Like most poke cakes, this one starts with a box of cake mix, which keeps things really easy. Rather than just the requisite eggs and oil that usually go along with a mix, we’ve added some egg nog to the batter too.
You pour the batter into a 9×13-inch baking dish and bake it until it’s a nice golden brown.
Once it’s out of the oven, you poke holes all over the cake. The end of a wooden spoon works great because it creates large enough holes for the flavor to really get down into the sponge, but it doesn’t decimate the crumb entirely.
The filling gets poured over the top and it works its way down into all those holes.
You might have guessed this already, but the filling involves eggnog. It also involves some instant vanilla pudding and brandy to thicken and liven things up.
Now, if you don’t want brandy in your filling, you can opt to leave it out. It doesn’t get cooked out and a half cup does go a pretty long way, so if you’re sharing this with the kiddos you might want to forgo it. Just use a bit of extra eggnog in its place. It’s still just as festive, and it’s a creamy, moist, delicious winter treat!
