Strawberry Loaf Poke Cake

This is your Memorial Day dessert. 

I knew I wanted to make something red, white and blue for the weekend and I brainstormed for something other than the patriotic berry-lined flag cake.  After giving some thought and browsing through my "to-make recipe collection", I stumbled across a recipe for Strawberry Loaf Cake.  Sounded pretty good, but I needed some blue.  I then remembered how I used to make a lot of poke cakes for a catering company I worked for (typically you bake a white cake, poke holes all over the top as soon as it comes out of the oven, then pour a mixture of jello-flavored hot water over it allowing the juices to seep down into the cake, and finish it off with some coolwhip).  Bingo.  This was going to be a twist on the tried and true poke cake. 

I came across some berry blue jello, grabbed a carton of whipped topping and set about my plan.  Fingers were crossed it came out like I had envisioned.  Lucky for me it did!  The red strawberries and blue jello kept their distinct colors in the bread (I was afraid they might bleed together and turn the whole thing purple!) and the juices made the loaf incredibly moist.  It was a winner!

Strawberry Loaf Poke Cake

Makes one 9x5 loaf

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped

1 cup water
1.5 ounces berry blue jello

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in large bowl: mix well. Blend oil and eggs into strawberries. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until dry ingredients are just moistened.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tester inserted comes out clean.  Meanwhile, heat up water until hot and almost boiling.  Pour jello powder into water and stir until dissolved.  Once loaf is removed from oven, gently poke holes over the top using a knife or fork and pour gelatin over cake.  Let rest in pan on wire rack until completely cooled.  Store leftovers in the fridge.

Adapted from AllRecipes.