Sunday, August 1, 2010

A simple summer classic


My family has a bit of a problem. We are food hoarders. Our pantry is always overflowing and in recent months its started to eat at me. I can never find anything when I need to. So I've started trying to find recipes that can help use up random or off the wall ingredients that are just taking up space. I recently made pork chops crusted with Melba toast that were good. The box of Melba toast had been in our pantry for a while and I was getting sick of looking at it. May be I'll post that some time. However a single box of Melba toasts is not our biggest problem. We have and entire storage basket full of jello and pudding mix. No one needs that much jello. No one. So I turned to a humble Kraft kitchen creation straight out of the 1950's, poke cake, specifically peach poke cake.
Peach poke cake
adapted from Kraft Food Kitchens

Ingredients
1 box cake mix
2 packages of any flavor jello (I used peach)
1 tub whipped topping

Prepare the cake mix according to instructions and place in two nine inch cake pans and bake per instructions. Remove the cakes from the pans and move to a wire rack to cool. Then place the cooled cakes back into their pans.

Poke the cakes with a large skewer at half inch intervals. Prepare the jello according to the instructions but do not refrigerate. While the jello is still warm pour it over the prepared cakes and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

when you're ready to finish the cake dip the cake pans in very hot water and rotate for about 30 seconds. Turn the first cake onto a plate and then onto a cake stand. Use the whipped topping to frost just the top of the first layer and then turn the second layer on top of the first. Frost the cake with the renaming whipped topping. This cake has to be stored in the refrigerator.

3 comments:

  1. Poke cake brings back memories for me, though not of summertime. My late mom used to make it at Christmas, usually as one of a few dessert choices on Christmas Eve, and she'd use red and green jello for that holiday effect. It's really pretty good, anyway you slice it (pun intended!). Anyway, I must say I love your use of peach jello in your cake!
    :) Jane

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  2. It is surprisingly good. I think it's the whipped cream frosting. Thank you, that's the thing I love about poke cake is that it can really be customized to your taste.

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  3. I LOVE that you guys are clearing out the pantry. Keep the goodies coming!

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