Unicorn Poke Cake (Printable)

A magical colorful dessert featuring moist confetti cake with vibrant pudding layers and whipped topping—perfect for birthdays and parties.

# What You Need:

→ Cake Base

01 - 1 box funfetti or vanilla cake mix (approximately 15 oz)
02 - Ingredients required for cake mix (typically eggs, vegetable oil, water)

→ Poke Filling

03 - 2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz each)
04 - 4 cups cold milk
05 - Gel food coloring (pink, purple, blue, yellow)

→ Topping

06 - 1 tub whipped topping (8 oz, such as Cool Whip), thawed
07 - Unicorn sprinkles or colorful confetti sprinkles

# How-To:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
02 - Prepare cake batter following package directions. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
03 - Remove cake from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Using the handle end of a wooden spoon, poke holes every 1–2 inches across the surface of the warm cake.
04 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together instant vanilla pudding mixes and cold milk for approximately 2 minutes, until mixture begins to thicken slightly.
05 - Divide pudding mixture evenly among 4 separate bowls. Add a different gel food coloring to each bowl, mixing thoroughly until vibrant colors are achieved.
06 - Spoon the colored puddings randomly into the holes, alternating colors to create a rainbow effect throughout the cake.
07 - Spread thawed whipped topping evenly over the entire surface of the cooled cake using a spatula.
08 - Sprinkle unicorn or colorful confetti sprinkles generously over the whipped topping. Refrigerate cake for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving to allow flavors to meld.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The surprise of cutting into a plain looking cake and finding rainbow layers inside never gets old
  • You can assemble it in under an hour but it looks like you spent all day in the kitchen
02 -
  • Poke the holes while the cake is still warm but let it cool completely before adding the whipped topping or it will melt
  • Gel food coloring is worth the extra trip to the store because liquid coloring makes the pudding too thin to stay in the holes
03 -
  • Set your pudding bowls in the fridge for a few minutes after coloring them to help them thicken even more before spooning into the cake
  • If you want even more distinct color sections, use a piping bag to fill the holes instead of spooning

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