Creamy, dreamy coconut cream poke cake. This tender, delicious dessert is low carb and grain-free. Here’s to a healthy treat!
This poke cake thing has cast a spell over me, I think. Heretofore, I didn’t care overly much for them and I didn’t really get the appeal. I suppose it’s because my first introduction to them was the kind that used icky sugar-free Jello and was an abnormal shade of pink on the inside. I’ve never been much of a Jello fan, even when I could eat the kind with sugar. I think I was served too many boxed gelatin desserts at the camps I used to attend every summer. Whenever I saw the wobbly blobs of brightly coloured, overly sweetened Jello coming my way, I sighed with disappointment. Offer me anything but Jello, please. Chocolate, cookies, pudding, ice cream, but please, no more Jello!
But poke cakes are so much more than boxed white cake mix with strawberry Jello poured over them these days. Really creative versions started catching my eye on Pinterest, these amazingly moist cakes with mounds of creamy frosting. I’ve seen Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake, Cannoli Poke Cake, Pina Colada Poke Cake, Triple Chocolate Poke Cake, Carrot Cake Poke Cake, Samoa Poke Cake, Apple Pie Poke Cake. Seriously, head to Pinterest and type “poke cake” into the search box and you will be aghast at all the amazing variations. Go on, I dare you. You won’t be able to tear your little eyes away. You may get lost in Poke Cake Land, gazing at all the delicious creations, forever. Well, there could be worse ways to go, I guess.
Many of these creations may indeed still be made with boxed mixes. Boxed cake mix, boxed pudding, boxed Jello, I don’t know. I don’t usually even click through to the recipe because none of these poke cakes are appropriate for a low carb or gluten-free diet. But I can still find plenty of inspiration for making creative and healthy poke cakes. I foresee a whole line of these, my dears. I don’t think I can help myself.
This lovely light cake is based on my low carb Coconut Cream Pie Recipe. Although I did top mine with whipped cream, you could make it completely dairy-free by topping it with some coconut whipped cream.
Coconut Cream Poke Cake
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 391 Calories from fat 323 | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 35.99g | 55% |
| Cholesterol 32mg | 11% |
| Sodium 9.75 | 0% |
| Carbohydrate 9.75g | 3% |
| Protein 8.66g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
Creamy, dreamy coconut cream poke cake. This tender, delicious dessert is low carb and grain-free. Here's to a healthy treat!
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/3 cup unflavoured whey protein powder (or egg white powder for dairy-free)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Coconut Cream
- 1 cup full fat canned coconut milk
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 tsp coconut extract
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp xanthan gum
Topping
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 3 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 9x9 inch square baking pan (if using an 8x8 inch, the cake will need to bake a bit longer).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, shredded coconut, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder and salt. Stir in coconut oil, egg whites, nut milk and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Spread batter in prepared baking pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until set and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes, then poke with a skewer at 1/2 inch intervals all over cake.
Coconut Cream:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine coconut milk and sweetener and bring to just a simmer.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and egg yolk. Slowly stir in about 1/3 of the hot coconut milk, whisking continuously. Then slowly whisk egg mixture back into hot coconut milk.
- Cook another 4 to 5 minutes, whisking continuously, until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and whisk in coconut extract and vanilla extract. Sprinkle surface with xanthan gum and whisk briskly to combine.
- Pour mixture evenly over cooled cake, shaking gently from side to side to get as much mixture into the poke holes as possible.
- Refrigerate 2 hours until completely cooled.
Topping:
- Whip cream with powdered sweetener and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Spread over chilled cake and sprinkle with toasted coconut.
- *For a dairy-free version, you can make coconut whipped cream by refrigerating a can of coconut milk overnight and scooping out the thick cream from the top the next day. Whip with sweetener and vanilla extract until firm.
Recipe Notes
Serves 16. Each serving has 9.75 g of carbs and 5.06 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 4.69 g.
Food energy: 391kcal Total fat: 35.99g Calories from fat: 323 Cholesterol: 32mg Carbohydrate: 9.75g Total dietary fiber: 5.06g Protein: 8.66g
Ok, I’ll be the idiot that asks…what is a poke cake? That looks tasty but I have no clue what kind of cake that is!
It’s just as the name implies…you poke holes all over it and pour something over that sinks into the holes.
This recipe looks great! Living low carb I find dessert the hardest to go without!
I am forever confused about the variety of coconut milk called for in recipes! Are you calling for the carton variety in both the cake & the coconut cream?
In the cake, it doesn’t matter. But in the coconut cream, you need the full fat canned variety (which is why I specified full fat and linked to an example). The carton variety is usually quite low fat. I will amend the recipe to say “canned” in the coconut cream.
