This Jello Cake recipe is super easy to make and just right for birthdays, potlucks, or BBQs! It is loaded with sweet cherry and tart lime flavor, and the color makes it extra fun.
Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. Eighteen years! We started dating when I was in high school, so we’ve actually been a couple for over 20 years. Basically, we’ve been together forever, or at least it feels like it. (I mean that in a good way.) There is only one way to celebrate such an occasion, and that is with cake, this Lime Cherry Jello Cake to be exact.
I was going to call this a poke cake, because that’s what it was intended to be. You see those holes? That’s where I expected the Jello to go. Instead, it’s more of a soak cake because the Jello just went pretty much everywhere. The holes were still good to have though because then the icing could fill them!
Marriage is all about compromise and working together, and this cake really sums that up. In the pie vs. cake debate, I choose cake, and Matt picks pie. His favorite is key lime pie, so I made this cake with a tart lime frosting to make us both happy. The kids are just happy to get dessert, so they’ll take whatever is offered. This one was definitely especially popular though. My oldest has asked me to make it again several times. I think it will be making another appearance at our house very soon.
While this was an anniversary cake for us, it would be perfect for a birthday, potluck, or summer BBQ. It’s a sweet, tart, creamy, and satisfying crowd pleaser!
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Passive Time | 4 hours |
| Servings |
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- 1 yellow sheet cake bake according to package directions or recipe
- 3 ounces cherry Jello
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1 lime (will need about 2 tablespoons juice)
- 12 ounces white frosting
- 3 drops green food coloring
- 2 drops yellow food coloring
Ingredients
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- When cake is baked and cooled, use the end of a wooden spoon or a chopstick to poke holes all over the cake about an inch apart.
- Add Jello powder to boiling water, and stir for about two minutes until dissolved completely. Stir in cold water and juice of half the lime (about a tablespoon). Evenly pour liquid Jello mixture all over cake. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
- Stir together frosting, juice of the other half of lime (about a tablespoon), and food coloring. First, spread a small amount of frosting over the cake, pressing it into all the holes. Evenly spread the remaining frosting over the cake, and serve.
- Feel free to use homemade cake and a basic buttercream frosting instead if you prefer.
- I used gluten-free cake mix, which makes a 9" cake. If using a standard cake mix, this recipe will work with a 9 x 13" cake as well.
Don’t miss these other poke cake recipes!
Lime Poke Cake
It’s so fun how poke cakes came back into fashion. Love the flavors of this one.
I love a good poke cake! And seriously? How could you ever go wrong with a cherry limeade one? ;)
Holy smokes. This looks so fun. I need to make something like this over the weekend. I have been craving cake for quite sometime :-)
This has always been a favorite cake to me!
This sounds so great! I’ve never made a poke cake, but I’ll have to try this, it sounds interesting!
Jello cakes are the best
Thanks Andi. Have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you so much, Liz! I hope you enjoyed your weekend!
On the Cherry Limeade jello cake after reading recipe I don’t understand what the 2 drops of yellow food coloring is for? Thank you I’m making this cake for tomorrow.
Hi, Donna! Adding the yellow just makes the green the shade pictured. You could leave the food coloring out completely if you prefer. It just for decoration and of course doesn’t change the flavor. I hope you love the cake as much as I did. Thank you!