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    Home » Recipes » Desserts & Treats

    Eggnog Poke Cake

    Updated: Jul 4, 2024 · Published: Dec 20, 2023 · by Jan Nunes

    A slice of yellow eggnog cake on a white plate with a fork and text overlay.
    A slice of yellow eggnog cake on a white plate with a fork and text overlay.
    A slice of yellow eggnog cake on a white plate with a fork and text overlay.

    Eggnog Poke Cake is a simple sheet cake filled with rich eggnog cream and topped with fluffy whipped topping and a dusting of grated nutmeg.

    Who doesn't love a classic holiday treat like eggnog? With a few simple ingredients, you can make this delicious blend of eggnog flavored cake filled with a rich eggnog filling and topped with fluffy whipped topping. It is eggnog heaven in a cake!

    Wow your friends and family this holiday season with this easy twist on a holiday classic. This festive cake with layers of rich eggnog flavor is incredibly easy to make.

    A slice of yellow eggnog cake on a white plate with a fork.
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    So, grab a cup of eggnog and let’s get baking!

    Jump to:
    • What Is a Poke Cake?
    • Why We Love this Eggnog Poke Cake
    • About This Recipe
    • Ingredients
    • Step-by-Step Instructions
    • My Top Tip
    • Substitutions & Variations
    • Make it Non-Alcoholic
    • Equipment
    • Make-Ahead & Storage
    • More Delicious Holiday Desserts
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    What Is a Poke Cake?

    A poke cake is a variation of a filled cake. Instead of layers of cake with a filling between them, a poke cake has pockets of gelatin, custard, or pudding spaced throughout the crumb of the cake. The cake is then often frosted with whipped topping or whipped cream.

    A collage of Jell-O poke cake advertisments: Stripe-It-Rich Cake, Christmas Rainbow Poke Cake, and Orange Poke Cake.

    Poke cakes first appeared in the 1970s and were recipes advertising Jell-O products to make a dessert featuring a boxed cake mix, Jell-O gelatin or pudding, and Cool Whip or Dream Whip Toppings. These desserts were a modern take on the traditional filled layer cake and were both easy to make and crowd-pleasing.

    Why We Love this Eggnog Poke Cake

    • Has Eggnog in the Cake and the Filling!
    • Has Just 8 Ingredients Plus Water.
    • Super Quick and Easy to Make.
    • Serves a Crowd with up to 16 Servings.
    • Can Also Be Made Without Alcohol.

    About This Recipe

    My husband loves eggnog and if there is one flavor that says Christmas, it is also eggnog. So making a poke cake with the flavors of eggnog and rum was an easy stretch of the imagination.

    This cake begins simply with a boxed vanilla cake mix. When making the cake batter I swap out some of the water for eggnog and also add ground nutmeg.

    The creamy eggnog filling is made with vanilla pudding mix. Eggnog and spiced rum is used instead of milk and I use less liquid to make it thick and rich. Lastly, the topping is simply thawed frozen topping (Cool Whip) and a generous sprinkling of freshly ground nutmeg.

    The hands-on prep is only about 25 minutes total with the rest of the prep time being baking and chilling. This is one festive dessert that won't have you frantically rushing to get it done. It can easily be made in between package wrapping and other holiday cooking.

    The last big plus is that this dessert easily serves 12 to 16 which makes it great for buffets and pot-lucks.

    My husband's comment when he had his first slice was that it tasted just like his grandma's eggnog. For me that is the best compliment ever and I know I will be making this Eggnog Poke Cake every year for the Holidays.

    So, let's cook!

    Ingredients

    The ingredients, from top left: cooking oil, eggnog, whipped topping, instant pudding mix, nutmeg, spiced rum, eggs, and vanilla cake mix.

