This Oreo Poke Cake is a soft white cake soaked with white chocolate pudding, spread with a creamy Oreo cream cheese layer, and finished with Cool Whip and a big handful of crushed Oreos. It starts with a box mix, it's made the day before, and every slice tastes like cookies and cream.
Because the holes are filled with Jell-O instant pudding, some people call this an Oreo Jello cake, and others call it an Oreo pudding poke cake. Whatever you call it, it's one of the easiest crowd-pleasers you can make for a potluck, birthday or summer cookout. If you love this style of dessert, you'll find all of our easy poke cake recipes in one place, from fruity to chocolatey.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- White cake mix. A standard box like Betty Crocker Super Moist White Cake Mix keeps this easy. Most boxes are now 13.25 to 15.25 ounces rather than the old 18.25-ounce size, and any of them fits a 9x13 pan. Prepare it with the eggs, oil and water listed on the box. A yellow or French vanilla mix works too.
- White chocolate instant pudding. We use a 1-ounce box of Jell-O Sugar-Free White Chocolate Instant Pudding, which is what soaks into the holes and keeps the cake so moist. It must be instant pudding, not the cook-and-serve kind. Regular white chocolate, vanilla or Oreo-flavored instant pudding all work.
- Milk. Whole or 2% milk sets the pudding best. Use 1 ½ cups for the pudding so it stays pourable long enough to sink into the cake, plus 2 tablespoons to loosen the cream cheese layer.
- Cream cheese and powdered sugar. Two 8-ounce blocks of full-fat cream cheese, softened, give the middle layer its cheesecake-like tang. Avoid the whipped tub kind, which turns runny once sweetened.
- Oreo cookies. You'll need 18 classic Oreo cookies: 6 crushed into the cream cheese and 12 broken over the top. Store brand chocolate sandwich cookies are a fine swap.
- Whipped topping. An 8-ounce tub of Cool Whip, thawed in the fridge, makes a light, stable top layer. Sweetened homemade whipped cream also works, but it softens sooner, so add it closer to serving time.
How to Make Oreo Poke Cake
Bake the cake in a 9x13 baking dish and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Poke holes all over the top with the round handle of a wooden spoon, then whisk the pudding mix with the milk and pour it over the cake right away so it runs down into the holes. Once the cake is cool, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together and stir in the crushed Oreos.
Spread the Oreo cream cheese evenly over the cake, all the way to the edges, so it seals in the pudding layer.
Finish with the whipped topping and the rest of the crushed Oreos, then chill the cake for at least 4 hours so the pudding sets and the layers firm up enough to slice cleanly.
Helpful Tips
Poke while the cake is warm. A slightly warm cake soaks up the pudding much better than a cold one. Use the handle of a wooden spoon rather than a fork, and space the holes about an inch apart, pushing most of the way down without hitting the bottom of the pan. Bigger holes mean thicker ribbons of pudding in every slice.
Pour the pudding immediately. Instant pudding starts to thicken within a couple of minutes. Whisk it for about a minute, then pour it straight over the cake and nudge it toward the holes with a spatula. A squeeze bottle is handy for filling the holes neatly, but pouring works just as well.
Use soft cream cheese and a mixer. Let the cream cheese sit out for about an hour so it beats up smooth, with no lumps. A hand mixer does it in a minute or two. Make sure the cake is completely cool before you add this layer, or it will melt and slide.
Spread gently in thin layers. An offset spatula makes it easy to spread the cream cheese and whipped topping without tearing the soft cake top. Drop spoonfuls across the whole surface first, then connect them, instead of pushing one big pile around.
Crush the topping Oreos by hand. For the filling, crush the cookies fine in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin. For the top, just break them into rough quarters with your hands. The bigger pieces look better and stay crunchier, and add them shortly before serving if you want maximum crunch.
