Coconut Poke Cake
Mother’s Day. What’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Love, touch, hugs, gatherings, celebration.
But this Mother’s Day, May 10th, 2020, we pulled the human touch from our normal celebration of Mothers, unlike anything we’ve experienced before and hope never to experience again. Covid 19, the Coronavirus. A new word, a new meaning in world language that changed the way we live and interact with others, changing the world as we know it.
So we learn to touch another way….a new way. We learn to extend ourselves to those we love by distance air-hugs and distance chats, 6 feet apart. We think of new ways to show our love, express to our loved ones that we’re thinking of them and we’re still there for them. We are grateful for the technology that allows us to ‘see’ each other like Zoom and FaceTime, which also has many of us teaching a new skill to those unfamiliar. We miss the closeness and touch, but we anticipate the chance to be together, even if virtual.
My Mother’s Day Coconut Poke Cake is one of the ways I hoped to show my Mom how much I love her. She loves everything coconut, and what better way to show her I love and appreciate her than to create a dessert that screams coconut.
This cake is soft, sweet, and tender….like a hug from my mom. Its fluffy texture holds pockets of coconut creme that add to the moistness, and the whipped topping covered with flaked coconut puts it over the top. It’s a treat to be sure, so don’t look for a calorie count. Just enjoy every single bite. It’s kept in the frig so it lasts for days, you should even enjoy a piece in the morning with a cup of coffee. Beautiful indulgence.
To deliver Mom’s cake at her current assisted living residence I had to go through the masked and gloved staff member as they aren’t allowed visitors of any kind. I could see Mom through the lobby window waiting for the transfer of my packages and we waived through two panes of glass, tears filling my eyes at the sheer pain of not being able to hug her. It just felt so wrong – not the gloves and masks – we are grateful for the ultra cautious procedures to keep everyone safe. But wrong in the sense that this can’t be happening, this only happens in horror movies, not real life.
But each day you wake-up and remember…this really is happening. It’s every discussion on every platform, it’s the new way of working, shopping, walking, cooking, cleaning, sharing, talking. A new way of existing. And luckily we haven’t been affected like the people who’ve been diagnosed with Covid-19…at least not yet. It’s truly a scary reality thinking nothing will return to ‘normal’.
I was only minutes from driving away when my Mom called to thank me for the goodies. She was also in tears which had me sobbing right along with her. She said the young staff member could see she was upset and said, “I know how you feel, I can’t hug my kids right now either” to which my Mom replied, “but you have your whole life ahead of you, I don’t”.
We both had a good cry together, expressing through broken words our love and heartbreak for this whole new world. So unbelievable, and so very hard.
So it’s celebrations like Mother’s Day that will keep reminding us to Love, to Comfort, and to bring Joy to those around us. Let us never forget the moments we wished we could extend a hand, a hug, a kiss, and when we are able, may we hold those moments longer. And with the Lord’s grace may we return to our normal way of life with gratitude for Life itself, so precious.
Make a Coconut Poke Cake and enjoy every bite.
Stay safe, take care of each other.
- 1 box GF yellow cake mix (I used Pillsbury GF Classic Yellow Cake Mix)
- ½ cup melted butter
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup light sour cream
- ⅔ cup milk or water
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- 1 - 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 - 14 oz can coconut creme (not milk)
- 1 - 16 oz container Extra Creamy Cool Whip, thawed
- 2½ - 3 cups flaked sweetened coconut
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Coat a 13x9 cake pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a large glass bowl add all the cake ingredients and beat on low until all are combined. Turn mixer on high and beat for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl in between.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 28-34 minutes, checking for doneness with toothpick in center until it comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, combine the sweetened condensed milk with the coconut creme, mixing together until blended. Set aside.
- Remove cake from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Begin poking holes all the way through the cake, all over the cake with the end of a small wooden spoon (or something with a small round end) until the entire cake is full of holes.
- Immediately pour the creamy coconut mixture into the holes evenly, (the cake needs to be warm when you pour the creme into holes so it absorbs).
- Allow the cake to cool completely.
- Once cooled, spread the Cool Whip over the entire cake like frosting, end to end.
- Sprinkle with the flaked coconut to cover the Cool Whip.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