This looks good! Though, I have never seen a poke cake made with Jello- thank goodness! Our family just came back from a trip to Disney. This will be perfect to make to help me come down from my sugar high!!!
BTW, I kept receiving an error when trying to access the link from my iPhone and iPad. I had to just go directly to your site. Must love your site to take the extra step!!!
Hmmm, let me check from my own iPad…
Yeah- it was from the email. Weird.
I think it might be your browser. I just tried from my phone and had no problems. Hope it doesn’t happen again!
Making this TODAY.
This looks delicious!!! I love coconut!! I wonder if this cake base would work for a low carb strawberry rhubarb dump cake as well….? Can’t wait to try this coconut cake!! Thank you! 🙂
I don’t really know, I’d have to see the recipe for the dump cake.
Here is the recipe in its original form. I would be over the moon excited if there would be hope for a healthy version of this cake! 🙂 Thank you for making healthy so yummy!!!
Rhubarb Dump Cake (print recipe)
What you need:
4 c. fresh rhubarb
1/2 c. sugar
1- 3oz. package strawberry jello
1 box white cake mix
1 c. water
1/3 c. butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place rhubarb in a 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with sugar and dry gelatin mix. Beat cake mix, water, and butter with a whisk until well blended. Pour over rhubarb and spread to completely cover rhubarb. Bake for 45 minutes or until browned. Serve warm or room temperature with whipped cream!
This rhubarb dump cake used to be my favorite dessert. Since going gluten free, I have swapped the cake mix for a gluten free cake mix just fine, and we also use a sugar free strawberry jello mix and a sugar free sweetener (like Swerve) instead of sugar. So-now I am wondering about subbing a low carb and gluten free “cake mix” and how would it turn out….
OOoooooh I can’t wait to try this one!! I love me some poke cakes! I’ve never seen them made with regular Jell-O gelatin but I’ve made many with the pudding mix. Make all the poke cakes you want!!! I’ll be a very happy girl 🙂
I will definitely be making them again!
Thank you soooooo much for this recipe. Coconut cake is my favorite. A friend of mine made a Coconut poke cake some years back and it was incredible!!! That was before I knew I was diabetic. It was possibly the best thing I’d ever eaten!!! So happy to have this recipe to be able to enjoy such a super moist favorite again. Can’t wait to make it. YOU ROCK, CAROLYN!
Hope you love it, Cindy!
I use canned coconut cream from Trader Joes quite a bit and wonder if it could simplify this recipe some. Certainly for making the coconut whipped cream, but potentially for the coconut cream in the cake. Solid but spreadable when chilled, and even at moderate room temperature, I could see using the canned coconut cream with sweetener and extracts blended into the cream, warmed to pourable being put on the cake with out the egg or xanthan gum. I use this coconut cream as a butter replacement on LC bread with jam. It is both cheap, at about $1.79/can, and good.
OMG – this looks delicious! Can I use coconut flavored Stevia extract in place of the coconut extract? (I know it will be sweeter) Thank you!
Carolyn, I made the lemon poke cake for my son’s birthday but all the lemon gelatin pooled on top and did not get in the holes. I think it was because the cake hadn’t been totally cold yet (time crunch). Do you think that was the reason? It was really great otherwise but I want to try again and do it right.
I also want to make this one.
A serving is 1/16th of a 9×9 pan?
Wow. Those would end up being bite sized, wouldn’t they?
No, they would not, actually. They are quite a good size. It’s simply cutting the cake into 4 in each direction which is pretty standard for cakes in a square pan. It works out to a square of cake that is a little more than 2 inches by 2 inches.
Awesome!
Thanks for this recipe!
I am looking forward to trying it this summer.
BTW, does the cake look bite-sized in the photo? Because that photo is true to life.
Can you use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
No, coconut flour would give you an entirely different consistency.
Ok thanks for the reply I’ll have to stop and get some almond flour!!!!!
This is chilling in the ‘frig. Can’t wait to try it with a cuppa Joe, decaf Joe that is tonight!
Now to decide what to do with the leftover full fat canned coconut milk. Have you ever
tried freezing it?
I will also be looking forward to more poke cakes.
No. I make iced frappuccinos with it. But I bet you could freeze it.
Think you could make some fat bombs from the left overs.
Oh my sweet tooth! This is so moist, so coco nutty! Well worth dragging out the kitchen aid.
This sounds amazing, Carolyn! I love coconut…and cream…so the two together plus cake is genius. I’ll be sharing this one.
Can you use egg whites from a carton in this recipe? Sounds good so I will be making this soon. Hubby’s B’day coming up.
