No Bake Pineapple Coconut Poke
This No Bake Pineapple Coconut Poke Cake is your secret summer weapon — sweet, tropical, creamy, and ridiculously easy. Made with boxed cake mix, canned pineapple, pudding, and whipped topping, it’s the kind of dessert that looks impressive but takes barely 20 minutes of effort. Zero oven stress, 100% dessert genius.
Equipment
- 9x13” baking dish
- Mixing bowls
- Electric mixer or whisk
- Spatula
- Wooden spoon for poking that cake!
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Fridge space non-negotiable babe
Ingredients
The Foundation:
- 1 box vanilla cake mix yeah, from a box — we're not Martha Stewart over here
- Whatever the box says you need usually eggs, oil, water
- 1 can crushed pineapple in juice don't drain it!
The Good Stuff:
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 ½ cups cold milk
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened leave it out for like an hour, trust me
- 1 container Cool Whip, thawed
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- Extra pineapple chunks for the top if you're feeling fancy
Instructions
- Make Your Cake Base (The Easy Part)Follow the box directions but here's my twist — when you add the wet ingredients, dump in that whole can of crushed pineapple, juice and all. Don't drain it! That juice is liquid gold for flavor.Bake it according to the box but maybe check it 5 minutes early since we added extra liquid. You want it done but not dry.Let it cool completely. I know waiting sucks but warm cake plus cool frosting equals disaster.
- Poke That Cake (The Fun Part)Once it's cool, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the top. Not tiny holes — we want decent-sized ones so all the good stuff can get down in there.This is where the magic happens, babe. All those flavors are gonna soak in and make every bite amazing.
- Make the Pudding SituationWhisk together your pudding mix and cold milk until it's thick and gorgeous. This happens fast so don't walk away — learned that one the hard way when I came back to pudding soup.
- Build the Layers Like a BossSpread that pudding all over the top of your poked cake. Use a spatula to really work it into those holes. Don't be gentle — we want maximum flavor penetration here.Beat your softened cream cheese until it's smooth, then fold in the Cool Whip. Spread this cloud of happiness over the pudding layer.Sprinkle that coconut all over the top like you're decorating a tropical paradise.
- The Hardest Part (Waiting)Stick this beauty in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but overnight is even better. I know it's torture but this is when all the flavors get cozy together and create magic.
Notes
- Use the juice! Don’t drain your pineapple — it’s the secret to a super moist base.
- Room-temp cream cheese = smooth topping. Cold = lumpy disaster (trust me).
- Want it lighter? Use light Cool Whip and low-fat cream cheese or Greek yogurt.
- Add toasted coconut on top for that golden, crunchy finish — just a few mins in a pan does the trick.
- Make ahead friendly! Actually tastes better the next day once all the layers chill and soak.