 9×13 inch pan
- Hand Mixer
- Measuring Cups
Ingredients
Cake
- 15 ounces white cake mix (unprepared)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 3 ounces raspberry Jell-O gelatin or any red color flavor
- 3 ounces berry blue Jell-O gelatin or any blue color flavor
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sugar (white, granulated)
- 12 ounces cold whipped topping (cool whip)
Topping Options
- Fruit raspberries, strawberries, blueberries
- Sprinkles red, white, and blue
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the cake ingredients and mix for 2 minutes by hand or with a mixer. Follow baking instructions on the box for a 9×13 pan.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
- While cake is cooling, mix together the first jello package with 1 cup boiling water, then stir in ½ cup cold water. The Jell-O mixture needs to remain in liquid form for dispensing, so don't refrigerate before adding to cake. Make a bunch of holes in the cake using the handle end of a butter knife.
- Use the handle of a wooden spoon or a butter knife to poke holes in the cooled cake.
- Using a child's medicine dispenser, add about 1 to 2 teaspoons of the Jello into every other hole.
- When finished, repeat steps with the second color of Jell-O. Cover cake and refrigerate until ready to serve (at least 1 hour).
For the Frosting:
- Using a hand mixer, thoroughly blend the frosting ingredients.
- Once the cake is cold, spread the frosting evenly over the cake.
- If topping with fruit, wash and dry fruit well. Slice strawberries.
- Just before serving, top with fruit or sprinkles.
Video
Notes
To make this cake in advance:
- Prepare and bake the cake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to a day ahead.
- Prepare the frosting. Keep it in a covered bowl in the fridge.
- Just before serving, stir the frosting well, then frost the cake. Add toppings and serve.
Nutrition Information
Make Layered Jell-O Cups with the Extra Ingredients
For a bonus treat, I used the 6-ounce packages of Jell-O, instead of the 3-ounce packages, allowing me to create charming and festive Jell-O cups for our 4th of July celebration.
Making these adorable cups is as easy as can be! Simply add the extra Jell-O to a glass cup and allow it to set. Then top with whipped cream (Cool Whip). Elevate the visual appeal by sprinkling on extra fresh berries, sprinkles, or even Pop Rocks for an element of surprise.
4th of July BBQ Ideas
Our 4th of July desserts are usually the finishing touch to our BBQ dinner. Here are some of our favorite Independence Day BBQ recipes:
Hi,
I was just curious, is it 12 ounces of cool whip or just one tub? My tub is 8 ounce.
Thanks,
Katie
It is 12 ounces!
Is the sour cream to mix with the cake??
Yep! It makes the cake sooo moist!
I will make it!
Looks delicious!
Thank you!
What kind of sugar for frostening regular or powered sugar ?
You can probably use either but we used granulated white sugar for this recipe, hope this helps!
Could I do this exact recipe but in a Bundt cake pan?
I haven’t tried it that way, but I bet it would work! Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Was following the recipe which calls for 3 eggs welllll it’s egg whites only. I should have realized but after an extremely long day I didn’t. Also I looked at other recipes for what type of sugar, I’m going with white. Who knows. Recipe really needs to be edited
If the box mix that you are using says “egg whites only” you will just want to use egg whites. If it doesn’t specify on the box you can just use the whole egg (which is what we did with the original recipe). It is also white granulated sugar. Hope this helps!
This is awesome! I love it!
Poke cakes are seriously my favorite! They are perfect during summer & always such a crowd pleaser. I love the colors in this! And, I usually just add cool whip on top, but this topping sounds great! I will have to add that on top next time.
This is so fun and the perfect 4th of july dessert! Easy and delicious!
I loved it! I can’t wait to make it for the Fourth of July!
My kids would love to make this for the 4th of July!
I didn’t see where you add the sour cream! I believe it goes in the frosting but the recipe doesn’t say!
The sour cream is added to the cake mix with the water, vegetable oil, and eggs. It makes the cake extra moist. Thanks for asking!
Delicious! Instead of making a sheet cake I decided to make cupcakes and the results were awesome. Everyone enjoyed them for the 4th of July gathering. Thank you .
Great idea! Thank you for sharing the idea!
Can you use a vanilla cake mix and if so do I still use the ingredients for the white cake mix? Thanks!
Sure!