Yes, carton egg whites would be fine.
Mmm…reminds me of the Pepperidge Farm boxed coconut cake, minus the carb overload! Thank you, Carolyn!
This looks amazing!
Oh my goodness, I was up till 1.30 this morning making this cake. Boy was it worth it!! It looks so good, I had a difficult time waiting till after lunch to try it. Perfect! My husband told me “You nailed this”. I told him it was your recipe, you nailed it! And you’re right, it makes 16 good size servings, with the coconut cream and the topping, it filled my whole 9 in square pan. You just might make an excellent low carb baker out of me yet, Carolyn! Thanks so much!
Thanks, Peggy! Glad it was a hit.
i will be making this for my sister’s BD celebration this Saturday!
Being from the South, this is right up my alley. At least I consider Texas as part of the South!!
Thank you, Carolyn’
i will be making this for my sister’s BD celebration this Saturday!
Being from the South, this is right up my alley. At least I consider Texas as part of the South!!
Thank you, Carolyn’
So sorry for the double post.
Carolyn, do you think this could be made on Friday evening for serving Saturday afternoon or is it best to make and serve same day?
Many thanks,
Alice B.
I think it will be fine on the second day. Ours lasted several days and I noticed no difference from the first day.
Do you think you could use the THM baking blend or at least use half almond flour and half baking blend?
I would do half and half in this. I haven’t tested the Baking blend fully yet but I’ve found that it’s drier and and so a direct replacement here might not get you the texture you want.
this sounds wonderful, however, i really want to know where you got your pan!
It’s a USA Pan and I got mine from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UNMZO4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B002UNMZO4&linkCode=as2&tag=aldaidrabfo05-20&linkId=VWT7JH5XDY4MFNJT
Has anyone tried this with butter instead of coconut oil? I thought it might make a tasty version?
I did, I substituted using 1/2 cup of kerrygold for the coconut oil and it turned really good. I don’t like the taste of coconut oil in dessert recipes but I did liberally spray my pan with coconut oil spray.
Can I sub anything for the whey protein powder? Thanks!! 🙂
Egg white protein powder is a good sub. You really need some sort of dry protein to help it rise properly.
I made this cake as planned today for my sis’ birthday party. It was a huge hit!!! Sis immediately called it awesome and I heard numerous “umm’s” coming from everyone around me!!
I will definitely be making this again!
Thank you, Carolyn!
So glad to hear it!
Just finished to make mine today. Mhhhh delish. Foodgasmic! Don’t remember when i last had such a good cake.
even if my cream split a bit and the coconut whip part didn’t work out as i wanted. still unbelivably good.
I got 20 out of that recipe. I had one, my bunny the other and the rest is waiting in the freezer for whenever i feel like it. *bigsmirk*
Thanks sooo much for sharing!
This dessert was fantastic. Even though I messed up the ingredients in the cake by using canned full fat coconut milk. I think the coconut cream would have soaked into the pokes better. But it was great! I also served it with a couple of strawberries and a dab of whipped cream on top a couple of times and blueberries another.
Thank you Caroline for the wonderful low carb recipes. My diabetic husband loves you!
I am sorry I misspelled your name Carolyn.
I made this today and WOW. This recipe is FANTASTIC. I substituted the 1/2 cup of coconut oil in the cake with 1/2 cup kerrygold. I personally don’t like coconut oil in my deserts. Other then that, made as the recipe suggested and it’s hard to believe it’s low carb.
The coconut cream did not turn out. It was too thick! I’m not sure what happened. Did you continue cooking it on medium once you placed the egg mixture into the milk?
Sounds like it got overcooked. You do continue to cook it for a bit but only until it just begins to thicken. You have to watch it carefully.
That’s what I thought. Thanks for confirming… Cake still taste great without it!
I finally made this cake last night and Oh Boy! I could just eat the cake w/o all the other good stuff! I only have an 8″ square pan; so, the cake was dense and sturdy – yum. I loved the coconut cream filling so much, that I used the rest of my coconut milk and a couple of the leftover egg yolks to make a coconut custard as another treat option. However, the cake might be my “go to” cake base. I’m thinking a Tres Leches inspired cake might be on the horizon next! This one gets 2 thumbs up (6 if you include my daughters)! I am looking forward to creating my upcoming birthday cake using this recipe!
Thank you for your recipes and your wonderful website! You make low carb living so much easier. Truly appreciated…
So glad you liked it!
HELP I accidentally added the canned coconut milk to the cake ingredients and am wondering if this can be salvaged. Just sick about all the ingredients that may have to go to waste. Thanks
Sorry, I did not see this earlier and was away for several days. What was the outcome?
