Chocolate Coconut Poke Cake
Make this Chocolate Coconut Poke Cake with a simple cake mix and homemade coconut pudding that will wow your tastebuds and look like you slaved for hours in the kitchen! Make sure to check out our Death by Chocolate Poke Cake too!
- Chocolate cake mix – we used a Devil’s Food Cake this time but we’ve also used German Chocolate and a regular chocolate cake mix. Choose your favourite.
- Ingredients needed to make cake (egg whites, oil & water)
- Can of Coconut Milk (full fat) or some cans say coconut cream
- Sweetened coconut flakes
- Vegetable Oil
- Cream
- Eggs
- Cornstarch
- Sugar
What is the difference between cream of coconut, coconut milk and coconut cream?
Coconut milk: Coconut milk has a similar consistency to regular milk and is used as the basis for Thai curries. A can of coconut milk will have cream that rises to the top, it’s thick, there’s no missing it, this is coconut cream as well (see below)
Coconut cream: Coconut cream is thick and rich it is four parts shredded coconut in one part water.
Cream of coconut: Cream of coconut is a sweetened version of coconut cream and you can usually find it with the cocktail mixes. It has added sugar so it’s not the same as using coconut cream. 
For this recipe, you can use full-fat coconut milk and use the entire can or you can use coconut cream but NOT cream of coconut unless you skip the sugar for the pudding.
If you don’t have time to check out or try this tasty chocolate coconut poke cake now make sure to PIN it for later!
Spreading Topping Tip
HOW DO YOU MAKE Chocolate Coconut Poke Cake?
- Prepare cake batter to package directions
- Bake
- Poke holes in the cake (optional scrape off (slice) the top layer of cake to even out instead of having it domed shaped)
- Add homemade coconut pudding
- Optional – top with whipped cream or better yet stabilized whipped cream (see recipe notes & separate recipe)
- Sprinkle with toasted coconut or if you prefer just sweetened (untoasted) shredded coconut
Check out our recipe video to see how easy it is to make this delicious chocolate coconut poke cake!
This chocolate coconut poke cake really is that easy to make! Now here’s the full recipe, who’s ready to make this tasty dessert?!
Chocolate Coconut Poke Cake
Make this Chocolate Coconut Poke Cake with a simple cake mix and homemade coconut pudding that will wow your tastebuds and look like you slaved for hours in the kitchen!
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Ingredients
- 1 package boxed Devil’s Food Cake mix
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 can coconut cream (or full fat coconut milk - see our section in our post about the difference)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Beat together cake mix, water, and vegetable oil until smooth, and pour into a 9x13 baking dish sprayed with nonstick. You can also use any box cake you like and follow instructions on the box for this step.
- Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until the middle is thoroughly cooked.
- Once cooked, let cool completely. If your cake top isn’t flat, you may need to cut off the top.
- Poke rows of holes into the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon, and set aside.
- Make your pudding by whisking together coconut cream, heavy cream, sugar, and egg over medium-high heat for around 10 minutes. Stir frequently, and your pudding will thicken as it cooks. You can also ass vanilla or coconut extract if you would like.
- Let pudding cool, and it will thicken more. Pour over your cake and smooth out.
- Top with toasted coconut, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Optional topping which is my favourite is before sprinkling on the toasted coconut top with a stabilised whipped cream and then add the toasted coconut. This is a whole new decadent level. See notes for how to make our favourite stabilised whipped cream.
Notes
Cake options: We have used Devil's Food Cake in the photos here but also love German chocolate cake, regular chocolate cake and hey if you really want you can use a white cake, vanilla cake or go over the top and make it with a coconut cake. Choose your favourite, but our favourites are either Devil's Food or German chocolate cake.
We explain in our post the difference between coconut milk, coconut cream and cream of coconut. You can only use 1 of 2 of those in this recipe.
