The History of Jell-O Poke Cake

After the Jell-O salad craze began to wind down in the mid-1970s, the company began looking for a new way to bolster the product’s popularity. In 1976, they launched a new campaign that promoted Jell-O Poke Cake in print ads and special recipe booklets. The recipe called for boxed cake mix. Once that was cooked, the home baker would literally poke holes in the cake, then pour liquid Jell-O over the top, allowing it to seep into the holes. After sitting in the refrigerator overnight, the cake would get frosted with Cool Whip. The campaign was very effective and Jell-O Poke Cake became very popular throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. A big part of the appeal was that the cake was customizable, economical, and easy to make. It also offered a notably moist texture, fruity flavor, and colorful appearance. Although Jell-O Poke Cake fell out of favor around the 1990s, it still lives on in many family cookbooks today.