This orange poke cake #drinkTEN shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.
Years ago I often had to travel for work for weeks at a time. I was young and unmarried and thought living in a hotel and eating out a restaurant every night for up to 8 weeks straight was fun. Traveling during the holidays, though, wasn’t quite as fun. Fortunately my coworkers and trainees always went out of their way to make me feel welcome and to make the time special.
There’s one occasion that really stands out, though, and that’s the time when a girl in one of my classes made me a poke cake right before Thanksgiving. I had never had a poke cake before, can you believe that? I know they’re made all different ways, but this one had a favorite hard-to-find soda of mine poured over the top before covering it with a whipped topping. It was a family recipe, but the girl was sweet enough to share it with me (I guess she didn’t worry about much recipe “competition” from Florida as they lived in Texas).
The other day I got to thinking about that time in my life and that cake. Things are about to get a little hectic around here – preparing for a visit from my parents and brother Jeff, cooking for Thanksgiving, shopping for Christmas – and before it does, I thought it would be nice to have a little treat. As the holidays will be full of heavy-laden sweets, I decided to make a lightened up, yet still indulgent, version of that poke cake.
Sunkist TEN Orange Poke Cake
Kroger carries the TEN line of sodas: A&W, Canada Dry, Dr. Pepper, 7UP, and my favorite, Sunkist. They’re even on sale as part of the “10 Weeks of TEN” special Kroger is running right now. So I decided to use the Sunkist TEN in my orange poke cake, inspired by the recipe shared with me.
- 1 box white cake mix + ingredients called for on box
- 1 can Sunkist TEN soda
- 1 box sugar-free orange gelatin
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1 (8 oz) container lite whipped topping, slightly thawed
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Spray two 8x8 (or one 9x13) pan with cooking spray.
- Prepare and bake cake mix according to box instructions. Let cool.
- Once cake is completely cooled, use a fork to poke holes all over the top of your cake.
- Dissolve the gelatin into the boiling water; stir in the Sunkist TEN soda.
- Slowly pour gelatin mixture over the top of the cake, making sure it fills the holes.
- Set cake in refrigerator and let cool completely.
- Spread topping mixture over the top of the cake. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
An easy dessert that will save you a little bit on calories using the Sunkist TEN soda but that won’t skimp on taste!
I’m a “crosser” – I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes with crossing something off my list. So while your cake cools in the fridge, go ahead and finish off the can of Sunkist TEN while you work on your to-do list. It’s about to get hectic, so you might as well steal all the peaceful moments you can!
What recipe would you use Sunkist TEN or other TEN sodas in?
About Liza
Liza is a mom (5-year-old daughter, 20-year-old stepson, and 24-year-old stepdaughter) and wife living in Louisville. She loves spending time with her family, visiting the local zoo and parks, as well as planning travel adventures. Cooking and baking, DIY projects and crafts, and coffee - lots and lots of coffee - round out some of her other hobbies.
I hadn’t heard of one using sunkist. My favorite is the one using chocolate pudding….that is delicious!
Oh man! I am a huge fan of poke cakes! I just heard about these last year and in the last few months, I’ve made both a banana and a coconut poke cake! They were fantastic! I have to say I love this recipe. Even though I love to bake, I do try to watch my calorie count and this lightened up version of a poke cake using Sunkist Ten is awesome. I wish A&W would come out with a TEN version of their cream soda! I would definitely make a lightened up cream soda poke cake using vanilla or caramel pudding!