Cherry Cheesecake Poke Cake combines all the best things about dessert. Plus, it comes together in a snap! No one will be able to tell this starts with a cake mix!

Cherry Cheesecake Poke Cake

This Cherry Cheesecake Poke Cake is a seriously amazing dessert! It combines delicious cherry cheesecake with moist and tender poke cake. And even better, if you’re not a cherry fan, you can totally sub in any kind of fruit pie filling you want! It comes together quickly, but needs to rest for a few hours, even up to overnight so it’s a great make ahead dessert.  It also feeds a crowd, and seems fancy without much effort. Bring this dessert to your next potluck or party and it’s sure to be a hit! 

How to Make Cherry Cheesecake Poke Cake

This amazing cake starts with a graham cracker crust, just like a normal cherry cheesecake. I went graham cracker crumbs just to make life easier, but of course you can buy normal graham crackers and crush them up yourself. The crumbs get added sugar, cinnamon and melted butter until combined, and then pressed into the bottom of a well-greased 9×13 pan. 

Then prepare your white cake mix according to the directions on the box, and pour the mix over the graham cracker crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes until done. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack. 

Once your cake is cooled, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the surface of the cake, at about 1 inch intervals.

In a large bowl, mix together cheesecake pudding mix and 2 cups of cold milk. Fold in sweetened condensed milk and pour mixture over the cake, spreading to fill the holes. Refrigerate for several hours, or overnight. 

Before serving, top with cherry pie filling and enjoy!

Want more cheesecake recipes? 

• Fruity Pebble Cheesecake
• No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
• Cherry Cheesecake Bars
• Mini Cake Batter Cheesecakes
• Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

You can also find this Cherry Cheesecake Poke Cake recipe on Food Fanatic, where I am a regular contributor of all things sweet.

Enjoy, friends! Have a great day!

These Shark Week Cupcakes are super simple, but super cute and fun for the family! Whether you’re making them for a Shark Week viewing party, a shark themed birthday party or just a fun snack, everyone is guaranteed to love them!

Shark Week Cupcakes

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but it’s Shark Week.

And thank goodness.  It arrived in the nick of time, right on the heels of the Olympics.  The boys really needed something to wean them off the hours and hours of thrilling television.  What better than watching people get their faces and limbs eaten off?

Personally, I am not a very sharkey person.

We went to Destin for vacation this Summer, and one day there were tons of fish and seaweed and stuff in the ocean.  I went ahead and ventured in because it was super hot.  Plus, I was wearing a blue maternity one piece, so I kinda felt obligated to loll around in the water like a whale.

Anyways.

I happened to look down (making sure none of the tiny fish were trying to nibble my toes or whatever they do) and I saw what looked exactly like a shark, only it was like a foot long.

I hauled my pregnant butt out of there, fist in mouth, fighting the urge to scream “SHARK!! SHARK!!!”, which would surely send the beach into such a frenzy I was not sure I’d be forgiven.

There were a few people sitting near the water who saw me splashing and frantically running out of the water, I’m sure they thought I was having some type of bathroom emergency or something.

My family tried to tell me that those kind of tiny sharks don’t hurt people, but whatevs.  It it’s big enough to bite off a finger, we don’t belong in the water together.

Basically, that is all my experience with sharks, besides Soul Surfer, and that is quite enough if you know what I’m saying.

From here on out, I’m sticking to fake sharks.  Made of food.

How to Assemble Shark Week Cupcakes

These cupcakes are super duper easy and so much fun.  Perfect for any Summer or beachy themed party.

Start with any cupcakes.  And frosting.

You’ll want to stripe your piping bag before filling with frosting.

This is most likely the worst photo of all time, but hopefully it gets the point across.

You need to put your piping bag in a tall glass to hold it open, then using a paintbrush, “paint” stripes of food color gel along the sides of the bag.

I used baby blue and royal blue, alternating.

Fill the bag with white frosting and pipe away!!

The result is this pretty blue swirly look.

(I know you’re going to ask, so here it is –I used a large open star tip for piping.  You can buy one HERE)

The fins were totally easy.

I used an Airhead candy (love them because they are pliable, but still sturdy and taste better than fondant), and cut it as directed above.

I then coated it in grey candy melts.  I actually used white candy melts mixed with a drop of black candy color.

(when coloring candy melts, you HAVE to use CANDY, not FOOD coloring.  Candy coloring is OIL based and not water based, so it won’t make your candy seize up.  You can buy candy coloring at your local craft store, or HERE)

Just pop the toppers on top of your frosting and you’re all set!!

For a scary twist, fill your cupcakes with red preserves.

I used cherry and it worked great!!

Just cut a hole in the top of your cupcake, spoon the preserves in, and put the cake “lid” back on top.  Frost like normal.

If you’re interested in these adorable liners (isn’t the chevron so great?), you can buy them at Sweets and Treats Boutique.

Enjoy and have a happy Tuesday!!