Chocolate Covered Strawberry Poke Cake - A Decadent Dessert

Wow. Katie and I really hope you guys have been enjoying our Valentine's guide for the week. I made this dessert a couple of days ago, and it's honestly the only thing keeping me going! I've been powered by chocolate to create these posts for you luvs, and I couldn't be happier about it. It seems all of us luvvies have a soft spot for Valentine's day, with luvvy in our blog title, how could we not? In all seriousness, Valentine's is a special time no matter your relationship status. Despite all of our imperfections, many people choose to love us, and Vday allows us to celebrate that love. I'm a firm believer in celebrating all love (hello, Galentines!) for Valentine's day, so shower someone you love with this cake today. This is my first time making a poke cake, and I honestly had no idea what it was until I saw a friend post about a poke cake on instagram. I was excited to come up with my own flavor to create, and I loveee it. The poke cake has a rich flavor that makes it really fitting for Valentine's. Ingredients: Cake Mix (I chose Duncan Hine's Triple Chocolate Cake mix, it's the bomb.com) **Cake mix almost always calls for oil and eggs, so have those on hand Semi-sweet Baker's Chocolate/And Dipping Chocolate Sweetened Condensed Milk Strawberries Whip Cream Directions This cake has quite a few steps, but they're all really easy. I especially love starting with a cake mix, cooking delicious desserts doesn't always have to be complicated. Follow the directions on the box for whichever cake mix you choose. I loved the triple chocolate one that I chose, because I'm a chocoholic, but it could work nicely with a plain chocolate, or even a strawberry cake mix. Once you pull the cake out of the oven you need to let it set for about 5-10 minutes. After that time has passed, you will begin poking holes (!!! so fun) in your cake. It may feel unnatural for you to destroy your beautiful cake with holes, but what goes in the holes will make it well worth getting a little messy with your cake. I poked about 20 holes in my cake, you can do more or less depending on how moist you want to make it. With your holes made, you will pour in the condensed milk and chocolate mixture. To make this, I just melted 2 oz of baking chocolate in a bowl in the microwave and then poured the condensed milk into the bowl. Mix that until it's smooth and then pour over the cake. Let the gooeyness begin! While the mixture is starting to make its way into your pokes, cut up some fresh strawberries. Layer the strawberries on top of the cake, then top the cake with whip cream (drooool). At this point, you will want to put the cake into the fridge for a few hours or even a day if you have it. If you don't have a full day, give it at least 2 -3 hours. You want to allow the cake as much time to absorb the condensed milk chocolate mixture. I let mine sit in the fridge for a full night. The next morning I woke up and made dipped strawberries. Gotta say, chocolate covered strawberries are one of the simplest, most perfect desserts. They are especially romantic with their slight heart shape. To make these, melt your dipping chocolate and then dip the strawberries in the chocolate. Put directly on the cake. Refrigerate again to allow the strawberries to harden (this actually happens fairly quickly, maybe 30 mins to an hour). Once the strawberries harden, you are ready to dish out your romantic cake. Or to eat it all yourself, no guilt. I hope you luvv it as much as I do! Happy eats (AND Valentine's Days) My Sweets! Melinda P.S. If you're looking for the perfect treat  that isn't cake for Galentine's, your children or your children's friends, or coworkers, my pretzel cupid arrows from last week are still one of my favorite treats to give!