A Vampire Poke Cake Is Exactly What Your Halloween Party Is Missing

Halloween parties are usually rampant with tasty treats, whether a classic Halloween snack board, buckets of candy, or sticky caramel apples. But rather than going with these classic party foods this year, why not mix things up with a vampire poke cake?

Vampire poke cakes are made of a white cake mix and topped with classic white frosting. However, the cake has drizzles of red gelatin throughout to give it a spooky twist. The effect is that when you cut into your cake, it looks as if it's riddled with blood from a vampire's fangs.

Better yet, this dessert recipe makes an entire sheet cake, meaning you can serve several guests. Rather than making tons of tiny desserts (and spending all day in the kitchen), you can make this recipe in roughly 15 minutes and serve 15 people or more, depending on how small you cut your cake slices.

To create your vampire confection, you'll first need to make your favorite white cake recipe and let it cool. You'll also need to make a batch of red gelatin. You can also use a cherry sauce or pie filling, but the key is that whatever liquid you choose is red, so it has a vampire-like effect.

With these components prepped, it's time to turn your dessert into a poke cake. In case you didn't know, Poke cakes are cakes you poke holes into after you bake them. Then, you pour syrup, sauce, cream, or — in this case — gelatin over the cake. The liquid soaks into the cake thanks to the holes and gives your cake a richer flavor and a moister texture.

One pro tip is to poke and pour your gelatin into the cake while the ingredients are hot. This lets the cake fully absorb all the sauce. It also prevents the gelatin from hardening and making it impossible to pour. Once you've done this, you can cool the cake down at room temperature or speed the process up and stick it in the fridge.

With your poke cake cool, it's time to get into the fun part of making a vampire poke cake — the decorating. You can decorate this cake in many ways, so get ready to put your creative thinking cap on! Just remember to top the cake with white frosting before getting into the toppings and garnishes.

With the cake frosted, one way to decorate it is to add drizzles of red decorating gel (or cherry sauce) on top. This gives the effect of blood splatters, making it look extra spooky. You can add to the development by placing a knife in the cake. Or, you can cut the cake into individual slices and top each with plastic vampire fangs (which you can pick up at your local party store).

If you'd rather skip the vampire theme, you can always add fun sprinkles to your cake. Or, add a couple of maraschino cherries for décor. Either way, when your party guests bite into this cake, they'll see the red streaks of "blood" throughout and be in for a spooky surprise.