Best (And Easiest!) Ever Piña Colada Cake

Friendships were much easier to come by when I was younger.  It seems like the older I get the more I have acquaintances rather than friends- and that kind of makes me sad.

Well...lets be honest...the part of me that likes hanging out in my PJ pants with my family and not making plans is ok with it for the most part.

But having friends to laugh and talk to is important too.

My husband may be my best friend, but sometimes I need some girl talk and a cheese plate!

Anyway, I've been working on fostering friendships- I'm well aware of the fact that like any relationship friendships require intentional attention.

Let me just say guys...while I may not have the wide group of friends I had in my youth the friends I do have are pretty freaking spectacular.

I am blessed.

So a couple of weeks ago my friend Cathy made me a cake and on it she'd written the sweetest sentiment (of which I am completely, and totally undeserving!)- it said "You so inspire me."

Me??

My gosh, I'm inspired just by the fact that she was able to write that legibly on a cake, because I certainly am not capable of such a feat!  Cake decorating is definitely not one of my skills.

Anyway, it was pretty amazing, both that she'd thought that about me and that she'd taken the time to make me a cake that said so.

Talk about verklempt!

Did I mention it was delicious too?  Moist and delicious chocolate cake topped with a cinnamon buttercream frosting.

I could (and did) eat that frosting with a spoon.  Ah-mazing.

It had a total Mexican chocolate vibe to it.  Yum.

We made quick work of polishing off that cake!

When it was time to return her cake pan I didn't want it to be empty, and when I was trying to think of what kind of cake to make I suddenly remembered my mother-in-law's Piña Colada cake.

The first time I tried it was when she and my father-in-law came out to visit and it happened to be my stepson's birthday.  She made this insanely good cake.

Now, I've had piña colada cakes before, but none as flavorful or wonderful as this guy.

Most of the recipes I've seen for piña colada poke cakes use cream of coconut, and maybe pineapple juice, but what I like is that this simplifies things and just uses a can of Piña Colada mix from the freezer section.  No booze, of course- just the stuff they sell with the frozen juices at the grocery store.  It covers both the piña and the colada bases in one fell swoop.  :-)

I'd never attempted to make this cake on my own before the other day but it seriously couldn't be easier.  I mean, it's really just a poke cake!

It's super simple- and super delicious.  One of my favorites, in fact!

I'm sharing it with you with my lovely mother-in-law's permission (of course!) and I've typed it up over on Allrecipes, so feel free to add it to your Favorites on AR and make it yourself!

Piña Colada Cake

Click to see the recipe on Allrecipes.com

1 white cake mix (with pudding in the mix)

1 (10 oz) can frozen piña colada mixer, thawed

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 oz) container frozen whipped dessert topping, thawed

1/2 C shredded sweetened coconut

1. Bake cake according to package directions in 9"x13" pan.

2. While still hot, punch holes in cake. Pour on piña colada mixer, followed by sweetened condensed milk. Let cool completely.

3. Spread whipped dessert topping as frosting and sprinkle with coconut. Keep refrigerated.