Variations
- Try other Oreo flavors. Golden Oreos give you a vanilla-on-vanilla cake, Mint Oreos make it taste like a mint chocolate chip sundae, and Peanut Butter or Double Stuf Oreos make it even richer. Seasonal flavors are fun for holidays too.
- Switch to a chocolate cake base. Use a devil's food or chocolate fudge cake mix for a darker, cookies-and-cream look. If you want to go all in on chocolate, our Quadruple Chocolate Poke Cake is the one to make.
- Pudding vs. sweetened condensed milk. Pudding gives a light, creamy filling that's sweet without being heavy. For a denser, tres leches-style cake, pour a 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk into the holes instead, like we do in our Heath Bar Poke Cake. Expect a sweeter, richer slice.
- Change the pudding flavor. Regular vanilla instant pudding, such as Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding, or Oreo-flavored instant pudding both work. For a full-size 3.4-ounce box, use 2 cups of milk.
- Skip the cream cheese. For a lighter cake, fold the 6 crushed Oreos straight into the whipped topping and spread that over the pudding-soaked cake.
- Make cupcakes. Bake the batter as 24 cupcakes, poke each one a few times with a straw, spoon the pudding over them, and top with the cream cheese, whipped topping and Oreo crumbs.
Serving Ideas
Serve this cake cold, straight from the fridge, cut into squares with a knife wiped clean between cuts. It's a natural for birthdays, potlucks, cookouts and any gathering where you need a dessert that feeds a crowd and travels in its own pan.
For an Oreo-themed dessert table, pair it with our Oreo Popsicles for the kids and a Copycat Cheesecake Factory Oreo Cheesecake for the grown-ups. A glass of cold milk or a cup of coffee is all it needs on the side.
Storing & Freezing
Because of the pudding, cream cheese and whipped topping, this cake has to stay in the refrigerator. Cover the pan tightly with its lid or plastic wrap and it will keep for up to 4 days. It actually tastes best on day two, once the pudding has fully settled into the cake, so it's a great make-ahead dessert. The Oreos on top soften as it sits, so save a few crushed cookies to sprinkle on fresh if you're serving it over several days.
You can freeze Oreo poke cake for up to 1 month. Freeze it uncovered for an hour until the topping is firm, then wrap the pan (or individual slices) in plastic wrap and foil. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, not on the counter. The cake will be a little softer and the cookie topping less crunchy after freezing, so add a fresh layer of crushed Oreos before serving.
More Poke Cake Recipes
If you love this Oreo Poke Cake, here are a few more poke cakes you might enjoy:
- Quadruple Chocolate Poke Cake
- Heath Bar Poke Cake
- Caramel Toffee Poke Cake
- Chocolate Ganache Poke Cake with Berries
- See all of our easy poke cake recipes
Recipe
Oreo Poke Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix about 15 oz, plus the eggs, oil and water listed on the box
- 1 (1 oz) box sugar-free white chocolate instant pudding mix or regular instant pudding (see notes)
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened (two 8-oz blocks)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 18 Oreo cookies divided: 6 for the cream cheese layer, 12 for the top
- 8 ounces whipped topping such as Cool Whip, thawed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. Prepare and bake the white cake mix in the pan according to the package directions (usually about 30 minutes at 350°F), until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes.
- Using the round handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the warm cake about 1 inch apart, pushing most of the way down without touching the bottom of the pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the pudding mix with 1 ½ cups milk for 1 minute. Immediately pour the pudding evenly over the cake (or squeeze it into the holes with a squeeze bottle), nudging it toward the holes with a spatula. Refrigerate until the cake is completely cool, about 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the 2 tablespoons milk and beat until creamy.
- Finely crush 6 Oreo cookies and stir them into the cream cheese mixture. Spread it evenly over the cooled cake with an offset spatula, all the way to the edges.
- Spread the whipped topping over the cream cheese layer. Roughly crush the remaining 12 Oreo cookies and sprinkle them over the top.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight, before slicing and serving cold.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition details are an estimate, per serving.
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