Cherry Cheesecake Poke Cake |Cooking With Amanda

I haven't weighed myself in a year and a half.

It's true. My husband thinks I've lost my mind. But one day I just decided that I didn't like the way that the scale made me feel, so I just… stopped using it. I literally removed it from my bathroom so I wouldn't even have to look at it.

You can do things like that when you're an adult. You just decide to stop doing things like a boss and it's amazing.

But recently, I've decided that I'd like to drop a few ten fifteenish pounds, so my husband and I decided to have a competition.

He's been dieting as well, and we are both fairly competitive, so it seemed like a good way to keep us motivated.

Until he told me that we had to have our weigh in.

Ummmm…what? No thank you sir, that will not be happening.

Of course, he says that it's impossible to know who has lost the most (based on percentage) unless we weigh ourselves. Which I suppose is true but ONLY IF things do not go according to MY plan.

My plan goes something like this: Kristan loses all the weight. Jess does not. Kristan's skinniness is so glaringly obvious that a scale is not even necessary. In fact, her clothes are practically falling off of body. Jess cries. The end.

For whatever reason, my husband does not find this to be an appropriate method for holding a weight loss competition.

Why do men have to ruin everything, I mean seriously.

Of course, I am giving myself a cheat day every week. This is to ensure that I don't lose my will to live, obviously. Because desserts are so few and far between, I really have to get the most bang for my buck. Enter – Cherry Cheesecake Poke Cake.

Part cake, part cheesecake. Why choose?

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Cherry Cheesecake Poke Cake Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Cake:

3 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs, finely ground
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
12 tablespoons Salted Butter, melted
1 box White Cake Mix, plus eggs, oil, and water needed to prepare

For the Filling:

1 3.4 ounce package Cheesecake Instant Pudding Mix
2 cups Whole Milk
7 ounce can Sweetened Condensed Milk

For the Topping:

30 ounces Cherry Pie Filling

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter until combined. Spoon mixture into prepared cake pan and press evenly into the bottom.
Prepare cake mix as directed on box. Pour into cake pan, spreading evenly.
Bake for roughly 20 -25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes in the surface of the cake, at about 1 inch intervals.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cheesecake pudding and 2 cups cold milk until thickened.
Fold in sweetened condensed milk and pour mixture over the cake, spreading to fill the holes.
Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Top with cherry pie filling before serving.