A moist and decadently rich chocolate poke cake recipe ? this makes such a great addition to any party!

A few weeks ago, I received an email with such an incredible and exciting opportunity that my initial thought was, ?There?s just no way I?m not dreaming right now.?
HERSHEY?S Kitchens asked if I?d like to be a guest chef on their website, creating a new recipe in partnership with them to highlight a few of their core baking products, such as the Simply 5 Chocolate Syrup. Having grown up with their original chocolate syrup (It was the only way my mom could get me to drink milk!), I was intrigued and happy to learn they now offer a version with just 5 simple ingredients and no high fructose corn syrup, artificial preservatives, or artificial flavors. I knew exactly what I wanted to make first with the syrup: a homemade chocolate poke cake!
Originally popular in the 1970s, the idea of a poke cake is to press holes into the top and pour on a filling that soaks into the cake, adding extra moisture and flavor to each deliciously gooey bite. Poke cakes have been making a resurgence in recent years and seem to be really popular lately at potlucks or barbecues, with anything from pudding, to caramel sauce, to fruit-flavored gelatin, to sweetened condensed milk being used as the filling.

I made this chocolate poke cake over the weekend to share with a small group of friends, and as we sat on the balcony catching up and eating chocolate cake, I couldn?t imagine a more perfect wa...