Strawberry Cheesecake Poke Cake
This is a combination dessert featuring a graham cracker crust, vanilla cake center, strawberry cheesecake filling, and whipped cream topping. This recipe only uses half of a cake mix, so I used the other half to make 12 vanilla cupcakes.
Ingredients:
Cake-
5-6 cinnamon graham crackers
½ vanilla cake mix
3 large eggs
1 cup water
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
Filling-
2 cups strawberries
14 ounces fat free sweetened condensed milk
8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
Topping-
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons nonfat powdered milk
3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
Sliced strawberries
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 8×8 of 7×11 baking dish with graham crackers breaking up the crackers to make them fit.
- Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Use only half of the cake mix if you are only making this dessert. (I made a dozen cupcakes with the extra cake mix and icing.)
- Pour ½ cake mix over the graham crackers.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Meanwhile add strawberries, cream cheese, and sweetened condensed milk to a food processor. Pulse to mix.
- Remove cake from the oven. Use an icing tip or wooden spoon to poke holes in the cake.
- Pour strawberry filling over the cake.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Frosting- Add sugar, powdered milk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract to a mixer. Mix on high for 2-3 minutes. Spread half of the frosting over the strawberry filling.
- Sprinkle graham crackers crumbs over the cake and then add sliced strawberries.
- Enjoy! Store cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