Check out in our full post how to make stabilized whipped cream as this is an amazing additional topping to this chocolate coconut poke cake. It brings it up to to a ultra-decadent level.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 381Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 331mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 1gSugar: 33gProtein: 3g
Please note that we can not guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information. They are a best guess calculation.
Here’s the recipe for stabilized whipped cream that makes this dessert ultra-decadent but it’s totally optional and the cake is so good as is too!
Semi-Homemade Chocolate Coconut Poke Cake
Take our chocolate coconut poke cake (or any dessert) to a whole new level with this stabilized whipped cream made from cream cheese and just 3 more ingredients. It's divine!
Ingredients
- 1 package boxed Devil’s Food Cake mix
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 can coconut cream (or full fat coconut milk – see our section in our post about the difference)
- 1 can coconut cream (or full fat coconut milk – see our section in our post about the difference)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Beat together cake mix, water, and vegetable oil until smooth, and pour into a 9×13 baking dish sprayed with nonstick. You can also use any box cake you like and follow instructions on the box for this step.
- Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until the middle is thoroughly cooked.
- Once cooked, let cool completely. If your cake top isn’t flat, you may need to cut off the top.
- Poke rows of holes into the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon, and set aside.
- Make your pudding by whisking together coconut cream, heavy cream, sugar, and egg over medium-high heat for around 10 minutes. Stir frequently, and your pudding will thicken as it cooks. You can also ass vanilla or coconut extract if you would like.
- Let pudding cool, and it will thicken more. Pour over your cake and smooth out.
- Top with toasted coconut, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Optional topping which is my favourite is before sprinkling on the toasted coconut top with a stabilised whipped cream and then add the toasted coconut. This is a whole new decadent level. See notes for how to make our favourite stabilised whipped cream.
Notes
Cake options: We have used Devil’s Food Cake in the photos here but also love German chocolate cake, regular chocolate cake and hey if you really want you can use a white cake, vanilla cake or go over the top and make it with a coconut cake. Choose your favourite, but our favourites are either Devil’s Food or German chocolate cake.
We explain in our post the difference between coconut milk, coconut cream and cream of coconut. You can only use 1 of 2 of those in this recipe.
Check out in our full post how to make stabilized whipped cream as this is an amazing additional topping to this chocolate coconut poke cake. It brings it up to to a ultra-decadent level.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 599Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 343mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 1gSugar: 47gProtein: 4g
Please note that we can not guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information. They are a best guess calculation.
Now you could use a mix for the coconut pudding but our homemade coconut pudding is so easy to make and it just makes this cake that much better. Whether it’s topped with the stabilized whipped cream, toasted coconut or untoasted this cake is so scrumptious.
This chocolate coconut poke cake never lasts long whether I’ve made it for the family or a gathering, with or without the stabilized whipped cream it’s always a hit!
Would you add the stabilized whippec cream to thsi cake or eat it as is? If you make it, make sure to let us know how you liked it!
Make sure to check out some of our other delicious recipes in our recipe section like these tasty desserts below.
- Sugar Cookie Bars With Chocolate Ganache
- 3 Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Mousse
- Homemade Donuts Recipe: Maple Pumpkin Maple Creme
- Upside Down Apple Cake Recipe
- Mini No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Recipe
Don’t forget if you haven’t pinned this recipe yet do it now!
If you love coconut but want a bit more chocolate – check out this recipe for chocolate coconut bon bons!
Here are some of the items we used to make this cake:
I just know I would love this cake! Sounds really good!
Looks Delicious. Love the detail in the pics!
My husbands favorite cake is a strawberry poke cake. This looks so good ! I may add a caramel drizzle and make it kind of like a Somoas.
My girls and I would have so much fun making this yummy cake together!
I think I’m going to ask for this to be my birthday cake. Looks great!
This cake looks so delicious! I love the coconut and chocolate combination.
This cake looks so tasty! I will have to try it once we are able to get out and shop again. Until then I can think about how good this would be.
