Strawberry Crunch Poke Cake

5 from 4 votes

This strawberry crunch poke cake is soft, sweet, and topped with a golden cookie crumble. Make it fast using boxed cake mix and strawberry Jell-O.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Cool and Chill Time1 45

Total Time2 35

Course: Cake, Dessert, Desserts

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 360kcal

Author: Shauna

Preheat the oven to 350°F or as directed on the cake mix package instructions. Mix and bake the cake in a 9×13-inch glass baking dish according to the instructions. Cool cake completely.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat evaporated milk over medium. Whisk in half of the package of strawberry gelatin powder, stirring and heating until the gelatin is dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Add the sweetened condensed milk and whole milk to the cooled evaporated milk mixture. Whisk until fully combined.
Use a bamboo skewer to poke small, evenly spaced holes all over the cooled cake.
Spoon the strawberry milk mixture over the cake, being sure to coat the cake evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and place the cake in the refrigerator to soak up the milk mixture for at least 1 hour.
Gently spread the Cool Whip over the top of the cake.
Place golden Oreos in a plastic bag and crush them into crumbs using a rolling pin.
Transfer the crushed cookies to a medium bowl. Pour melted butter over the cookie crumbs and sprinkle with the remaining half package of strawberry gelatin powder. Stir to combine.
Sprinkle the cookie mixture over the Cool Whip on the cake. Press down as needed to make a smooth, flat top.
Slice the cake into individual servings. Serve with a dollop of Cool Whip (or whipped cream) and a fresh strawberry half.

Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to keep a close eye on your cake as the suggested baking time approaches.
The strawberry milk mixture should drip through the poked holes, leaving the signature poke cake drips of color, but then it settles on the bottom third of the cake, giving a pretty dual color to the cake.
You can also pulse the Oreos in a food processor and add the butter/gelatin right in there and combine. This gives less control over the size of the crumbles, so proceed slowly so that you don’t over-process and form a paste.
If you would like to serve the cake with whipped cream and strawberries on top, you can use spray whipped cream or even pipe the Cool Whip, as we did here. You will need additional Cool Whip for this method as the 8-ounce tub is only enough to cover the top of the cake.