    Here's what you need:

    • Vanilla Cake Mix -  Use any vanilla cake mix as long as it is a 13.25-ounce mix. You can use plain vanilla or French Vanilla.
    • Large Eggs - This recipe requires large eggs. For the proper proportion of eggs to cake mix, do not substitute a different-sized egg.
    • Eggnog - You can use either homemade or store-bought eggnog. You will need 1 quart.
    • Vegetable Oil - Choose a neutral-flavored cooking oil to let the eggnog flavor shine.
    • Freshly Ground Nutmeg - Freshly ground nutmeg has the best flavor and aroma. But you can use pre-ground nutmeg in this recipe.
    • Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix - You will need 2 boxes or vanilla instant pudding, 3.4 ounces each. Both vanilla and French vanilla taste delicious in this recipe.
    • Spiced Rum - This eggnog cake is extra delicious when made with spiced rum. My favorite is Captain Morgan Private Stock but you can use your favorite. You can also use brandy if you prefer it over spiced rum.
    • Whipped Topping - I use Cool Whip, but you can use your favorite whipped topping or stabilized whipped cream. For this recipe, you will need an 8-ounce container which is 3 cups.
    • Cold Water - Just plain cold water is also needed to mix the cake. (not shown)

    Please see the recipe card for the exact quantities.

    Step-by-Step Instructions

    Process Photo 1 - Grease or spray only the bottom of the pan with non-stick cooking spray.

    Preheat and Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Spray non-stick cooking spray or grease the bottom only of a 13x9-inch pan and set aside.

    Process Photo 2 - To a large mixing bowl add the cake ingredients, the cake mix, cooking oil, eggnog, water, eggs, and ground nutmeg.

    Mix the Cake. To the large bowl of a large stand mixer add the cake mix, eggs, eggnog, water, oil, and nutmeg and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.

    Process Photo 3 - Add the beaten cake batter to the prepared pan and level and smooth the top of the batter.

    Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 26-28 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.

    Process Photo 4a - Poke holes in the cooled cake with the round handle of a spoon.
    Process Photo 4b - The cake has holes poked through out the entire cake which will hold small pockets of the eggnog filling.

    Cool and Poke. Allow the cake to fully cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Use the rounded end of a wooden spoon or a large straw to poke well-spaced holes into the cake.

    Process Photo 5 - In a medium-sized bowl mix the vanilla pudding mix, eggnog, and spiced rum to make the eggnog filling for the cake.

    Make Eggnog Filling. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the vanilla pudding mix, eggnog, and spiced rum.

    Process Photo 6a - Slowly pour the eggnog filling to fill the holes of the cake and then over the top of the cake.
    Process Photo 6b - The cake fully filled and covered with the eggnog filling.

    Filling the Cake. Slowly pour the pudding mixture over the cake allowing time for the pudding to fill the holes. Smooth the top of the pudding layer. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

    Process Photo 7 - Whipped topping is spread over the entire cake.

    Top and Garnish. Spread the whipped topping evenly over the top of the cake and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg. Continue to refrigerate the cake until serving time.

    A slice of yellow eggnog cake on a white plate with a fork.

    My Top Tip

    ♡ To give every slice lots of nice eggnog cream filling, be sure to space the holes well throughout the cake.

    Substitutions & Variations

    • Substitute Yellow Cake Mix. You can substitute a yellow cake mix for the vanilla cake mix and add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
    • Substitute Ground Mace. Mace is the outer covering of a nutmeg seed which has a very similar flavor to ground nutmeg and is less expensive.
    • Substitute Ground Cinnamon. If you don't like nutmeg you can substitute ground cinnamon.
    • Substitute Pumpkin Pie Spice. You can also substitute pumpkin pie spice for the nutmeg.
    • Substitute Stabilized Whipped Cream. You can use stabilized whipped cream instead of thawed, frozen whipped topping.

    Make it Non-Alcoholic

    • Substitute Rum Extract. Instead of spiced rum, make the filling with 3 cups of eggnog and 2 teaspoons of rum extract.

    Equipment

    I like using a stand mixer to mix the batter quickly, but you can use a hand mixer too, or beat the batter by hand.

    Make-Ahead & Storage

    You can bake the cake the day before and finish it with the filling and topping the next day.

    This cake must be stored in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap to keep it fresh tasting. Leftovers will keep up to 3 days when stored in a sealed airtight container or covered in plastic wrap.

