Cherry Limeade Poke Cake

Key Ingredient Notes

• Fresh cherries: I use fresh, pitted sweet cherries for the topping. Frozen cherries work too if you thaw and drain them well first, since extra water will make the topping too thin.
• Lime: I use both the zest and the juice of fresh limes in this recipe, not bottled juice, because the zest is where most of the bright lime flavor lives.
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk keeps this yellow cake tender and moist. If you don’t keep it on hand, add a tablespoon of lemon or lime juice to regular milk and let it sit for 5 minutes before using.
• Unsalted butter: Let the butter come fully to room temperature before creaming it with the sugar. Cold butter won’t trap enough air, and the cake will bake up denser.
• Heavy whipping cream: Use cold cream straight from the fridge, and chill your bowl and beaters too. Cold cream whips up faster and holds its shape much better.

How to Make Cherry Limeade Poke Cake

1. Start the cake by creaming the softened butter and sugar together for a good minute or two, until the mixture turns pale and fluffy. This step builds the air that gives the cake its light texture, so don’t rush it. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition, then stir in the vanilla and lime zest.
2. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour. Mix each addition just until combined. Overmixing at this stage develops the gluten in the flour and can make the cake dense.
3. Spread the batter evenly in a greased 9×13 pan and bake at 350°F for 25 to 28 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before poking it. A warm cake will fall apart when you try to make holes in it. I poke holes with the round handle of a wooden spoon, since a wide hole holds plenty of the cherry-lime juice.
4. While the cake bakes, combine the cherries, lime juice, vanilla, and brown sugar in a saucepot and cook over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally. The cherries need about 20 to 25 minutes total to soften and release their juices into a glossy, syrupy sauce. Let the mixture cool before you spoon it onto the cake so it doesn’t melt anything underneath.
5. Spoon the cooked cherries evenly over the poked cake, then slowly pour the remaining juice over the top so it settles down into the holes. Set aside 2 tablespoons of that juice for the whipped cream. Cool the cake completely before topping it. I’m food safety certified, and this is one of those steps I never skip: letting the cake cool fully before the whipped cream goes on keeps the dairy from sitting at room temperature any longer than it needs to.
6. For the whipped cream, beat the cold heavy cream on low speed, gradually raising to high, until soft peaks start to form. Add the sugar slowly, then fold in the lime zest and the reserved cherry juice on low speed just until combined. Don’t overwhip once the juice goes in, or the cream can start to break.
7. Frost the cooled cake generously, then chill it for at least an hour before slicing. That chill time firms everything up and gives you much cleaner slices.

How to Store and Freeze Cherry Limeade Poke Cake

• In the fridge: Cover the cake tightly and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The whipped cream topping means this cake needs to stay chilled, not sit out at room temperature.
• In the freezer: I don’t recommend freezing this cake once it’s fully assembled. The whipped cream and juicy cherry topping don’t thaw back to the right texture. If you want to get ahead, bake and freeze the plain cake layer, wrapped tightly, for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge, then add the cherry topping and whipped cream fresh.

Cherry Limeade Poke Cake Recipe FAQs

More Recipes From Me

• Hummingbird Poke Cake
• Key Lime Pie Cheesecake
• Strawberry Pound Cake
• Homemade Cherry Arnold Palmer

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below or share and tag me on social media @willcookforsmiles. DON’T FORGET to subscribe to my newsletter!

Cherry Limeade Poke Cake

Soft and moist homemade yellow cake, topped with exhilarating mixture of cherries cooked in lime juice and finished with lime flavored light whipped topping!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 28 minutes minutes

Cool down:: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 48 minutes minutes

Servings: 9 9×13 poke cake

Calories: 671kcal

Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

Yellow Cake:

• ▢ 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 3 eggs room temperature
• ▢ 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups white granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups low fat buttermilk
• ▢ 1 lime – zest only

Cherry Topping:

• ▢ 1.5 lbs fresh pitted cherries about 3 cups
• ▢ 1 lime – juice only
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/3 cup brown sugar

Whipped Topping:

• ▢ 2 cups heavy whipping cream cold
• ▢ 2 Tbsp white granulate sugar
• ▢ 1/2 lime – zest only
• ▢ 2 Tbsp juice from cooked cherries above

Instructions

• Cake:
• Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 baking pan. Prepare your ingredients so you don’t scramble for them and over-mix the cake.
• Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
• In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on medium high speed for about a minute and slowly add sugar. Beat until light and smooth.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla. Scrape the sides and mix until combined.
• Stir in lime zest.
• Lower the speed to low. Add your flour mixture and buttermilk in two parts. Start by adding half the flour and mix until just combined. Add half the buttermilk and mix until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined, then remaining buttermilk and mix until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix until just combined.
• Spread the batter in the baking dish evenly and bake for 25-28 minutes. Make sure to do the toothpick test in the middle to make sure that cake is done. (If needed, bake for another 3-5 minutes.)
• Let the cake cool and then poke holes all over it.
• Cherry Lime:
• While cake is baking, combine cherries, lime juice, vanilla and sugar in a sauce pot over medium heat and stir well. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat to medium low and cook for another 15 minutes, covered and stirring occasionally. Take off heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Scoop cooked cherries with a slotted spoon and spread them all over the cake, evenly. Set aside 2 Tbsp of juice for the whipped topping (place it in the fridge). Pour the remaining juice slowly and evenly over the cake (try to hit the holes).
• Cool completely before topping with whipped topping.
• Whipped Topping:
• Place your metal bowl from the electric mixer and the whisk attachment (or a regular metal bowl and the beaters) in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
• Make sure that your heavy whipping cream and juice are cold.
• Add the heavy whipping cream to the cold mixing bowl. Starting on low speed, start whipping, gradually raise to speed to high. Slowly, add sugar. Beat until stiff peaks appear (don’t walk away far.) Slowly stir in juice and lime zest on low speed.
• Make sure the cake is completely cooled or your frosting will melt!
• Frost the cake generously.
• If you want, decorate the cake with some fresh cherries and lime slices.

Nutrition

Calories: 671kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 221mg | Potassium: 477mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 52g | Vitamin A: 1403IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 163mg | Iron: 2mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles or tag #willcookforsmiles!