So yesterday my birthday, my golden birthday, 27. I cross over from my mid-twenties to my late twenties. Yes, it doesn’t make me a little sad, but when I reflect on where I am at in my life, I am so incredibly happy. You know what else makes me happy? Chocolate cake. I am so much more of a chocolate person than a vanilla person.

I recently posted a French Toast Poke Cake, which you all seemed to really enjoy, so I decided that I needed a poke cake inspired by the new phase in my life. You know what really made me happy on my birthday? A hot fudge sundae and a slice of cake. So today, for you, I combined the two to make a Hot Fudge Poke Cake.

First of all, let’s revisit the whole concept of a poke cake. You bake a cake, you poke the holes, drizzle the goodness, then top it off with pudding and whipped cream. You proceed to indulge in the best pudding cake ever. This Hot Fudge Poke Cake is a chocolate cake, layered in hot fudge sauce, banana and vanilla pudding, whipped cream, strawberries and toppings of your choice.

Hot Fudge Poke Cake

1 Chocolate cake, baked and cooled

1 Jar Hot fudge sauce

1 Package instant vanilla pudding (3.4 oz)

1 Package instant banana pudding (3.4 oz)

4 C Milk

1 Container Cool Whip

For the toppings of your choice:

Strawberries

Bananas

Chocolate chips

Walnuts

Sprinkles

Caramel sauce

Hot fudge sauce

• Start by baking a chocolate cake accordingly to the boxed instructions in a 9×13” pan. Once your cake comes out of the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes.
• Take the end of a wooden spoon or another round object and poke holes all over the top of your cake.
• Microwave a jar of hot fudge sauce, according to the instructions on the jar. I recommend putting it on a microwave safe plate under the jar, unless you want to be cleaning fudge sauce out of your microwave. Drizzle half the jar of hot fudge sauce over the cake and allow it to soak into the cake for about 10 minutes.

• In the meantime, prepare your pudding.  In a medium bowl, combine the vanilla and banana pudding with 4 cups of milk and whisk together. Before the pudding sets, while it is still pourable, dump the pudding over top of the cake and spread with a spatula if necessary.
• Allow the pudding and cake to set in the fridge for at least an hour. Remove from fridge and cover with whipped cream. You can either serve immediately or keep it in the fridge until you are ready to serve it.

When read to serve, prepare your cake toppings. I chose hot fudge sauce, strawberries and sprinkles. Wouldn’t it be fun to create a topping bar for a party? You could use walnuts, crushed cookies, sprinkles, fruit, caramel sauce, whatever else you would normally put on top of a sundae. This is by far, the most fun cake to make. Best of all, it really doesn’t take a lot of effort.