Name: Apple Spice Poke Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 package spice cake mix; 3 eggs; 1 cup water; 1/3 cup vegetable oil; 20 ounce apple pie filling (canned); 3.4 ounce vanilla pudding mix (boxed); 1 cup milk; 8 ounces whipped topping (thawed); caramel sauce (optional, for topping); chopped nuts (optional, for topping)

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Nothing says Fall like warm spices coupled with apples and caramel. This Apple Spice Poke Cake puts together all your Fall favorites and makes you look like a fabulous baker without spending all your time in the kitchen. We've combined the ease of a cake mix, apple pie filling and a box of pudding mix to help you make a delicious dessert in about an hour. Of course we've added a few extra ingredients to take the recipe from good to spectacular.

Poke cakes are a great way to infuse a cake with flavor and moisture. In the case of this Apple Spice Poke Cake we decided that using apple pie filling would be a great way to get that fruity taste to meld with the fall spices, making every bite flavorful.

WHAT IS A POKE CAKE?

Basically a poke cake is any cake that you literally poke holes in after baking with the intention of pouring something sweet, syrupy or creamy over the cake so it fills in the holes. Popular fillings include; sweetened condensed milk, pastry cream, fudge, or in our case fruit. Poke cakes popped up in American kitchens around 1970, when they were featured in a Jell-O advertisement. They've been around ever since and seem to be having a moment recently, with lots of inventive recipes showing up all over the place.

Tip: Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke your holes. Any shaped handle will do, even if you have a thin handle just poke in concentric circles until you get the size hold you're looking for.

HOW SHOULD I GARNISH MY APPLE SPICE POKE CAKE?

We garnished our Apple Spice Poke Cake with caramel and nuts. Pick up your favorite caramel sauce (we like Ghirardelli) and a bag of chopped nut of choice. Grab a salted nut if you're a fan of the sweet/salty flavor combination.

IS THIS CAKE ONLY FOR FALL?

I know I keep saying this is a Fall cake, but you can make it any time of year. All the ingredients to make Apple Spice Poke Cake are available year round and sometimes in the dead heat of summer a fall flavored cake is just what you're looking for to mentally cool down.

HOW TO MAKE APPLE SPICE POKE CAKE:

Apple Spice Poke Cake cut into pieces and served on plates.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.

Spice cake mix, eggs, water and vegetable oil in a bowl being mixed with a whisk.

Mix with a hand mixer until smooth.

Mixed cake batter in a bowl with a prepared, greased 9x13 pan.

Pour mixture into a lightly sprayed 9×13 baking pan. Bake cake for 26 to 29 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Apple Spice Poke Cake batter in 9x13 cake pan before baking.

Allow cake to completely cool, and then mix together apple pie filling, vanilla pudding mix and milk in a blender in order to liquify the apples.

Poke holes in the cake with the end of a wooden spoon, and then pour the apple pudding filling over the cake and spread it back and forth to fill in the holes.

Baked cake with holes from poking with a wooden spoon. Apple pie filling being poured into holes.

Pour whipped cream on top of the apple pie filling.

Apple Spice Poke Cake with apple pie filling and whipped cream on top.

Gently spread evenly with a spatula.

Whipped topping spread evenly over top of Apple Spice Poke Cake.

Garnish with caramel and chopped sundae nuts. Cut and enjoy!

Cut piece of Apple Spice Poke Cake garnished with caramel and nuts on serving plates.

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