Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake

Sheet cakes are an easy dessert to make—just bake the cake and frost it in its pan. But without the right flavors, this simplicity can often make the dessert feel ho-hum. My advice? Pierce the cake with holes and soak it in sweetened milk, transforming the dessert into an exciting poke cake.

This chocolate peanut butter poke cake is one of our best poke cake recipes. To make it, you’ll infuse an easy chocolate cake (thank you, box mix!) with a peanut butter-flavored soak, then top it with peanut butter frosting and all the peanut butter-chocolate fixings. As decadent as it sounds, it’s just as easy as making a sheet cake. Take this along when you’re in need of potluck desserts that feed a crowd and impress the masses, too.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake Ingredients

• Chocolate cake mix: Buy your go-to cake mix brand at the grocery store. If you don’t have one, check out our list of the best chocolate cake mix brands, as approved by our Test Kitchen. Be sure to buy the additional ingredients called for on the back of the boxed cake mix, too.
• Peanut butter: Avoid natural peanut butter for this chocolate and peanut butter poke cake. It’s too runny, which will throw off the cake and frosting. Also, since it naturally separates, it might break the frosting’s emulsion. Stick with no-stir peanut butter.
• Sweetened condensed milk: This poke cake calls for two cans of sweetened condensed milk. Double-check that you’re not accidentally grabbing evaporated milk. They’re packaged similarly and are arranged right next to each other on grocery store shelves. I’ve made that mistake once or twice!
• Confectioners’ sugar: I always like to sift my confectioners’ sugar before using it for frosting. When I forget, I usually end up with clumps of confectioners’ sugar in the frosting that are too small to work out, but big enough to notice.
• Toppings: Go crazy with your toppings! When it comes to chocolate peanut butter poke cake, the more, the merrier. We chose chopped peanut butter sandwich cookies and Reese’s for the recipe, but you could also drizzle on chocolate syrup or peanut butter sauce.

Directions

Step 1: Prepare the boxed cake mix

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the boxed cake mix according to the package directions, adding 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and the salt before mixing the batter.

Step 2: Bake and cool the cake

Pour the batter into a greased 13×9-inch baking pan. Bake and cool the cake completely as the package directs.

Step 3: Poke holes in the cake

Whisk the peanut butter and sweetened condensed milk until they’re well blended. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, poke holes in the cake 2 inches apart.

Step 4: Pour in the peanut butter mixture

Slowly pour 2 cups of the peanut butter mixture over the cake, filling each hole. Reserve the leftover peanut butter mixture for later.

Cover the cake tightly with storage wrap and refrigerate it and the remaining peanut butter mixture until the cake is cold, two to three hours.

Step 5: Decorate it with frosting and toppings

Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat together the remaining vanilla extract and the remaining peanut butter mixture. Gradually beat in enough confectioners’ sugar to reach a spreading consistency. It should be thick enough that it doesn’t melt into the cake.

Spread the frosting over the poke cake, then add the toppings as desired.

Recipe Variations

• Make it with Nutella: Try using Nutella in place of the peanut butter and add 1 tablespoon of hazelnut liquor to the milk mixture. Top the cake with chopped toasted hazelnuts.
• Use crunchy peanut butter: Prefer a bit of texture in your desserts? Swap crunchy peanut butter for the smooth peanut butter as a 1-to-1 substitute.
• Lighten up the topping: Although peanut butter and chocolate desserts are sweet-and-salty treats, they can still lean heavy. Lighten up the cake by replacing this recipe’s frosting with peanut butter whipped cream frosting.

How to Store Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake

Store the chocolate peanut butter poke cake in the fridge. Cover it tightly with storage wrap so it doesn’t absorb any lingering fridge smells. I always like to press a piece of storage wrap against any cut sides so the cake doesn’t dry out.

How long does chocolate peanut butter poke cake last?

Chocolate peanut butter poke can last for up to four days in the fridge. The milk soak will degrade the cake’s integrity as the days go on, but it will still taste really good!

Can a chocolate peanut butter poke cake be made in advance?

Yes, you can make chocolate peanut butter poke cake in advance. Either cover and refrigerate the freshly soaked cake overnight in the fridge, or assemble the entire cake, cover it tightly in storage wrap and refrigerate it overnight. It can last a few days, but I wouldn’t make this cake more than a day before serving it. Fresh is best!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake Tips

Can you make chocolate peanut butter poke cake gluten-free?

Yes, you can make gluten-free chocolate peanut butter poke cake. Pick out the best gluten-free chocolate cake mix at the grocery store (or bake a gluten-free chocolate cake) and look for gluten-free toppings. Most regularly shaped Reese’s are gluten-free, but the seasonally shaped ones (pumpkins, trees, Easter eggs, etc.) are not gluten-free. You’ll also need to omit the peanut butter sandwich cookies or look for a gluten-free version.

For anyone who is particularly sensitive to gluten, double-check all other packaged ingredients for a gluten-free certification.

Can you bake your own chocolate cake?

Yes, you can bake your own chocolate cake. We love our best chocolate cake recipe for this poke cake (it makes a little too much, so reserve a third of the batter for cupcakes). If you have your own chocolate cake recipe, just make sure it makes enough cake batter to fill a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. If the recipe calls for two 9-inch cake pans, that’s a good sign! If it makes more than that, save the extra batter for later use or bake it into cupcakes.

Can you bake this in a different-sized pan?

Yes, instead of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan, divide the batter evenly between two 9-inch round cake pans. However, keep in mind that you can’t stack the cake layers like a layered cake. These pans are a good alternative if you don’t have a 13-by-9-inch baking pan or if you want to decorate each one differently. For example, one cake can be made with the recipe’s frosting and all the fun toppings, while the other can have a lightened-up topping with whipped cream and strawberries.

Watch How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Poke Cake

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