Delicious Cherry Cupcakes with Jello-O Filling Recipe

Cherry Jell-O Poke Cupcakes

We love sharing easy but yummy recipes like this Cherry Jell-O Poke Cupcakes! All you need is cake mix, cherry Jell-O and some whipped frosting! You can make the cake and frosting from scratch or if you’re short on time buy box cake mix and pre-made frosting. We did a little of both by using a box mix for the cake and making our own yummy frosting. Make sure to watch our recipe video for these delicious cupcakes!

These delicious cupcakes with their cherry flavor including the frosting are fun and are great for Valentine’s Day, summer parties, backyard barbecues or really any occasion! You don’t need a reason to get your cupcake fix. 

 These cupcakes are a fun recipe to do with kids, they will enjoy making them and of course eating them too! They’re perfect to take to any gathering. 

PIN this Cherry Jell-O Cupcake Recipe!

Check out some of our other delicious recipes like:

Free E-Cookbook

Sign up for our emails and get our free Simply Sweet E-Cookbook?

Name Email Address

By subscribing, I consent to receiving emails.

• Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe
• Drumstick Pie Recipe (Drumstick Ice Cream Cake)
• Oreo Ice Cream Cake Recipe
• Mocha Icebox Cake Recipe
• Easy No Bake Strawberry Pie Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for measurements.

EQUIPMENT

Please note this equipment list contains affiliate links for which we may earn a teeny tiny commission, we might be able to buy a cup of black coffee lol

• Cupcake liners
• Stand mixer, hand-held mixer, or whisk
• Muffin Tins
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Wire Rack
• Piping Bag and Piping Tips
• Airtight Container

INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE THESE DELICIOUS CUPCAKES

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
• Line muffin tins with liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray, or grease with vegetable shortening, and dust with flour
• In a large bowl, prepare your box cake mix per the instructions on the back of the package

• Using a large cookie scoop or 1/4 measuring cup, portion the cupcake batter between the muffin reservoirs
• Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

TOP TIP

A cooler oven at 300 degrees will help avoid peaks and splitting but you do need to make sure the cupcakes are fully cooked or they will shrink upon taking from the oven.

• Remove the pan from the oven and let the cupcakes cool while still in the cooking tin for at least 15 minutes

Keeping the cupcakes in the pan, use the end of a wooden spoon and poke a generous hole into the center of each cupcake, pressing until the spoon hits the bottom of the cupcake. *We used a fairly large handle, you can use a regular-sized wooden spoon but you may need to poke additional holes if they’re too small. Alternatively, a fork can be used to poke holes but the cupcake pattern when cut will differ.

• In a separate heat-proof liquid measuring cup, add the boiling water and cherry Jello and stir until completely dissolved

• Distribute the liquid Jello among the cupcakes, partially filling each hole.  NOTE:  The cupcakes are still in the muffin pan and the liquid Jello will not fill up the poked hole.
• Place the entire pan with cupcakes and cherry jello into the refrigerator and chill until the jello has set approximately 1 hour.

• Prepare your frosting in a separate bowl by combining the butter, powdered sugar, and milk and beat on medium speed (increase speed if needed) for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. 

• Fill a piping bag with a wide star tip and fill it with your frosting
• Pipe the frosting into the poked hole and with firm pressure continue to pipe and rotate the cupcake until a rosette is formed.

• Place one fresh cherry on the top!  NOTE:  A maraschino cherry can be substituted if fresh cherries are not available
• Refrigerate until ready to serve

Check out our video

Variations for Cherry Jell-O Poke Cupcakes

• You can use different cake mixes combined with a different Jell-O flavr. I used a white cake mix but you could try a yellow or vanilla cake mix and use a different berry Jell-O or Orange Jell-O works well with these. If you love lemon then you most certainly want to try a lemon cake mix with lemon Jell-O. So many possibilities 

Can you store these Cherry Jell-O Poke Cupcakes?

Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. However these cupcakes do not freeze well so I don’t recommend freezing them. 

What brands did I use?

I used Pillsbury, moist supreme white cake mix and used 4 large egg whites and I used Jello brand gelatin powder.

Don’t all these cupcakes look so delicious? Are you wondering what the Jell-O looks like on the inside? Wonder no more here let’s do a reveal shall we?

Are you ready for the full recipe? We shan’t keep you waiting. Oh wait we promised to show the cupcake Jell-O filling, here you go.

Here’s the full recipe. If you make it let us know how it goes and any variations you loved or hated. 

Continue to Content

Yield: 16-18

Delicious Cherry Cupcakes with Jello-O Filling Recipe

Print

We love sharing easy but yummy recipes like this Cherry Jell-O Poke Cupcakes! All you need is cake mix, cherry Jell-O and frosting!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 1/2 c water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 egg whites

Poke filling

• 1 3oz box cherry Jello reserving 3 tablespoons for frosting
• 1 cup boiling water

Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoon reserved dissolved cherry flavored Jello
• Fresh cherries for garnish, with stems preferred

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Line muffin tin with liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray, or grease with vegetable shortening, and dust with flour
3. In a large bowl, prepare your box cake mix per the instructions on the back of the package
4. Using a large cookie scoop or 1/4 measuring cup, portion the cake batter between the muffin reservoirs
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
6. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cupcakes cool while still in the cooking tin for at least 15 minutes
7. Keeping the cupcakes in the pan, use the end of a wooden spoon and poke a generous hole into the center of each cupcake, pressing until the spook hits the bottom of the cupcake.
8. In a separate heat-proof liquid measuring cup, add the boiling water and cherry Jello and stir until completely dissolved.
9. Distribute the liquid Jello among the cupcakes, partially filling each hole.  NOTE:  The cupcakes are still in the muffin pan and the liquid Jello will not fill up the poked hole.
10. Place the entire pan with cupcakes and cherry jello into the refrigerator and chill until the jello has set for approximately 1 hour.
11. Prepare your frosting by combining the butter, icing sugar, and milk and beat for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy. 
12. Fill a piping bag with a wide star tip and fill it with your frosting.
13. Pipe the frosting into the poked hole and with firm pressure continue to pipe and rotate the cupcake until a rosette is formed.
14. Place one fresh cherry on the top!  NOTE: A maraschino cherry can be substituted if fresh cherries are not available.
15. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. These cupcakes do not freeze well.

A cooler oven at 300 degrees will help avoid peaks and splitting but you do need to make sure the cupcakes are fully cooked or they will shrink upon taking from the oven.

The wooden spoon I used to create the poked holes is on the generous size, you may need to poke additional holes if your wooden spoon handle is smaller. Alternatively, a fork can be used to poke holes but cupcake pattern when cut will differ.

I used Pillsbury, moist supreme white cake mix and used 4 large egg whites. I used Jello brand gelatin powder.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 207Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 78mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 0gSugar: 22gProtein: 1g

Please note that we can not guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information. They are a best guess calculation.