    A slice of yellow eggnog cake on a white plate with a fork.

    More Delicious Holiday Desserts

    • A bundt cake on a serving stand with a piece cut and on its side with a fork in it.
      Butter Pecan Rum Cake
    • The cheesecake dessert on a plate and garnished with whipped topping and a small pretzel.
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    • Cranberry Sugar Pie in a tart shell decorated with pie crust leaves and cranberries on a pale pink glass plate.
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    ♡ Did you love this Eggnog Poke Cake? Please leave us a star rating and a comment below!

    📖 Recipe

    A slice of yellow eggnog cake on a white plate with a fork.

    Eggnog Poke Cake

    5 from 1 vote
    By: Jan Nunes
    Eggnog Poke Cake is a simple sheet cake filled with rich eggnog cream and topped with fluffy whipped topping and a dusting of grated nutmeg.
    Print Share Pin Email
    Prep Time ~ 25 minutes minutes
    Cook Time ~ 30 minutes minutes
    Chilling Time ~ 1 hour hour
    Total Time ~ 1 hour hour 55 minutes minutes
    Servings ~ 16 Servings
    Calories ~ 271kcal
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    Ingredients
     

    • 1 Box Vanilla Cake Mix, 13.25 Ounce Mix
    • 3 Large Eggs
    • ⅔ Cup Eggnog, Homemade or Store-Bought
    • ⅓ Cup Cold Water
    • ⅓ Cup Vegetable Oil
    • 1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Nutmeg
    • 2 Boxes Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix, 3.4 ounces each
    • 2 ½ Cups Eggnog
    • ½ Cup Spiced Rum, or Brandy
    • 3 Cups Whipped Topping, 8-Ounce Container
    • Freshly Ground Nutmeg

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat and Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Spray non-stick cooking spray or grease the bottom only of a 13x9-inch pan and set aside.
    • Mix the Cake. To the large bowl of a large stand mixer add the cake mix, eggs, eggnog, water, oil, and nutmeg and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
      1 Box Vanilla Cake Mix, 3 Large Eggs, ⅔ Cup Eggnog, ⅓ Cup Cold Water, ⅓ Cup Vegetable Oil, 1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Nutmeg
    • Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 26-28 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
    • Cool and Poke. Allow the cake to fully cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Use the rounded end of a wooden spoon or a large straw to poke well-spaced holes into the cake.
    • Make Eggnog Filling. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the vanilla pudding mix, eggnog, and spiced rum.
      2 Boxes Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix, 2 ½ Cups Eggnog, ½ Cup Spiced Rum
    • Filling the Cake. Slowly pour the pudding mixture over the cake allowing time for the pudding to fill the holes. Smooth the top of the pudding layer. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour.
    • Top and Garnish. Spread the whipped topping evenly over the top of the cake and sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg. Continue to refrigerate the cake until serving time.
      3 Cups Whipped Topping, Freshly Ground Nutmeg

    Notes

    You can make it without alcohol by substituting 2 teaspoons of rum extract in place of the spiced rum.
    To give every slice lots of nice eggnog cream filling, be sure to space the holes well throughout the cake.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 349mg | Potassium: 132mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 159IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 152mg | Iron: 1mg

    Per 1 serving. All nutritional information on this site is an estimate. Your results may vary.

    Encharted Cook™ or Jan Nunes shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.

    © 2018-2025 Encharted Cook, Jan Nunes. All rights reserved.

    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American

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    About Jan Nunes

    Jan is the creator and owner of Encharted Cook. Her cooking and baking journey began more than 50 years ago and she specializes in showing how recipes and ingredients can work together and why. At Encharted Cook you can rely on proven recipes and take your cooking and baking up to the next level.

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    Jan Nunes

    Hey There!

    Welcome to Encharted Cook! I'm Jan, a seasoned cook with recipe charts, pro tips, and ideas to help you make delicious dinners. Over the years I've learned that many recipes are related... and if you learn to make one delicious dish, you can make many more!

    more about Jan

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