This roasted berry poke cake is the ultimate summer dessert! Light, vanilla sheet cake topped with roasted mixed berries and light lemon buttercream. Then topped with fresh mixed berries! It's as easy to make as it is stunning!
If you like this fruit poke cake, you might also like this strawberry shortcake layer cake or this blueberry bundt cake!
Jump to:
What Is Poke Cake?
When I told Kyle I was making a "poke cake", he was very confused! But poke cake is literally just that! Cake that has been poked full of holes to allow for some type of topping to be poured over to settle into the holes and soak into the cake.
Poke cake can take on various forms from tres leches cake, to jello cake, to this roasted berry poke cake!
This mixed berry cake also just so happens to be red, white, and blue making it the perfect patriotic themed dessert for 4th of July or Memorial Day!
Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make this vanilla sheet cake with roasted berries!
Fresh Berries - Use an assortment of your favorite berries that are in season! I love a mix of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and cherries. [Yes, I know cherries aren't technically berries, but there were beautiful fresh cherries at the store and I couldn't pass them up.] You can also use frozen berries, but just know that you'll get a much more jam-like consistency.
Vanilla Bean - This is optional, but add a vanilla bean for added flavor! Substitute 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Roasted Berries
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Slice the vanilla bean in half and add to a baking dish along with the fruit, sugar, and lemon juice. Toss gently to combine.
Roast for 15 minutes, then stir and roast for another 10-15 minutes until the berries are soft and syrupy.
Remove from the oven and let cool fully to room temperature.
Store the roasted berries in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week!
How to Make Berry Poke Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla and whisk until fully incorporated.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Mix half of the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture, then add in the milk. Once incorporated, add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Line a 9x13 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
Pour the batter into the lined cake pan and smooth into an even layer.
Bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely to room temperature.
Use the end of a round wooded spoon or chopstick to poke small holes in the surface of the cake.
Spoon a thin layer of cooled roasted berries and the leftover juices, over the top of the cake and let sit for about 20 minutes to absorb.
Spoon dollops of frosting over the surface of the berry cake, then gently smooth into an even layer, using an offset spatula to make big swirls in the frosting.
Decorate the poke cake with fresh berries and flowers if desired!
Cake Decorating Tips
It doesn't take much to make this roasted berry poke cake look absolutely stunning!
I like to use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to make "C" shape motions. This gives you a pretty swirl effect on top!
You can use some of the roasted berries to garnish, but I think fresh berries are prettier! You can also add edible flowers for a bright, summery look!
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Recipe FAQ's
Store the cake in the fridge for up to 4 days. However, it will taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
The roasted berries will last in the fridge for up to a week and are delicious served over vanilla ice cream, pancakes/French toast, oatmeal, biscuits, the options are endless!!
I hear you! If this frosting is too sweet for you, you can replace the butter with 8 ounces of mascarpone cheese and ½ cup unsalted butter. Or you can do a stabilized whipped cream frosting instead!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Recipes You Might Like!
If you love this recipe, please leave a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers.
Also be sure to add us as a trusted site on Google so that our recipes show up more in your searches!
For more delicious, scratch-made recipes you can subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on social media!
Recipe Card
Roasted Berry Poke Cake
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Roasted Berries
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 1 cup fresh blackberries
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and halved
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 vanilla bean, optional
Vanilla Sheet Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
Lemon Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2-3 tablespoons milk, as needed
Garnish
- fresh berries
- flowers, optional
Instructions
Roasted Berries
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Slice the vanilla bean in half and add to a baking dish along with the fruit, sugar, and lemon juice. Toss gently to combine.
- Roast for 15 minutes, then stir and roast for another 10-15 minutes until the berries are soft and syrupy.
- Remove from the oven and let cool fully to room temperature.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week!
Vanilla Sheet Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9x13 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar until smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla and whisk until fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix half of the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture, then add in the milk. Once incorporated, add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the lined cake pan and smooth into an even layer.
- Bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely to room temperature.
Lemon Frosting
- In a large bowl using a handheld mixer (or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment), cream together the room temperature butter and powdered sugar until smooth.
- Add in the lemon juice and beat frosting on high for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- If needed, add in milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Assembly
- Use the end of a round wooded spoon or chopstick to poke small holes in the surface of the cake.
- Spoon a thin layer of cooled roasted berries and the leftover juices, over the top of the cake and let sit for about 20 minutes to absorb.
- Spoon dollops of frosting over the surface of the cake, then gently smooth into an even layer, using an offset spatula to make big swirls in the frosting.
- Decorate the cake with fresh berries and flowers if desired!
- This cake is best eaten the same day! Store the cake in the fridge for up to 4 days. However, it will taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Holly says
Hi Kyleigh, I wanted to use your tip for making the frosting less sweet by using mascarpone instead of the full amount of butter. But I noticed the amount of sugar stays the same. Will this actually make the frosting less sweet by only substituting the butter with the mascarpone? Thanks!
Kyleigh Sage says
Yes it does! You still need the same amount of powdered sugar to properly stabilize the frosting but the mascarpone makes it much creamier and lighter and leads to an overall less sweet taste. You can start with just 3 cups of powdered sugar but you usually need the full amount to get the right texture.