Poke cake recipes are so much fun, and such an easy way to make a great treat. This Candy Cane Poke Cake is one of our favorites to make. Lots of great vanilla and peppermint flavor for a fun holiday treat recipe.

Have you ever had Candy Cane Poke Cake? It’s SO amazing!

Welcome to the Day 3 of the 12 Days of Sweet Eats and Holiday Treats Link Up!

We’re back again for Day 3 and we are hoping you will bring some more Holiday Treats, Crafts, Decorations or DIY Holiday projects to the party. Feel free to link them up below. Share those fun holiday posts, and we’ll come visit and say hi and spread the love on social media. The only rules are, just go say hi to my amazingly, awesome hosts and give them some love too. (Don’t worry, we’ll stop by and say hi to you too.)

Plus they have awesome treats in store for you as well!

Micha from Cooking Mimi

Pam from Blueberries and Blessings

Today for 12 Days of Sweet Eats and Holiday Treats I am bringing this wonderful Candy Cane Poke Cake!

Full peppermint flavor, mixed with a wonderful peppermint/vanilla cake mix that is super easy to whip up with a box of Candy Cane Pudding Mix.

This one went fast at our end and I topped the whole cake with crunchy crushed candy canes for a little extra peppermint goodness (plus it’s pretty).

Do you have as much fun as we do with Poke Cake? We love to make different flavors and combinations.

This Candy Cane Poke Cake is easily one of our favorites to make and is so perfect for holiday time.

Ready to dig into a slice of Candy Cane Poke Cake

Candy Cane Poke Cake

Yield: 10 -12

Ingredients

1 box of white cake mix, plus items needed to complete the cake mix
1 tsp. peppermint extract
2 eggs
¼ cup of canola or vegetable oil
2 boxes of candy cane pudding
8 candy canes, crushed

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the white cake mix according to package directions. Add 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract to the batter and mix well.
Pour into a 9 x 13 pan and bake as directed on the back of the cake mix box.
Remove from oven when finished and allow to cool for about a half hour or so.
Using the handle of a wooden spoon or a straw, poke holes in 1? intervals around the cake.
Prepare the candy cane pudding mix (please see bottom of post for substitutions) as directed on the box, immediately spreading it all over the top of the cake.
Allow it to cool in the refrigerator.
Remove when ready to serve, spread the pudding around the top evenly one last time because there will probably be some spots where you can tell it seeped down into your holes.
Sprinkle crushed candy canes over the top of the cake.
Slice and serve.
Refrigerate covered leftovers for up to a week.

SUBSTITUTION: Sadly, I made this cake last year and never posted it in time for the holidays.

It has come to my attention that this year they did not release the specialty flavors of pudding. Finding Candy Cane Pudding might be hard.

So we tried this substitution this year. Use Vanilla Pudding instead and after mixing in the milk, add a teaspoon and a half of peppermint extract.

It’s a wonderful flavor and while it isn’t the pretty pink of the above cake (you could achieve that with food coloring), the flavor is very similar and with the crushed candy canes it still looks pretty!