Cherry Limeade Poke Cake

This is an amazing 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!

So what do you think when you see some gorgeous looking fruit and berries at the store?

I used to buy immediately, go home, wash and devour. “Used to” being the key phrase now. Blogging about food changed my life and the way I think about food completely. Now, I see everything as an ingredient.

I saw a gorgeous display of cherries at the local store last week, so naturally I grabbed a couple of bags (forgetting just how expensive cherries are). As I was walking around the grocery store, I kept looking at these cherries in my basket, thinking what I could make with them. I was thinking smoothies, cakes, muffins, even cookies…

Then I remembered how much I love cherry/lime flavor combo and immediately thought of a Cherry Limeade Cake!

 I got a few more ingredients and went home to work on the recipe. As I unloaded the insane amount of cherries, I thought of what else I can make because I got so much. Just then, little man ran into the kitchen to ransack through the shopping bags. (That kid is so spoiled, he knows there is always something in there for him.) He saw cherries and I swear his eyes lit up with hearts! “Cherries!!!” So of course, I had to pit some cherries for him. As I was watching him devour a big bowl of them, I remembered something…

You know what else you can do with cherries? EAT THEM!

Haha, life of a blogger…I forgot how good simple fruit and berries could be. So I helped him finish the 2 lb bag of cherries that night. Talk about cherry-belly, but it was gooood!

This poke cake turned out amazing though!! It’s a homemade yellow cake with a touch of lime zest and it’s topped with an awesome (but simple) mixture of cherries cooked with fresh lime, sugar and vanilla. This cherry lime juice seeps through the cake adding even more delicious flavors throughout. Final finish is the light, whipped topping that also has a touch of lime zest and a bit of the cherry/lime juice mixed in it.

(If you don’t feel like whipping your own whipped topping, you can use COOL Whip and just whip it with lime zest and juice.)

Check out these great dessert recipes:

Cherry Pie Bars from Julie’s Eats & Treats

Rustic Cherry Tarts from Chocolate With Grace

Black Cherry Fudge Rippled Ice Cream from Kitchen Meets Girl

Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread from Mom On Timeout

Tiramisu Poke Cake

Raffaello Poke Cake

Chocolate Cake with Whipped Coconut Frosting

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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

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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 9x13 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 9x13 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

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