Are you supposed to beat the egg whites and then fold them in? This makes a very sturdy cake and it could be lighter.
Nope, you should be following the instructions as written. Mine was just the right texture. Did you use almond meal instead of almond flour?
I made this cake as my Birthday Cake yesterday. I did put a ‘glaze’ of strawberry jam on top of the cake once the entire thing had cooled.. and then the whipping cream on top. It will forever be known as ‘Birthday Cake’ in our home from this day forward. :). Thanks so much Carolyn!
This is amazing! I made this for my husband’s birthday cake this past week, and he absolutely loved it — we all did! He really misses tres leches cakes, and he also loves coconut, so this really hit the spot. He was expecting a mug cake, so this was a nice surprise. Thank you so much for this recipe! Love your website. We have your skillet cookies in the oven now 😉
So glad he loved it and happy birthday to him!
Can I say that this is truly an awesome recipe? This is the first poke cake I’ve tried and it was moist and perfectly composed. Even my friend who hates coconut was won over! I confess I put more toasted coconut shavings over the top of the cake and it looked really pretty!
This is delicious!!!!! Maybe the best coconut cake I have ever eaten!!
I made this cake yesterday and it is very yummy. My only issue was the coconut cream was very thick like a custard and I couldn’t get it to soak into the holes, most of it just sat on top. I left out the xanthan gun and still found it to be too thick. Not sure what I did wrong but I will modify the recipe the next time I make it so the cream doesn’t get so thick. Otherwise, the recipe is a keeper!
Sounds to me like it got overcooked and the eggs made it too thick. Maybe try thinning it out with a bit of extra liquid next time?
i don’t have whey protein or egg white powder….are there any other subs??
Would love to make this tonight for Easter:) I looks amazing!
Thanks!!!
You really need a dry protein to replace the gluten. You can leave it out but your cake could be more dense.
What about something like collagen hydrolysate powder?
Since I haven’t tried it, I really couldn’t say. I guess you can always experiment!
I was looking for a low carb recipe to make a cake for my husband’s birthday. Came across this coconut poke cake on the internet. What a success it was. My husband loved it. Thank you so much.
You’re welcome!
Hi Carolyn, could I sub 1 cup of coconut flour for the shredded coconut? Thinking of using this recipe to make a tiramisu poke cake.
No, you can’t, because that would be an awful mess. Coconut flour is very dense and absorbs huge amounts of moisture and you’d end up with a hockey puck. Just leave out the shredded coconut or add a little more almond flour.
Thanks for the advice.
The cake turned out nicely but needed extra time baking. I also used the end of wooden spoon to make the poke holes so I could get plenty of the custard into them which worked a treat and the custard set nicely. I then decided to turn the extra yolks into lemon curd, then split the cake into 2 layers (custard was set by that stage so stayed put through the slicing) and sandwiched them together with the lemon curd and then added the whipped cream topping. Wowzer!!!….yummo!!!
Wow, creative!
Thanks 😊 . Just a lil addition to an already fab recipe. Oh, and in case anyone else reads my comments and was wondering…yes, I made no-sugar-added lemon curd (i used Natvia, which is an erythritol stevia blend)
Made this today as my birthday cake, it was delish. Thanks for a great recipe!
Does this cake do well refrigerated over night. I wanted to make the cake tonight to be eaten for Thanksgiving for tomorrow.
Yes, it’s great after a night in the fridge!
Thank you so much, Caroyln! My family and I LOVE your recipes. It has been so helpful for me as both my parents have diabetes (each with sweet tooth). Thank you for all your recipes! I hope you have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving!
Hi can finely ground almond flour be used, would you need less or can you use same amount?
This already uses finely ground almond flour.
I missed that thank you
Can anything else be used in place of the protein powder and egg white powder?
I really wanted to make today!!!!
Thank you! Love your recipes and this cake and carrot cake are the bomb!!!
Nothing really to sub for it. You can skip it but your cake may not rise quite as well.
Can this be frozen? I don’t think I can eat it all before it goes bad.
Yes, I think it would freeze well.
Thank you. I am thinking that I will freeze it without the whipped cream on top. I’m not sure how well that part would freeze.
Delicious cake! I made it last night for our 49th anniversary. It was wonderful! I think I’ll make it next year for our big 50th party but only for the low carbers. It would be difficult to make for over 100 people! They’ll have to eat the fancy bakery kind that isn’t worth eating! My cream topping got too thick so I guess I cooked it too long. It was good even though it only laid on top of the cake. I have an ISO cream dispenser and make coconut whipped cream with it. It is a great non dairy topping. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes Carolyn! I’m anxious to get your new cookbook!