How To Add An Extra Burst Of Citrusy Flavor To Lemon Cake

Lemon sheet cake is a simple treat that brings a sunny quality to any occasion. But if you've ever cleared plates and realized your guests enjoyed its tangy glazed top and left behind the plainer center, you may appreciate a trick to prevent this common conundrum.

If the aesthetics of your cake are of major concern, the name of this method might give you pause — but rest assured that making a lemon poke cake will be totally worth it (and you'll still have a chance to beautify your finished product in the end). With this process, instead of simply glazing the top of your next lemon sheet cake, you'll poke holes throughout and then fill each one with a sweet-tart syrup. This method means all that tasty goodness will seep in and permeate your treat, ensuring a supremely citrusy pop in every single bite. 

To make this full-flavored confection, you'll need to create two simple elements, the first being a sheet cake. You can follow a from-scratch recipe or use a favorite store-bought version (and even try a simple swap to make your boxed cake taste like heaven). The second is a glaze. For lemon cake, about ⅓ cup of lemon juice to 2 cups of confectioner's sugar is a good starting ratio that will produce a pourable filling, and you can mix this up while your cake is baking. Once you have these two basic elements, next comes the all-important poking part.

Whether you do your poking while the cake is hot, warm or fully cooled is a matter of some debate, but many suggest that heat will help the cake absorb the glaze. You can use a knife, the tines of a fork, a chopstick, a straw, or a thin dowel — anything that will allow you to make a thin opening in the surface of your cake — and you'll want these holes to reach about ¾ of the way down, with about an inch between. From there, pour your still-warm glaze over the surface of your cake, filling those openings. Later, once the cake is totally cool, you can add a frosting like a basic but foolproof whipped cream, which pulls double duty by also concealing the holes and hiding that delicious flavor within.

Poke cakes aren't limited to lemon; in fact the idea is super versatile and can be used for just about any flavors you can dream up. The process will be the same regardless, although your filling can vary a bit. Repurpose a glaze from delicious coconut baked donuts to pair with a pineapple cake, go for banana cake with pockets of strawberry syrup, or even fill a pumpkin poke cake with creamy vanilla pudding.Once you get the hang of this process, and see the way your loved ones plow through their super lemony squares, you may find yourself experimenting with a whole range of hole-y cakes.