I told you that July 31 was the day to celebrate raspberry cake day, but after seeing pictures of this cake while I was researching the food holidays, it wouldn’t leave my mind. I was dreaming of plump raspberries, perfect white cake, and fluffy, sweet whipped cream. I couldn’t wait until the 31st! It is certainly time for living in the moment and enjoying the simple things in life, so why not?

When I was growing up, my mom would quite frequently make strawberry poke cakes and I LOVED them. Idaho has the best summers in the world. They have summers that cool down beautifully at night and you can see millions of stars laying on the cool grass in your backyard. Idaho has the most gorgeous, colorful sunsets I’ve ever seen. So after a long summer day full of of baseball, working in the yard and garden, playing all day outside with my siblings, a cool, sweet cake was the perfect way to end a perfect childhood day as a kid growing up in Idaho.


Part of the reason I loved them so much was because she would always let us help her make it. We’d think it was so fun to poke holes in the cake with the other end of a wooden spoon and we’d pour the Jell-O over the baked cake. Then we would be waiting in anticipation for it to cool in the fridge and spread Cool Whip on the top.

Cakes are one of those things that I feel like get a lot of attention for birthdays, but I find that they are so versatile in a lot of other ways too. There are so many things that you can make with a simple box of cake mix and it is a great way to use up the supply that you probably have stored in the back of your cupboard.

One of my favorite cake box mix recipes is actually my go-to Andes mint chocolate cookies recipe.  They are so easy and turn out perfectly every time! 


Anytime we have gone camping with my husband's family, my father-in-law makes a to die for peach cobbler in his Dutch oven. It is basically a really easy dump cake with a few other simple ingredients so that makes it nice when you only want to bring the essentials when you’re out camping and cooking in the woods. But it tastes so good after a long day of hiking and coming home to this warm, gooey cobbler. It’s amazing!


You can make other things like brownies, bars, molten cakes, you name it! --with a simple box of cake mix. My family gave this raspberry poke cake recipe a big two thumbs up and it was kind of fun to pass on a new recipe that I enjoyed as a kid with my family. I made the whipped cream on top from scratch and we added fresh, plump raspberries to top it all off and it was perfection! 


Have you tried a poke cake before? What is your favorite way to use a boxed cake mix? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.



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