Kahlua Chocolate Poke Cake
This Kahlua Chocolate Poke Cake is a chocolate cake that’s baked in, soaked in, and frosted with Kahlua. It’s the ultimate boozy dessert!
You can finally have your cake and drink it too! This delicious cake recipe is perfect for parties and everyone always loves it! It gets RAVE reviews! People also enjoy my Irish Cream Poke Cake!
If you love boozy desserts, you HAVE to try this Kahlua Chocolate Poke Cake!
My husband thinks I have a problem when it comes to making desserts. In fact, he thinks I have several, them being:
- I consume too many of them.
- I make too many of them.
- I tend to go a little over the top when I make them, like my Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake for example.
But honestly, how could something like this Kahlua Chocolate Poke Cake be a problem? I just don’t see how it’s possible, especially if you like boozy desserts. And trust me, this one is boooooozy!
How Boozy Is It?
This cake is loaded up with 1 1/2 cups of Kahlua and definitely shouldn’t be served to the kiddos! There’s a 1/2 cup baked into the cake, a 1/2 cup soaked into the cake, and a 1/2 cup of it in the frosting, needless to say, it’s a feel-good kind of dessert!
What Is A Poke Cake?
If you’ve never had a poke cake, it’s basically a sheet cake that’s been baked and then had holes poked into it and had some sort of liquid poured over it, in this case, Kahlua and sweetened condensed milk. The cake absorbs all of the liquid and makes for a super moist and delicious sweet treat.
If you’re into boozy desserts, you’re going to go crazy over this cake. It’s rich, sweet, and hits all the right notes. And when you’ve had one of those weeks where you just need a drink and some chocolate, this cake will save you.
How To Make It
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F and spraying a 9×13-inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combined all of the cake ingredients until fully mixed and pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick comes clean from center of the cake. Remove from oven and poke holes in the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon or a skewer.
- Then, in a medium bowl, combine the Kahlua and sweetened condensed milk until combined.
- Pour liquid mixture over the cake. Allow the cake to soak and cool.
- Finally, once the cake has cooled, beat all of the frosting ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Frost the cake and top with chocolate sprinkles if desired.
Readers are Loving this Cake!
Heidi H. shares the ultimate boozy pour shot!
Erin M. loved this cake too!
Classroom Cakes made it, did you make it too? Share a picture on Instagram and tag me to have your photo included here!
More Delicious Poke Cakes!
- Coconut Poke Cake
- Butterbeer Poke Cake
- Banana Split Poke Cake
- Easy Oreo Poke Cake
- German Chocolate Poke Cake
Kahlua Poke Cake
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Kahlua Chocolate Poke Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 Box Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix
- 3.9 oz package Jell-O Instant Chocolate Fudge OR Vanilla Pudding
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup Kahlua
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1½ cup mini chocolate chips
Liquid:
- 1/2 cup Kahlua
- 12 oz. sweetened condensed milk
Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Kahlua
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/3 cup instant chocolate fudge Jell-O pudding mix dry
Optional:
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combined all of the cake ingredients until fully mixed and pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick comes clean from center of the cake. Remove from oven and poke holes in the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon or a skewer.
Liquid:
- In a medium bowl, combine the Kahlua and sweetened condensed milk until combined.
- Pour liquid mixture over the cake. Allow the cake to soak and cool.
Frosting:
- Once the cake has cooled, beat all ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Frost cake and top with chocolate sprinkles if desired.
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Nutrition
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Could I make into a layered cake?
Using 2- 9 inch pans then stacking when cooled?
I’ve never made it as a layer cake. My concern would be that the poke filling would be too heavy/unstable for layers and would also leak out. The pan contains it.
I made this Kahlua Chocolate Poke Cake for Thanksgiving and everyone raved about it. It’s moist and has a nice flavor. I just got a request to make it for New Year’s Eve. It’s such an easy recipe too!
Thank you for responding so quickly.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Is it possible to add cherry pie filling to this recipe?
Hi Cathy, I don’t think cherry pie filling would be the best addition to this recipe.
Hello i made this cake this afternoon to serve on Thursday. Will it keep in the fridge until then?
Hi Felice, this cake is best on the same day or day after making. I’ve never had any leftover for 4 days so I can’t say, but yes, the refrigerator is where you’ll want to store it. My concern is that the frosting might break down over such a long period of time, so definitely keep it cold until shortly before serving. If you haven’t frosted it, I would wait to do that part until Wednesday. Make sure to cover tightly.
I’ve not made this cake yet but oh my, it does look DEE-LISH! Is it anything like the chocolate coffee flavored (Kahlua?) sheet cakes that seem to be at all the Chinese buffets?? I love those cakes and even if this cake is not similar I’ve definitely printed your recipe.
