I finally got around to creating a gluten free poke cake. This gluten free cherry poke cake calls for my latest moist Gluten Free Yellow Cake Recipe which happens to be dairy-free as well. This cake may be made corn or potato-free as well as egg-free.
Gluten Free Cherry Poke Cake
A delicious, moist gluten free poke cake with cherry filling and whipped cream topping. Nuts make an excellent addition as a garnish.
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Fruit Glaze using cherry juice or any red juice*
- 1 whole cake recipe of Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Yellow Cake
- 16 gluten free maraschino cherries (Royal Harvest "Nature's" flavor stems removed and sliced in halves + more for garnish
- 1/4 cup Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Blend (or brown rice flour), for dredging
- Cool Whip (or 1 recipe Homemade Whipped Cream (or Dairy-Free Buttercream Frosting
- Chopped nuts walnut, pecans, etc. (optional), as garnish
Instructions
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Make the fruit glaze as instructed at the above link. (If you are using a red juice that is not quite red enough, you can also add a few drops of natural food color like (Cherry Red made by Seelect Tea. Otherwise, McCormick liquid and AmeriColor gel food colorings are also gluten free.) Refrigerate to cool.
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Rinse off the cherries and place them on layers of paper towels to drain. (This step prevents the red juice from the cherries from getting everywhere in the cake batter.)
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Dredge the cherry halves in some all-purpose gluten free flour. (This prevents them sinking to the bottom of the cake.)
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Make the whole cake in the above-linked recipe in an oiled 9 x 9-inch baking pan. Fold in the cherries using a silicone/rubber spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
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Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool completely directly on the wire rack, about 1 hour 45 minutes.
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Once cooled, using the handle of a large wooden spoon, poke the cake in several places. Pour the fruit glaze in the holes and elsewhere over the cake.
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When ready to serve, top the cake with the whipped topping of your choosing, garnish with chopped nuts, if using; cut into squares, and serve. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.
Tips
*If you wish to make a faster version of this cake, use gluten free cherry pie filling such as Comstock or Wilderness brands. Thin the can of cherry filling either with juice or rum, etc. Slice the cherries in half and use the jelled filing that has been thinned down for filling the holes in the cake.
Cherry-Almond Version:
Add 1/2 teaspoon of pure almond extract to the batter and top with cherries and sliced almonds.