I lOVE coconut! I can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Oh my goodness this is making me drool haha. I love coconut!! Thanks for the recipe!
This looks really good and using a box cake mix would make it a lot easier.
My taste buds are really excited about this delicious coconut poke cake! Thank you for the recipe!
I’ve never had a poke cake before, and this looks amazing. My daughter asked me to make her a unique chocolate cake for her upcoming 7th birthday in a few weeks. She loves coconut. I will pin this recipe and see if she wants me to make it for her.
WOW! It looks so yummy. I can’t wait to try it.
I’m definitely a big fan of coconut. I might take your suggestion and go over the top with a coconut cake as well as pudding, lol.
This is one of my favorite flavor combos.
OMG, this looks amazing! Two of my very favorite things – chocolate and coconut! I think I may try it with the German Chocolate cake. I can’t wait to try it!
This looks really good. I like the coconut in the recipe!
looks very good to me
Printing this to make over the weekend!
Yum.
I may just have to tweak abit and make for Johns Bday this year.
Add nuts and would have is fave German Chocolate.
Thanks
This looks delicious. I love coconut and I wish everyone else in my house did!
This looks so yummy! Thank you for sharing!
This cake looks so delicious. I saved it to my Pins so I could make it for desert this weekend.
This looks so yummy and I will have to try out the recipe 🙂
This looks delicious!
This looks amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
That looks really delicious! Then poking of holes to the cake and adding something is just like tres leches cake, and I love those.
A couple of February birthdays coming up in my family and I think this will be a go to recipe for me for a cake. Looks simple to make and delicious. Thanks for the detailed instructions.
This sounds so good. My family will love this. Thank you so much for sharing
Awesome! Not really into cake but this does look good. Can’t wait to try it
OMG! This looks absolutely delicious! I am going to have to make it!
This look real good! I’m not much of a chocolate cake person, but I would give this a try because it has coconut and it looks too good to pass up. I can’t wait to give it a try!
I am really into coconut right now and this really looks good. i am going to try it soon.
OMG! This recipes looks delish! I can’t wait to make it.
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it. I really enjoy your blog!
awww thanks and if you do make the cake let us know how it turned out for you 🙂
This looks so delicious and beautiful!! I love coconut and this is a must try for me.
This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe looks so easy to make. I need to make this for my daughter she loves coconut.
This cake looks very delicious and easy to make. I would like to make this the next time my parents come over. They really like coconut.
Let us know if you make it and how it comes out for you 🙂
I love poke cakes, thanks for sharing this recipe with us. It looks amazing.
This looks delicious. I would have to take off the coconut flakes and maybe use chopped nuts but it looks so moist and tasty.
I have never had a poke cake, but I do love chocolate! I wonder why it is called “poke cake”? I’ve also never had or heard of coconut pudding. I thank you for sharing the differences between the creams. I pinned for later.
It’s called that because you “poke” holes in it 🙂
I am always looking for a new Polk cake recipe. I am a fan of coconut too.
Wow this cake looks so yummy.
When I was a kid my mom used to make poke cakes all the time, usually with Jello. I thought this was her own creation until I saw the recipe on a box of Jello when I was older!!
This looks and sounds delicious!
I am totally biaised but it’s delicious lol
Now this just sounds amazing and I have to try it! I will confess that I’ve never made a poke cake and I’ve only had a few but they were good.
It’s easier than you think, I was surprised and now we love them lol
Oh My! That looks amazing! I pinned it because I WILL be making this!
Wonderful, let us know how it works out for you 🙂
This is a great way to transform a cake mix into an amazing dessert.
It sure is 🙂
How delicious this cakes looks. I know this would be a hit at family events. Thank you for the recipe. I am making a print of it for an upcoming event.
If you try it, let us know how it works out for you 🙂
This looks amazing. Is there anything better than a poke cake? That moist sweetness can’t be beat!
Paige