Lemon Poke Cake

Name: Lemon Poke Cake
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 box yellow cake mix (plus ingredients on box: eggs, oil, water); 1 box (3.4 oz) lemon instant pudding mix; 2 cups whole milk; 1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip (or 2 cups heavy cream, whipped); Lemon zest for garnish; Lemon slices for garnish (optional)

Ingredients

Cake
1 box yellow cake mix (plus ingredients on box: eggs, oil, water)
Lemon Poke Filling
1 box (3.4 oz) lemon instant pudding mix
2 cups whole milk
Topping
1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip (or 2 cups heavy cream, whipped)
Lemon zest for garnish
Lemon slices for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven and prepare cake mix according to box directions. Pour into a greased 9×13-inch pan and bake per box instructions. Cool completely.
Once cake is cool, use the handle of a wooden spoon or a straw to poke holes all over the cake, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
Make pudding filling: Whisk lemon pudding mix with 2 cups cold milk for 2 minutes. Let stand 2 minutes until it begins to thicken (it should still be pourable).
Pour pudding evenly over the cake, spreading into all the holes. Tap the pan gently on the counter to help it settle in.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow pudding to fully set.
Spread Cool Whip or whipped cream evenly over the top.
Garnish with lemon zest. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

The pudding soaks into the holes, making every bite incredibly moist and full of lemon flavor.

For a from-scratch version, replace the box cake with any white or yellow scratch cake baked in a 9×13.

For the filling, homemade lemon curd thinned with a little milk can replace the pudding mix.

Best made the day before — the filling sets up perfectly overnight.