Lemon Poke Cake, sometimes called Lemon Sugar Cake, is packed full of lemon flavor thanks to fresh lemon zest in the cake itself and in the glaze.
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This sheet cake dessert starts with a cake mix and uses a packet of lemon pudding mix to add moisture and tenderness.
You'll use a skewer or fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake so the when you pour the glaze over it, the icing will get all up in the cake's business.
Three things to know about this cake:
- Use a wooden spoon or a spatula to mix it--no electric mixer should be used because the cake batter goes from zero to over mixed quickly.
- Also, squeeze fresh lemons for the juice. If you're going to use bottled lemon juice, don't bother making this cake. You're not going to get the same fabulous lemontastic flavor as you do from fresh.
- Zest the lemons before you juice them. It's easier to zest a whole lemon that one that's been cut in half and juiced. (Freeze leftover zest.)
If you love lemon desserts, you are in the right place. Try my recipe for lemon bars or family favorite lemon bars with graham cracker crust or no-bake lemon pie.
Lemon cookies are also popular here from lemon shortbread hearts to lemon raspberry cookies to Panera Copycat Lemon Drop Cookies.
Wait, maybe you need a Lemon Drop Martini recipe to go with one of these citrus desserts Or just one glass of homemade lemonade or a Lemon Drop Shot?
Ingredients
- Lemon cake mix
- Lemon Pudding Mix
- Eggs
- Water
- Canola oil
- Lemon zest (optional)
Lemon Glaze Ingredients
- Fresh Lemon juice
- Lemon zest (optional)
- Confectioner's sugar
See recipe card for ingredient amounts
How to Make a Poke Cake
Beginning prep:
Line a 13x9 cake pan with parchment paper.
Figure out what kitchen tool you're going to use to poke holes in the cake: a fork, or a chopstick or the end of a wooden spoon.
Remove the zest (yellow skin) of two medium lemons. You'll use ½ tablespoon of zest in both the cake batter and in the glaze.
The glaze goes on after the cake is finished baking.
You'll poke holes, about a dozen in the cake between two to five minutes after you pull it out of the oven.
You may have more than the one tablespoon of zest you need for this recipe. Freeze the zest that remains for another use. Or make these Lemon Bars, another one-bowl recipe.
You can check whether the cake is done baking with a digital thermometer. I use this digital cooking thermometer every week. I love it because it's an instant read and the screen has a light, great for those of us with less than perfect eyesight.
Tools for Making Scrumptious Cakes
- Balloon Whisk (this one has ergonomic handle!)
Step by Steps
- You're going to mix up the cake batter: put cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, lemon zest, water and canola oil in a mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or a spatula. How to Zest Lemon
- Turn on oven and heat to 350°.
- Prepare a 13x9 cake pan by lining it with parchment paper. A light spray of vegetable oil inside the pan before you line it can help the parchment paper stick. You can also use metal binder clips to hold the parchment paper to the pan so it doesn't blow down onto the cake batter.
- Pour the batter in the cake pan.
- Bake for roughly 30 minutes at 350°. [Oven temperatures vary, you may need to adjust your temperature or your time].
- While the cake is baking, make the lemon glaze: juice the two lemons you've just zested until you have ⅓ of a cup of juice. Whisk the juice together with two cups of confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl until combined. Stir in remaining half tablespoon of lemon zest.
- Let the cake rest for three to five minutes after pulling it out of the oven. The hotter it is, the more the glaze will seep in. I like to have a little bit of crusty glaze on my cake so I let it cool slightly longer.
- Poke about a dozen holes in the cake using either a fork or a chopstick or the end of a wooden spoon.
- Pour glaze evenly over the top of the cake.
- Let cake cool then slice.
Make the Lemon Glaze
A Note About Slicing
I used a round cookie cutter to portion the cake because I wanted to be fancy.
However, you'll get more servings if you slice this cake into small squares.
Plus, the little, round cakes were cute but they were pretty big servings. If I were going to do that again, I'd either find a smaller circle cutter or slice each circle of cake in half horizontally.
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Recipe
Easy Lemon Poke Cake
Lemon Poke Cake starts with a cake mix and a box of pudding mix and is gussied up with fresh lemon zest and a lemon glaze made with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Ingredients
- 1 lemon cake mix (15.25 ounces)
- 1 package instant lemon pudding mix (3.4 ounce envelope)
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup water
- ½ canola oil
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (divided)
Instructions
- You're going to mix up the cake batter: put cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, lemon zest, water and canola oil in a mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or a spatula.
- Turn on oven and heat to 350°.
- Prepare a 13x9 cake pan by lining it with parchment paper. A light spray of vegetable oil inside the pan before you line it can help the parchment paper stick.
- Pour the batter in the cake pan.
- Bake for roughly 30 minutes at 350°. [Oven temperatures vary, you may need to adjust your temperature or your time].
- While the cake is baking, make the lemon glaze: juice the two lemons you've just zested until you have ⅓ of a cup of juice. Whisk the juice together with two cups of confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl until combined. Stir in remaining half tablespoon of lemon zest.
- Let the cake rest for three to five minutes after pulling it out of the oven. The hotter it is, the more the glaze will seep in. I like to have a little bit of crusty glaze on my cake so I let it cool slightly longer.
- Poke about a dozen holes in the cake using either a fork or a chopstick or the end of a wooden spoon.
- Pour glaze evenly over the top of the cake.
- Let cake cool then slice.
Notes
The cake should be golden brown when finished.
If the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, it's likely over baked.
You can use a toothpick to judge doneness. If you stick the toothpick in the middle of the cake and it comes out gooey or coated with crumbs, the cake isn't done yet.
If you pull out the toothpick and it's clean or just has a few crumbs, the cake is done baking.
For certainty, use a digital cooking thermometer to check the temperature of the cake. It should be around 200 ° when done. (I use this digital cooking thermometer every week.)
- Use a wooden spoon or a spatula to mix the cake batter--no electric mixer should be used because the cake batter goes from zero to way over mixed in a minute.
- Also, squeeze fresh lemons for the juice. If you're going to use bottled lemon juice, don't bother making this cake. You're not going to get the same fabulous lemontastic flavor as you do from fresh.
- Zest the lemons before you juice them. It's easier to zest a whole lemon that one that's been cut in half and juiced.
You might also like to try my most popular dessert here Lemon Blackberry Cake OR my most popular dessert here Gooey Butter Cake.
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Cake lovers like you should try the most popular dessert on this site: Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, a St. Louis classic like moi (that's where I was born!) OR another cake that starts with a mix Lemon Blackberry Cake.
More cake and bar recipes for you: Lemon Blackberry Cake (starts from a cake mix, plus St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake (aka The Cake You Won't Stop Eating), Gooey Butter Cake From Scratch, Easy White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake and Paula Deen Pumpkin Bars.
Kathleen Cherritt
Jennifer,
My family’s 70+ year old recipe is very lemony and the cake texture is slightly different than a regular cake. Our ingredient list is the same except we use jello mix instead of pudding. This change probably accounts for the crumb difference.
I’m anxious to try your recipe!