The Best Coca Cola Cake
If the idea of pouring soda into cake batter doesn’t sit right with you, let me ease your mind. Southerners have been making soda cakes like this Coca Cola cake since the early 1950s. At that time, busy home bakers loved the versatility of the bubbly beverage; not only did it provide sweetness and moisture, but it also acted as a leavening agent, adding lift and air. Using soda saved time and money, and it made some seriously crowd-pleasing desserts. It’s worth noting that the cola in this cake is not overwhelming; instead, it imparts a very subtle flavor that complements the chocolate beautifully. It’s like a lighter (in texture, not in calories), less chocolatey version of my devil’s food cake that’s both moist and flavorful. To finish, it’s topped with a thick layer of soft, just-set icing (like the one on my Texas sheet cake) that is one of my favorites. Let’s get started!
What You Need
Making Coca Cola cake isn’t complicated, and neither are the ingredients! You’ll most likely have most these on hand already.
Coca Cola. As mentioned above, cola adds a subtle flavor in addition to lift. It also adds acid, which balances the sweetness of the cake and the icing. If you don’t have cola, you could try substituting another dark soda, like root beer or Dr. Pepper. Butter. Between the cake and the icing, we need a lot of butter. While I often love to use a blend of butter and oil, I found it wasn’t necessary in today’s recipe and even weighed down the crumb too much. Skip the oil, you’ll still have a moist and very flavorful cake!Cocoa powder. Use plain, unsweetened/natural cocoa powder to give this cake its chocolate flavor. Do not use Dutch-processed cocoa; not only are the chemical properties different but Dutch-processed also has a more intense chocolate flavor that will overwhelm the cake and completely bully the already light cola flavor!Flour. Since we’re using cocoa powder and cornstarch in this recipe, stick with all-purpose flour. Cake flour likely won’t hold up properly with those two light ingredients. Sugar. We don’t need as much sugar as we would in your average cake recipe since we’re getting a fair bit from the cola. However, we do need to add some to achieve a tender, moist (and perfectly sweetened) cake. While I played around with using a blend of brown and white sugar, I ultimately settled on just granulated sugar, to better let the cola flavors shine.Baking soda and powder. When using acidic ingredients (cola, cocoa powder, and sour cream here!) it’s often necessary to use both baking soda and baking powder for proper rise. Sour cream. This adds moisture and fat, which ultimately enhances flavor. Full-fat plain Greek yogurt would also work here.
SAM’S NOTE: Traditional recipes like this Coca Cola cake have been passed down through generations, with each making their own modifications to suit their tastes. I’ve done the same with my recipe, omitting the marshmallows and pecans that appeared in the classic recipe, in order to let the cola flavor shine. The end result is a simple but standout chocolate cake that I think you’ll love. Side note: if you’re looking for chocolate cake that does include marshmallows and pecans, I suggest you try my Mississippi Mud Cake. Remember, this is just an overview of some of the ingredients used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Coca Cola Cake
Making the Frosting
SAM’S TIP: This cake pairs perfectly with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream. Enjoy!
More Southern Recipes You Might Like
Banana PuddingPecan PieHummingbird Cake
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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