Sorry today’s recipe is a little late, but I had a hard time choosing what to make. I’ve been feeling guilty about spending money on ingredients and wanted to limit myself to what was on hand, which in this cake meant regular Coke and a couple handfuls or marshmallows.
This is a familiar cake – especially to those from the southern United States who often remember it more for the shiny, flaky, screamingly sweet frosting than the cake itself. The flavor is interesting – more Coke-like and less chocolate-driven than some cakes, but the moistness factor is what really stands out. If you know someone who likes almost any cake as long as it’s really moist, this is sure bet. Plus, it keeps well.
Here’s a link to the 13x9 inch version which Coke says was developed by The Junior League of Atlanta.
Mini Coca Cola Cake
Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar (or use ¾ and 2 tablespoons for slightly less sweet cake)
¼ teaspoon salt plus an extra pinch (omit if using salted butter)
4 oz unsalted butter
1 ½ tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
½ cup Coca-Cola
¼ cup buttermilk or sour milk
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
¾ cups miniature marshmallows (they'll disappear into the cake)
Frosting
½ pound powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
4 ounce unsalted butter
1 ½ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons Coca-Cola
½ teaspoon vanilla
⅓ chopped, toasted pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square metal pan.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour and sugar.
In a saucepan, heat butter over medium. When it is partially melted, stir in the coca powder and cola. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour over flour mixture. Stir lightly.
In a separate container, stir the baking soda into the buttermilk, then whisk or stir in the egg and vanilla. Pour buttermilk mixture into chocolate mixture. Stir in the marshmallows. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until set.
While cake is in oven, sift the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl so that it will be ready to go when you are reading to prepare frosting.
When cake is done, remove from the oven and set on a rack. In a saucepan, combine butter, salt, cocoa powder and Coke; heat to boiling. As soon as it reaches a good boil, pour chocolate coke mixture into bowl with sifted powdered sugar and beat with a spoon until smooth. Add vanilla. Pour over cake while hot. Sprinkle nuts over top. At this point, it will look very gooey and wet. Allow the cake to sit for a few hours. The icing will set up.
Serves 6
Heidi says
I celebrated finding the DP recipe by getting a diet DP with strawberry at Sonic. 😉
Anna says
Yeah, it is too sweet. Amazingly, people like it. I guess it goes back to sugar tolerances.
The DP cake is nothing like this one.
Brenda says
my sister made a Coca-Cola cake this weekend for my Grandmother's 90th birthday party (we all made our favorite cakes). It was very good but way to sweet. I sliced the cakes for the party and cut the Coke cake into smaller squares.
I still need to try the DP cake since I now have two 6 packs of Dublin DP. I wonder if it would be that much sweeter with Dublin DP?
Anna says
Heidi, no offense to Coke, but I have a Dr. Pepper Cake which I think is MUCH better. It's not as sugary. Here's the link. It was developed by some restaurant, apparently.
There's a lot of my rambling on, but at the end of the page, you will find a great recipe.
https://www.cookiemadness.net/?p=712
Heidi says
Like good Texans who love pecans, is there a similar DP cake? Esp if you can use good, sugary, Dublin DP. 😉
Lisa Ernst says
This one brings back memories for me too; I ate this a lot in the '80's and it never occurred to me back then that the frosting was so sweet. My taste buds have changed and now I prefer something more intense with chocolate. But I do have fond memories of that cake. Does anyone remember Mississippi Mud Cake that was also popular back then?
Beth O. =o) says
This looks and sounds *SO* good!! I may have to give it a try!
Sue says
This was my kid's favorite cake for years. I got sooooo tired of making it for their birthdays year after year! I'm so glad they finally grew out of it! It's a good cake though. Really moist. The frosting was really sweet.