Easy Candy Corn Poke Cake

Cake, Holiday

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full disclosure here.

Jump to Recipe

This fun candy corn cake is made with a box cake mix, orange and lemon Jell-O, and a delicious homemade whipped cream frosting.

A plate with a piece of orange, yellow, and white cake on it with a fork on the plate.

Whether or not you like candy corn seems to be a hot topic every October.   I’m in the “I like candy corn” camp.  I don’t love it but I don’t hate it either. 

So when I saw a recipe for candy corn poke cake I was pretty excited to make it.   Especially when I found out it isn’t flavored with candy corn. I figured more people would enjoy it with the citrus flavors.

What I like about this cake is that while it’s made from a boxed cake mix, the frosting is totally homemade.  I do not like frosting in a can so I always make my own frosting.

Ingredients:

  • Box of white cake mix
  • eggs
  • butter
  • water
  • orange Jell-O
  • lemon Jell-O
  • heavy whipping cream
  • powdered sugar
  • vanilla
  • candy corn

To Make the Cake:  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Mix the cake mix, eggs, butter, and water together in a pan.  Pour into the prepared pan and bake according to the package directions.  Cool for 20 minutes.  Using a handle of a wooden spoon or a straw poke holes in rows in the cake.  Pour orange Jell-O into every other row then pour the lemon Jell-O into the other rows.  Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.

A cake in a pan with holes poked in it.

So the first thing to do is bake the cake.  Use the directions on the box and bake up either a white cake or a yellow cake. 

Next you’ll have to poke holes in the cake.  This is tedious but you have to do it.  Make sure when poking the holes you don’t go all the way to the bottom of the pan or else a lot of the Jell-O will run out of the cake.  Go in about 3/4 of the way down.

A cake with holes poked in it and yellow and orange Jell-O stripes on it.

It’s important that you make your holes in rows.  This will make it so much easier to pour the Jell-O into every other row.  I use my angled measuring cup with a spout to do this. 

Do I have to use lemon and orange Jell-O?

You really do need to use them because you need the yellow and orange color in the cake.  If you can find orange or yellow gelatin in a different flavor that appeals more to you then feel free to use that instead.

Do I have to make my own frosting?

You don’t have to but I really think you should!  This whipped frosting is super easy to make and it’s so, so good!   If you don’t make your own frosting you can just put Cool Whip or something similar on top but trust me, the homemade frosting is the way to go!

A cake with whipped cream frosting.

Can I make my own cake?

Yes.   If you want to make your own white or yellow cake from scratch feel free.  I love using the box mix in this recipe because it’s so easy and you really just need a base for the colorful Jell-O and whipped frosting.

How do I store this cake?

This cake needs to be stored in the refrigerator.  I just put a piece of foil or plastic wrap over top of it and put it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

I loved pouring the Jell-O over top of the cake because it already looked like candy corn.  I was excited to cut it open and see what it looked like inside.

A cake with white frosting and candy corn on top.

Before doing that I had to make the frosting.  Oh this frosting!   It’s like making homemade whipped cream but then you beat in powdered sugar to turn it into a whipped cream frosting.

It’s light, it’s fluffy, it’s sweet, and it’s so delicious.  I could have just eaten it out of the bowl but I frosted the cake and then sprinkled my candy corn on top.

More Poke Cake Recipes:

When I cut the cake open it looked exactly how I had hoped.  The cake was white and there were clear yellow and orange lines inside.  It looked like candy corn!

My husband isn’t a big candy corn fan so he was excited when I said it was actually a vanilla cake with citrus Jell-O inside.  He grabbed a piece and said it tasted like his childhood.  It reminded him of cakes he would have as a kid and that really warmed my heart.

A plate with a piece of orange, yellow, and white cake on it with a fork on the plate, text title, a cutting board with a box of cake mix, 3 eggs, a stick of butter, a box of lemon Jell-O, and a box of orange Jell-O on it.

I think this is a great Halloween cake and it’s so easy to make.  So give it a try this Halloween holiday!

If you’ve tried my Easy Candy Corn Poke Cake or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:

A plate with a piece of orange, yellow, and white cake on it with a fork on the plate.

Easy Candy Corn Dump Cake

Yield: serves 15
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes

made with a box cake mix, orange and lemon Jell-O, and a delicious homemade whipped cream frosting.

Ingredients

  • 1 (15 oz) box yellow or white cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted
  • 1 c. water
  • 1 (3 oz) box orange Jell-O
  • 1 (3 oz) box lemon Jell-O
  • 1 c. boiling water
  • 1 c. cold water
  • 2 c. heavy whipping cream
  • 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 c. candy corn

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl whisk the eggs. Add in the butter and water and mix well.
  3. Add the cake mix and whisk for 1-2 minutes or until the batter is smooth.
  4. Pour into prepared cake pan and bake for 30 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes.
  6. Using the end of a wooden spoon or a straw poke evenly spaced holes in rows on your cake.
  7. Mix the orange Jell-O with 1/2 cup boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add
    1/2 cup cold water and mix until blended. Pour the orange Jell-O into
    every other row of holes.
  8. Mix the lemon Jell-O with 1/2 cup boiling water and stir until dissolved. Add
    1/2 cup cold water and mix until blended. Pour the lemon Jell-O into
    the other row of holes.
  9. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
  10. To make the frosting pour the heavy whipping cream into a large bowl. Using a mixer beat on high sspeed for 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form.
  11. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat on medium high speed for 1 minute.
  12. Spread the frosting over top of the cake. Top with candy corn.

Notes

Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

© HezziD
Category: Cake

A close up of a plate with a piece of orange, yellow, and white cake on it with a fork on the plate.

Check out all of these great #HalloweenTreatsWeek recipes for today

6 Comments

  1. I love this combination of flavors (orange and vanilla and lemon–yum!) so much and know my kids are going to go bonkers over this festive cake closer to Halloween!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *