Shirley Temple Poke Cake

This Shirley Temple Poke Cake Recipe has all of the flavors of

the classic Shirley Temple drink...in a moist and delicious cake.

When I was a kid, going out to dinner was always a special occasion. And ordering a fancy drink made the meal even more fun! From about the age of three on up, I would always order a Shirley Temple drink. And you guys, to this day, I sometimes still order these as a treat. They're a bit of nostalgic taste that just take me back. The original version is a sweet concoction of 7 Up, Grenadine and Cherries. Sometimes Ginger Ale is used as well. The entire thing is just so yummy and the perfect drink for a kiddo.

I thought it would be super fun to create a cake with all of the flavors of my childhood favorite. And, I truly love the actress that inspired the original drink. She was a precious child and amazing lady.

While a classic Shirley Temple often has grenadine as an ingredient, that's not always easy to find. The liquid from Maraschino Cherries is often used in its place, and that's what I did here. I also highly recommend 7Up over Sprite in this particular recipe...it has that classic Shirley Temple taste.

Ingredients:
- one box mix of white cake
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 jar of Maraschino Cherries, chopped roughly {save liquid}
- 7 Up {ice cold}
- 3 oz. box of cherry flavored Jell-O
- 1 tub Cool Whip Vanilla Frosting

Directions:
Mix cake batter somewhat according to box directions, using oil and eggs mentioned above, but substituting water with all of the juice from the jar of cherries {which provides about 1/3 cup} and the rest of the amount with 7 Up. For instance, my cake mix called for one cup of water, I used the 1/3 cup of cherry juice and then 2/3 cup of 7Up to get the full amount of liquid. After batter is completely mixed, fold in chopped cherries. Bake according to package directions. Cool cake completely. {Just FYI, you'll want to bake the cake in the pan you will serve out of. This is not a "turn-out" cake, it will remain in the pan because of the addition of Jell-O. I think glass casseroles work well for poke cake recipes.}

Once cake is cool, use the wrong end of a wooden spoon and poke holes all over the cake. Let that sit out while you prepare the Jell-O {it's okay if it gets a little dry, that will help the liquid to absorb}. 

Prepare Jell-O by boiling one cup of water. Add boiling water to bowl with powdered Jell-O in it and mix until Jell-O is dissolved. Quickly add one cup of chilled 7 Up and mix until incorporated.

Pour liquid Jell-O all over the top of the cake, letting it seep into all of the poked holes. Refrigerate overnight. Frost with Vanilla Cool Whip Frosting.

Be sure to check out even more Poke Cake yumminess

in my Poke Cake Palooza here.

Neglect your chores like me and don't miss a thing:

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