Coca-Cola Cake Recipe

Growing up in the Great State of Arkansas, potluck dinners and lunches were a favorite! It was always a good day when someone brought a coca-cola cake!!!

As requested on Twitter, the following is my coca-cola cake recipe. This recipe was adapted from my fav-o-rite cookbook by Nigella Lawson, How to Be a Domestic Goddess. I use this book a lot!!

When making the cake this time, I followed her instructions to put it in a spring form pan lined with foil, however, the cake is most often made in a 9x13 cake pan. I liked the look of the pretty, round, chocolaty cake, so I will probably prepare it this way again……it’s yummy!!!! Although I haven’t tried this (yet) I imagine that one could substitute a cane syrup root beer or some other more “organic” drink.

Also don’t let the cooking part of the cake recipe intimidate you -- it doesn’t take more than a few minutes and the results are heavenly!!!

Coca-Cola Cake

Cake:

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour (I used cake flour--always stir or sift flour before measuring)
¾ cup plus 1 T sugar (I simply added half of the ¼ cup measuring cup extra)
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk (don’t substitute this--it makes the cake!!!)
1 tsp vanilla (use the real stuff not the fakey stuff for best results)
½ cup butter (again don’t substitute--margarine is just not the same)
2 tbl cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s special dark--although Ghirardelli is my standby)
¾ cup coca-cola

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put in a baking sheet (I used a baking stone). Prepare your spring form pan by lining it on the outside with aluminum foil (it will drip) and grease the bottom and sides (I used veg oil, but you could use butter).

In a saucepan, gently (ie: low heat) melt butter, add the cocoa powder mixing until it is smooth and add coca-cola. You don’t want this to boil. While you are waiting for butter to melt, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl (you will eventually put all ingredients in this bowl). In a small bowl beat the eggs and add buttermilk and vanilla.

Pour the warm coca-cola mixture into the flour mixture and stir until well blended. Add the buttermilk mixture and stir well. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for around 40 minutes (for the spring form pan) or until a cake tester comes out clean. Now, this is a very thin cake, so if you check it and it’s not quite done, don’t wait too long to check again as you want this cake to be moist!

Put cake on cooling rack for about 15 minutes before unmolding. When ready to unmold, carefully run a butter knife along the edges to ensure it doesn’t stick. Place the cake on whatever serving dish you are going to use. The icing drips and runs, but that is part of the charm.

Icing:

1 ½ Cups powdered sugar
2 T butter
3 T Coca-cola
1 T cocoa powder
½ tsp vanilla

Sift the powdered sugar (I didn’t - - but I had to make sure the lumps were smushed with a spoon). In a saucepan, melt butter on low heat and add coca-cola and cocoa and stir until all is combined. Remove from heat and add vanilla and slowly combine powdered sugar stirring out the lumps.

I poked the cake with a toothpick and poured a little bit of extra coke over the cake for extra moistness (not too much). Pour the warm icing over the cake and allow to cool completely before serving. (When I was growing up, some people added pecans or walnuts to the icing or on top).