Thanks!
Hi Joan, I’m not sure if they are similar to those cakes as I have never tried them, but I have a feeling you won’t be disappointed with this recipe 🙂
I have made this cake a dozen or better times and just want to say thank you for the wonderful recipe …:love the cake and sharing it with all my adult friends
Hi Debbie, I’m so happy you love the cake and thank you so much for the sweet comment!
Can this cake be made the night before and then frosted the next day? Any reason it wouldn’t still be good?
Hi Lisa, yes, that is perfectly fine. Just put some aluminum foil or plastic wrap over the top of the cake pan overnight 🙂
Hi.
I just made this cake today but when I checked in 30 min it still wasn’t ready then 40min and still wasn’t so I added 10 min more and it was ready . I just hope my cake doesn’t taste dry at all. I did exactly how the recipe indicated. Can you please tell me why my cake wasn’t ready by the 40min? I still have to make the frosting for it. So I just hope it tastes as good as it looks in the picture. Where can I share my picture so everyone can look how it came out? Thank you so much.
Hi Monica, did you make it in a 9×13-inch pan? Ovens vary and it could be that yours runs a little cooler and takes a bit longer to bake. You can share on instagram and tag me @sugarandsoulco!
Is the cake mix the new size or the old size?
Either will work, assuming you’re talking about either the 15.25 or 16.6 ounce boxes.
Is it a tablespoon or teaspoon of vanilla in the cake? It’s listed tbsp which to me means tablespoon but that seems like alot of vanilla.
Hi Chris, yes, it is a tablespoon.
I have made this cake many times and it is always a hit!
So glad you enjoy it so much, Sharon!
The best!! Love this cake! This is my 3rd time making it and everyone loves it!
So glad you all love it!
I followed the recipe but used Baileys Irish Cream instead of Kahlua. I also made a vanilla cake and used vanilla pudding and added pecans. Both cakes were a hit. The guests could not stop talking about how good the cakes were. This recipe is a keeper!
I’m glad you enjoyed the cake, Luisella, I actually have an Irish Cream version here: https://www.sugarandsoul.co/chocolate-irish-cream-cake/
Does this cake taste better if it sits for a day (before frosting)? If so, refrigerate it or not during this time?
Does it need to be refrigerated after you put the icing on – or should left overs be refrigerated? I typically like to leave my cakes out of the fridge – at least for a couple of days.
Thanks!
Hi Deb, the cake will become more moist/tender if you let it sit for a few hours at room temperature after pouring the liquid over it giving it time for the cake to soak it up. You don’t need to refrigerate it at this point. However, the frosting is whipped cream based and can separate if it gets too warm. It’s fine left out for a few hours in a cooler area, but I would recommend refrigerating any leftovers to preserve the integrity of the frosting 🙂 But you can take it out an hour or so before so that the cake isn’t cold.
I prefer room temperature cakes when I eat them too, so if you don’t want to deal with the fridge, you could always swap the frosting for my Chocolate Buttercream: https://www.sugarandsoul.co/best-chocolate-buttercream/ and use Kahlua instead of Chocolate liqueur. There’s quite a bit of Kahlua in the cake already so it won’t be lacking flavor if you decide to switch frostings and the buttercream can be left at room temperature as long as it’s not too hot.
The cake look so good
Thank you, Peggy! I hope you get a chance to try it soon!
I’m thinking of making this using my homemade Kahlua, maybe for our anniversary on New Years Eve!
Yum, I think I need that recipe for homemade Kahlua, I bet it’s awesome!
CAN YOU OMIT THE CHOCOLATE CHIPS ? I DONT LIKE CHOCOLATE OVERLOAD.
Hi Sheri, you can omit them, but this is a chocolate cake and will still be very chocolatey.
In the oven as we speak, I forgot to add the mini chocolate chips. Too late will put in next cake. Smells delicious! Serving with cheese and crackers and drinks….lol
I hope you loved it!
Hi Rebecca,
Have you made this with the Bourbon? Would you still use the same quantities or pair back? Thank you! Looks like a great recipe!!!!
Hey, Deonna, I think straight bourbon would be extremely strong in this cake as the Kahlua is pretty strong to begin with but the milk base helps to tone it down. I might reduce the alcohol in the cake to half and replace it with milk and replace half of the alcohol in the frosting with more heavy cream than that might yield a more desirable flavor. I have been toying with the idea of making a Chocolate Cherry Bourbon Poke Cake real soon. I will say that Irish Cream works as an amazing alternative to the Kahlua as well.